Dr Anna Sturrock
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Email
anna.sturrock@essex.ac.uk -
Location
Colchester Campus
Profile
Biography
I am an aquatic ecologist with a particular interest in fish ecology, conservation and management. I primarily use natural chemical tracers in fish tissues to reconstruct the migration patterns, phenology, physiology and trophic ecology of vulnerable and commercial species. The resulting datasets provide unique insights into the behaviours and habitat needs of fish in natural settings, allowing us to better predict how climate change and other stressors will affect their evolution and resilience. By revealing the critical habitats supporting fisheries and identifying the factors influencing trait success we can design more targeted management measures to protect critical ecosystem services during this period of unprecedented global change.
Qualifications
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PhD University of Southampton, (2012)
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MSc University of Otago, (2008)
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BSc Hons University of Edinburgh, (2004)
Appointments
University of Essex
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Lecturer, School of Life Sciences, University of Essex (1/7/2020 - present)
Other academic
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Researcher, Center for Watershed Sciences, University of California, Davis (1/10/2016 - 30/6/2020)
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Postdoctoral Fellow, Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley (1/7/2014 - 30/9/2016)
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Postdoctoral Researcher & NOAA affiliate, Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz (21/5/2012 - 30/6/2014)
Research and professional activities
Research interests
Isotope ecology and biomineral chemistry
Habitat, flow and fisheries management in a changing climate
Fish ecology and management
My passion lies in fish ecology, conservation and management, and using natural chemical tracers in fish tissues to reconstruct the migration patterns, phenology, physiology and trophic ecology of vulnerable and commercial species. The resulting datasets provide unique insights into the behaviours and habitat needs of fish in natural settings, allowing us to better predict how climate change and other stressors will affect their evolution, productivity and resilience. My main research projects focus on (1) the effect of different stressors and management actions on the resilience of salmonids, (2) developing new methods to understand the spatial structure and connectivity patterns of marine fishes, (3) combining genetic and otolith tools to explore the relationship between genotype and phenotype, and (4) exploring the influence of environmental and anthropogenic drivers on fish growth and health.
Teaching and supervision
Current teaching responsibilities
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Marine Biodiversity (BS251)
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Marine Vertebrates (BS254)
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Fisheries Ecology (BS354)
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Research Project in Life Sciences (BS832)
Publications
Journal articles (17)
Darnaude, A., Arnaud-Haond, S., Hunter, E., Gaggiotti, O., Sturrock, A., Beger, M., Volckaert, F., Pérez-Ruzafa, A., López-López, L., Tanner, SE., Turan, C., Ahmet Doğdu, S., Katsanevakis, S. and Costantini, F., Unifying approaches to Functional Marine Connectivity for improved marine resource management: the European SEA-UNICORN COST Action. Research Ideas and Outcomes. 8
Keeley, ATH., Fremier, AK., Goertler, PAL., Huber, PR., Sturrock, AM., Bashevkin, SM., Barbaree, BA., Grenier, JL., Dilts, TE., Gogol-Prokurat, M., Colombano, DD., Bush, EE., Laws, A., Gallo, JA., Kondolf, M. and Stahl, AT., (2022). Governing Ecological Connectivity in Cross-Scale Dependent Systems. BioScience. 72 (4), 372-386
Hüssy, K., Limburg, KE., de Pontual, H., Thomas, ORB., Cook, PK., Heimbrand, Y., Blass, M. and Sturrock, AM., (2021). Trace Element Patterns in Otoliths: The Role of Biomineralization. Reviews in Fisheries Science & Aquaculture. 29 (4), 1-33
Cordoleani, F., Phillis, CC., Sturrock, AM., FitzGerald, AM., Malkassian, A., Whitman, GE., Weber, PK. and Johnson, RC., (2021). Threatened salmon rely on a rare life history strategy in a warming landscape. Nature Climate Change. 11 (11), 982-988
Sturrock, AM., Carlson, SM., Wikert, JD., Heyne, T., Nusslé, S., Merz, JE., Sturrock, HJW. and Johnson, RC., (2020). Unnatural selection of salmon life histories in a modified riverscape. Global Change Biology. 26 (3), 1235-1247
Sturrock, AM., Satterthwaite, WH., Cervantes‐Yoshida, KM., Huber, ER., Sturrock, HJW., Nusslé, S. and Carlson, SM., (2019). Eight Decades of Hatchery Salmon Releases in the California Central Valley: Factors Influencing Straying and Resilience. Fisheries. 44 (9), 433-444
Phillis, CC., Sturrock, AM., Johnson, RC. and Weber, PK., (2018). Endangered winter-run Chinook salmon rely on diverse rearing habitats in a highly altered landscape. Biological Conservation. 217, 358-362
Willmes, M., Hobbs, JA., Sturrock, AM., Bess, Z., Lewis, LS., Glessner, JJG., Johnson, RC., Kurth, R. and Kindopp, J., (2018). Fishery collapse, recovery, and the cryptic decline of wild salmon on a major California river. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 75 (11), 1836-1848
Morais, P., Dias, E., Cerveira, I., Carlson, SM., Johnson, RC. and Sturrock, AM., (2018). How Scientists Reveal The Secret Migrations of Fish. Frontiers for Young Minds. 6
Sturrock, AM., Hunter, E., Milton, JA., Johnson, RC., Waring, CP. and Trueman, CN., (2015). Quantifying physiological influences on otolith microchemistry. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 6 (7), 806-816
Sturrock, AM., Wikert, JD., Heyne, T., Mesick, C., Hubbard, AE., Hinkelman, TM., Weber, PK., Whitman, GE., Glessner, JJ. and Johnson, RC., (2015). Reconstructing the Migratory Behavior and Long-Term Survivorship of Juvenile Chinook Salmon under Contrasting Hydrologic Regimes. PLOS ONE. 10 (5), e0122380-e0122380
Darnaude, AM., Sturrock, A., Trueman, CN., Mouillot, D., EIMF, Campana, SE. and Hunter, E., (2014). Listening In on the Past: What Can Otolith δ18O Values Really Tell Us about the Environmental History of Fishes?. PLoS ONE. 9 (10), e108539-e108539
(2014). Correction: Listening In on the Past: What Can Otolith δ18O Values Really Tell Us about the Environmental History of Fishes?. PLoS ONE. 9 (12), e114951-e114951
Sturrock, AM., Trueman, CN., Milton, JA., Waring, CP., Cooper, MJ. and Hunter, E., (2014). Physiological influences can outweigh environmental signals in otolith microchemistry research. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 500, 245-264
Sturrock, AM., Hunter, E., Milton, JA. and Trueman, CN., (2013). Analysis methods and reference concentrations of 12 minor and trace elements in fish blood plasma. Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology. 27 (4), 273-285
Sturrock, AM., Trueman, CN., Darnaude, AM. and Hunter, E., (2012). Can otolith elemental chemistry retrospectively track migrations in fully marine fishes?. Journal of Fish Biology. 81 (2), 766-795
Lawton, RJ., Wing, SR. and Lewis, AM., (2010). Evidence for discrete subpopulations of sea perch (Helicolenus ercoides) across four fjords in Fiordland, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research. 44 (4), 309-322
Reports and Papers (2)
Sturrock, A. and Johnson, R., (2013). Contribution of hatchery and natural origin Chinook salmon to the Lower Yuba River
Sturrock, A., Whitman, G. and Johnson, R., (2012). Otolith microchemistry to determine size at outmigration of adult Chinook salmon in the Tuolumne and Merced rivers
Grants and funding
2021
ATLANTIC SALMON �EYES AND EARS� FEASIBILITY STUDY
Atlantic Salmon Trust