Craig R. White, School of Biosciences, The University of Birmingham

Craig R. White
School of Biosciences
The University of Birmingham
Birmingham
B15 2TT, UK

Ph: +44 (0) 121 414 3822
Fax: +44 (0) 121 414 5925
c.r.white@bham.ac.uk

My research career began at The University of Adelaide where I was supervised by Professor Roger Seymour, and completed a PhD entitled Allometric Studies in Mammalian Metabolism in 2004. Through the unhindered use and abuse of the Seymour Lab, I was also able to indulge a range of other interests, many of which are described below. Currently, I'm a member of the comparative physiology research group at The University of Birmingham working with Professors Graham Martin and Pat Butler on the visual and energetic determinants of pursuit-dive foraging in Great Cormorants, Phalacrocorax carbo.

Visual and energetic determinants of pursuit-dive foraging in cormorants

A number of aquatic bird species, including Great Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) and Goosanders (Mergus merganser), have been the subject in recent years of much negative campaigning for their control because of perceived damage to fishery interests, particularly on commercial angling waters. In response to this perceived damage the licensing system for the control of the Great Cormorant populations in the UK has recently been altered, and the issuing of culling permits now presumes that where significant numbers of cormorants are present at a site and it is clear that these are feeding on fish stocks, serious damage is occurring or there is a risk of serious damage. Modelling by the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs suggests that an annual cull of 2000 (ca 12% of the current population) is sustainable, and will suppress the size of the English population by 15 – 20%. The presumption that cormorant depredation has a significant impact on fish stocks is central to the increase in annual cull, and evaluation of the accuracy of this presumption requires accurate information on the factors that constrain foraging dives, and the interaction between environmental variables (e.g. light, turbidity, temperature) and the energetic costs of foraging.

In this NERC funded project, we aim to test the key visual and energetic parameters that limit the extent and duration of cormorant foraging dives, and develop a general model of the visual and energetic constraints that influence and limit the diving behaviour of aquatic birds. It is intended that this information will enhance understanding of the biological bases of the perceived conflict between aquatic birds and human economic interests and inform the management of these species.

Metabolic rate allometry

Basal metabolic rate is a benchmark measurement in comparative physiology, and is correlated with a variety of physiological and ecological variables, including maximum metabolic rate, field metabolic rate, resting heart rate, lifespan, litter size, and population density. The allometry of BMR has been repeatedly investigated for over a century, and the exact nature of the scaling exponent has been the subject of a heated (and occasionally acrimonious) debate for almost as long. However, most analyses conducted to date have been compromised by the inclusion of large herbivorous species for which the postabsorptive conditions specified for the measurement of BMR are unlikely to be achieved. Inclusion of these species both elevates the exponent and increases variation around the calculated trendline. Recently, we compiled the largest and most robust data set for mammalian BMR, and concluded that BMR was proportional to body mass^2/3, a finding that challenged 70 years of physiological dogma. This data set excludes some species that have featured in other analyses, but fail to strictly conform to the requirements for BMR.

White C.R. and Seymour, R.S. (2003) Mammalian basal metabolic rate is proportional to body mass^2/3. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA. 100, 4046-4049 | Abstract | PDF |

White, C.R. and Seymour, R.S. (2004) Does BMR contain a useful signal? Mammalian BMR allometry and correlations with a selection of physiological, ecological and life-history variables. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 77, 929-941 | Abstract | PDF |

White, C.R. and Seymour, R.S. (2005) Allometric scaling of mammalian metabolism. Journal of Experimental Biology 209, 1611-1619 | Abstract | PDF |

White, C.R., Phillips, N.F. and Seymour, R.S. (2005) The scaling and temperature dependence of vertebrate metabolism. Biology Letters. (doi:10.1098/rsbl.2005.0378) | Abstract | PDF |

White, C.R. and Seymour, R.S. (2005) Sample size and mass range effects on the allometric exponent of basal metabolic rate. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A. 142, 74-78 | Abstract | PDF |

Green, J.A., White, C.R. and Butler, P.J. (2005) Allometric estimation of metabolic rate from heart rate in penguins. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A. 142: 478-484 | Abstract | PDF |

White, C.R., Cassey, P. and Blackburn, T.M. (In press) Allometric exponents do not support a universal metabolic allometry. Ecology

The biology of burrowing

White, C.R. (2001) The energetics of burrow excavation by the inland robust scorpion, Urodacus yaschenkoi (Birula 1903). Australian Journal of Zoology 49, 663-674 | Abstract | PDF |

White, C.R. (2003) The influence of foraging mode and arid adaptation on the basal metabolic rates of burrowing mammals. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 76, 122-134 | Abstract | PDF |

White, C.R. (2005) The allometry of burrow geometry. Journal of Zoology 265, 395-403 | Abstract | PDF |

Taggart, D.A., Shimmin, G.A., Ratcliff, J.R., Steele, V.R., Dibben, R., Dibben, J., White, C. and Temple-Smith, P.D. (2005) Seasonal changes in the testis, accessory glands and ejaculate characteristics of the southern hairy-nosed wombat, Lasiorhinus latifrons, (Marsupialia: Vombatidae). Journal of Zoology 26, 95-104 | Abstract | PDF |

White, C.R., Matthews, P.G.D. and Seymour, R.S. (2006) Balancing the competing requirements of saltatorial and fossorial specialisation: burrowing costs in the spinifex hopping mouse, Notomys alexis. Journal of Experimental Biology. 209: 2103-2113 | PDF |

White, C.R., Matthews, P.G.D. and Seymour, R.S. (In press) In situ measurement of calling metabolic rate in an Australian mole cricket, Gryllotalpa monanka. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A

The beetle pollinators of thermoregulating flowers

Seymour, R.S., White, C.R. and Gibernau, M. (2003) Heat reward for insect pollinators. Nature 426, 243-244
| Abstract | PDF |

Gas exchange

Seymour, R.S. and White, C.R. (2006) Models for embryonic respiration. Pp 41-57 In Warburton, S.J., Burggren, W.W., Pelster, B., Reiber, C.L. and Spicer, J., Eds, Comparative developmental physiology: contributions, tools and trends. Oxford University Press.


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