What I do

I am currently a PhD student supervised by Prof. Tim Coulson (University of Oxford) and am funded on an ERC grant which he holds. The grant encompasses a number of smaller projects; one of which is understanding eco-evolutionary dynamics in a laboratory population which is led by Dr. Isabel Smallegange and which I work on. The aim of the project is to investigate selection-driven changes in heritable traits and to see how they affect the structure and dynamics of populations in variable environments using, in our case, bulb mites (Rhizoglyphus robini). The aim of my PhD is to determine, using the bulb mite as a study species, the influence of dispersal propensity on population size and structure, life histories and how these change with stochastic environments.

Background

I worked for Prof. Tim Coulson on the ERC grant as a lab technician for just over two years. The work I did was part of the project led by Dr. Isabel Smallegange where I assisted in a number of experiments and analysis. Previous to this I worked in the NERC Centre for Population Biology at Imperial College where my duties involved coordinating and ensuring the smooth running of the research projects in the CPB. Before this I completed a Masters degree in Zoology, where I focused on the physiology of oribatid mite species on sub-Antarctic Marion Island. Following my degree I was appointed Research Coordinator for the USAID-DEA&T Capacity Building Programme for Climate Change Research at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. I ran the programme and coordinated all the logistic requirements for overwintering research programmes and yearly takeover expeditions to Marion Island which included guiding students in their fieldwork and labwork. Much of the research conducted was to develop a deeper understanding of the potential impacts and effects of climate change on terrestrial ecosystem functioning.

Interests

Although I have focused largely on environmental physiology and am currently focusing on eco-evolutionary dynamics, the effects of Climate Change on other aspects of a species (such as changes in distribution or dispersal), also interest me as does large mammal ecology and conservation.

Education:

2002 – 2005: MSc, Zoology. Stellenbosch University, South Africa. Thesis title: “Acclimation effects on thermal tolerance in ameronothrid mites at sub – Antarctic Marion Island”.

1998-2001: BSc(Honours), Zoology. University of Pretoria, South Africa. Dissertation title: "Inter-sexual differences in Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) diet quality, as indicated by twig dimensions in dung".

Publications in peer-reviewed journals:

Submitted

1. Deere, J.A. and Smallegange, I.M. 2012. Weak frequency-dependence and age-dependence determines survival in the male dimorphic mite (Rhizoglyphus robini). 

Published

1. Terblanche, J.S., Clusella-Trullas, S., Deere, J.A., van Vuuren, B.J. and Chown, S.L. 2009. Directional evolution of the slope of the metabolic rate-temperature relationship is correlated with climate. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 82, 495-503. (DOI: 10.1086/605361)
2. Jumbam, K.R., Terblanche, J.S., Deere, J.A., Somers, M.J. and Chown, S.L. 2008. Critical thermal limits and their responses to acclimation in two sub-Antarctic spiders: Myro kerguelenensis and Prinerigone vagans. Polar Biology 31, 215-220. (DOI: 10.1007/s00300-007-0349-0)
3. Terblanche, J.S., Clusella-Trullas, S., Deere, J.A. and Chown, S.L. 2008. Thermal tolerance in a south-east African population of the tsetse fly Glossina pallidipes (Diptera, Glossinidae): Implications for forecasting climate change impacts. Journal of Insect Physiology 54, 114-127. (DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2007.08.007)
4. Terblanche, J.S., Deere, J.A., Clusella-Trullas, S., Janion, C and Chown, S.L. 2007. Critical thermal limits depend on methodological context. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 274, 2935-2942. (DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2007.0985)
5. Deere, J.A and Chown, S.L. 2006. Testing the beneficial acclimation hypothesis and its alternatives for locomotor performance. American Naturalist 168, 630-644. (DOI: 10.1086/508026) 
6. Deere, J.A., Sinclair, B.J., Marshall, D.J. and Chown, S.L. 2006. Phenotypic plasticity of thermal tolerances in five oribatid mite species from sub-Antarctic Marion Island. Journal of Insect Physiology 52, 693-700. (DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2006.03.009) 

Contact details:

Munro 1.1
Division of Biology
Imperial College London
Silwood Park Campus
Ascot
SL5 7PY
UK

E-mail: jacques.deere[at]zoo.ox.ac.uk