Dr Barbara Morrissey
Dr Barbara Morrissey
Researcher in Genetics
I’m a molecular ecologist interested in developing techniques for applied research. I have worked on numerous projects in our molecular genetics lab. I have focussed on eDNA based methodologies in marine and freshwater ecosystems as part of the AMBER and BactMetBar projects as well as many other smaller projects with both commercial and research-based collaborators. I enjoy working on a broad range of species, environments and sample types as the methods I use such as qPCR/dPCR and metabarcoding are transferrable. My PhD focussed on developing a typing scheme to differentiate between strains of a bacterial disease of honey bees in order to trace its movement as well as sequencing the genomes of these strains to identify genetic changes between them. I have previously worked as a research assistant at the University of Sheffield where I was responsible for identifying genes involved in speciation in Drosophila montana.
- PhD Epidemiology of Paenibacillus larvae, causative agent of American foulbrood. University of York (2015)
- MRes Ecology and environmental management. University of York (2011)
- BSC (Hons) Evolutionary biology. University of Edinburgh (2007)
Research interest:
- Using molecular techniques to answer applied and conservation questions.
Research project highlights:
- BactMetBar: Environmental DNA metabarcoding as an alternative to macrobenthic assessments in fish-farm compliance assessment
- Freshwater eDNA: Monitoring change in freshwater biological communities
- Threatened bivalves population genomics for conservation of marine and freshwater bivalves.
- New Genetic Tools for species detection and management.
- DNA Food Webs: Reconstructing trophic interactions though molecular genetic diet analysis.
- Beaver Impacts: investigating the ecological and social impact of beaver conservation translocation.
Past projects :
- MeioMetBar :Development of DNA-based metagenomic methodologies for seabed monitoring and aquaculture management.
- AMBER (Adaptive Management of Barriers in European Rivers): The AMBER project aim was to apply adaptive management to the operation of barriers in European rivers to achieve a more effective and efficient restoration of stream connectivity. UHI Inverness were involved in the application of eDNA for river restoration.
Supervision:
- Sam Jones
- Alanna-Jo McCallum
External supervision:
- Ilgaz Cakin: Reed bed use within Scotch whisky distilleries to treat wastewater: A new toolkit to help maximise performance. PhD. (based at ERI)
- Victoria Ashley-Wheeler: Assessing benthic recovery following cessation of salmon farming using eDNA metabarcoding. PhD. (based at SAMS)
Alumni students
- Shraveena Venkatesh: Environmental DNA metabarcoding for assessing benthic ecological status associated with Salmon farming. PhD. Link to the IBFC Alumni profile
Publications
Wilding, T.A., Stoeck, T., Morrissey, B.J., Carvalho, S.F., Coulson, M.W. (2022) Maximising signal-to-noise ratios in environmental DNA-based monitoring. Science of the Total Environment 858(1): 159735 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159735
Cleasby, Ian R., Barbara J. Morrissey, Mark Bolton, Ellie Owen, Linda Wilson, Saskia Wischnewski, and Shinichi Nakagawa. ‘What Is Our Power to Detect Device Effects in Animal Tracking Studies?’ Methods in Ecology and Evolution 12, no. 7 (2021): 1174–85. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13598.
Cleasby, Ian R., Ewan D. Wakefield, Barbara J. Morrissey, Thomas W. Bodey, Steven C. Votier, Stuart Bearhop, and Keith C. Hamer. ‘Using Time-Series Similarity Measures to Compare Animal Movement Trajectories in Ecology’. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 73, no. 11 (21 November 2019): 151. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-019-2761-1.
Veltsos, P., E. Gregson, B. Morrissey, J. Slate, A. Hoikkala, R. K. Butlin, and M. G. Ritchie. ‘The Genetic Architecture of Sexually Selected Traits in Two Natural Populations of Drosophila Montana’. Heredity 115, no. 6 (2015): 565–72.
Morrissey, Barbara J., Thorunn Helgason, Lena Poppinga, Anne Fünfhaus, Elke Genersch, and Giles E. Budge. ‘Biogeography of Paenibacillus Larvae, the Causative Agent of American Foulbrood, Using a New Multilocus Sequence Typing Scheme’. Environmental Microbiology, 2015, n/a-n/a. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.12625.