After graduating from University of Wales Bangor with a 1st class Marine Biology BSc, Emily undertook a PhD at the University of Nottingham studying Antarctic planktonic protozoa. She has since conducted post-doctoral research at Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory, Oban, before being appointed to a lectureship at Swansea University in 2001.

Emily’s research interests focus on determining the ecological relevance of planktonic protozoa within aquatic ecosystems. Previous fieldwork has mainly been conducted in high latitude regions including the McMurdo Dry Valleys (Antarctica) and the Irminger Sea (North Atlantic). After securing a permanent lecturing position at the University of Wales Swansea in January 2003, Emily was awarded a NERC New Investigators grant to study feeding recognition of prey by marine planktonic protozoa (commenced September 2003). This grant proved to be highly successful, providing strong evidence for the use of protozoan lectins as feeding receptors. This line of research is now being further developed through a NERC Standard grant (commenced 2005).

For further information please see my personal homepage.

Emily is local organiser for the Swansea Science Café. The Café offers opportunities for anyone to find out more about new, exciting and topical areas of science. Designed to be informal and entertaining, the café typically runs on the last Wednesday of every month at the Dylan Thomas Centre. Entry is free and talks start at 7:30pm. For future events see the Science Cafe Web Pages

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Recent publications

Wootton, E.C., Zubkov, M.V., Jones, D.H., Jones, R.H., Martel, C.M., Thornton, C.A. and Roberts, E.C. (2006) Biochemical prey recognition by planktonic protozoa. Environmental Microbiology, Online early. doi: 10.1111/j.1462-2920.2006.01130.x Link to PDF

Roberts, E.C., Zubkov, M.V., Martin-Cereceda, M., Novarino, G. and Wootton E.C. (2006) Cell surface lectin-binding glycoconjugates on marine planktonic protists. FEMS Microbiology Letters, Online early. doi:10.1111/j.1574-6968.2006.00484.x Link to PDF

McKenna, K.C., Moorhead, D.L., Roberts, E.C., Laybourn-Parry, J. (2006) Simulated patterns of carbon flow in the pelagic food web of Lake Fryxell, Antarctica: Little evidence of top-down control. Ecological Modelling, 192, 457-472. Link to PDF

Davidson, K., Roberts, E.C., Wilson, A.M. and Mitchell, E. (2005) The role of prey nutritional status in governing protozoan nitrogen regeneration efficiency. Protist, 156, 45-62. Link to PDF

Roberts, E.C., Priscu, J.C. and Laybourn-Parry, J. (2004) Microplankton dynamics in a perennially ice-covered Antarctic lake- Lake Hoare. Freshwater Biology, 49, 853-869. Link to PDF

Roberts, E.C., Priscu, J.C., Wolf, C., Lyons, W.B. and Laybourn-Parry, J. (2004) The distribution of microplankton in the McMurdo Dry Valley Lakes, Antarctica: Response to ecosystem legacy or present day climatic controls? Polar Biology, 27, 238-249. Link to PDF

Brown, A., McKnight, D.M., Chin, Y.P., Roberts, E.C., Uhle, M. (2004) Chemical characterisation of dissolved organic material in Pony Lake, a saline coastal pond in Antarctica. Marine Chemistry, 89, 327-337. Link to PDF

Gilpin, L.C., Davidson, K. and Roberts, E.C. (2004) The influence of changes in nitrogen:silicon ratios on diatom growth dynamics. Journal of Sea Research, 51, 21-35. Link to PDF

Roberts, E.C., Davidson, K. and Gilpin, L.C. (2003) Response of temperate microplankton communities to N:Si ratio perturbation. Journal of Plankton Research, 25, 1485-1495. Link to PDF

Davidson, K., Roberts, E.C. and Gilpin, L.C. (2002) The relationship between carbon and biovolume in marine microbial mesocosms. European Journal of Phycology, 37, 501-507. Link to PDF

Research Funding  

NERC Standard Grant: A Matter of Taste: Revealing Underlying Mechanisms Behind Recognition of Prey by Protozooplankton, Focusing on the Role of the Mannose Binding Lectin. Awarded June 2005. £239,363

NERC New Investigators Grant: Cell-surface mechanisms for the recognition of prey by marine bacterivorous protozooplankton. Awarded May 2003. £50,432