Jennifer Freer
Marine Ecosystems Modeller
Team
Links/Websites
General enquiries
For general enquiries please see our contact page.
Jennifer Freer
Marine Ecosystems Modeller
Biography
I am an ecological modeller working within the Ecosystems Team at the British Antarctic Survey. I am interested in how environmental change influences the biogeography of species at ecological and evolutionary timescales. I typically approach this subject using species distribution models (SDMs) which allow me to characterise and predict species-environment relationships under past, present and future conditions. I combine SDMs with techniques including phylogenetic analyses, field sampling and climate modelling.
My research has focused on several important polar species including lanternfish, copepod crustaceans, and Antarctic Krill. For example, work carried out during my PhD allowed the first predictions of how climate change will impact the distribution of Southern Ocean lanternfish, revealing which species are likely to lose or gain habitat by the end of the century. During a post-doctoral position for the Changing Arctic Ocean DIAPOD project, our models predicted that Calanus finmarchicus, a vital species in the Subarctic food web, has expended its range north in the last 30 years most likely due to the effects of reduced summer sea-ice. Most recently, I have worked with BAS and Norwegian colleagues to develop a model to predict the abundance of krill around the South Orkney Island Archipelago. This model will contribute to a risk assessment of the krill fishery as part of a new management strategy endorsed by the Commission of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.
I am also a passionate science communicator and was involved in developing the podcast If Oceans Could Speak together with colleagues from the EU4Ocean Coalition for Ocean Literacy.
Research interests
- Understanding the physical and biological drivers of species distributions
- Predicting species responses to climate change
- The ecology and evolution of mesopelagic fishes
- marine species distribution model / ecological niche model methodologies
- Carbon sequestration by high latitude zooplankton
- Conservation and management of marine living resources
Collaborations
Publications from NERC Open Research Archive
2024
Vasiliadis, Michaelis, Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Jennifer J. Freer, Collins, Martin A. ORCID record for Martin A. Collins, Cleary, Alison Clare ORCID record for Alison Clare Cleary. (2024) Assessing the trophic ecology of Southern Ocean Myctophidae: the added value of DNA metabarcoding. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 81 (). 11 pp. 10.1139/cjfas-2023-0079
2023
Langbehn, Tom J., Aarflot, Johanna M., Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Jennifer J. Freer, Varpe, Øystein. (2023) Visual predation risk and spatial distributions of large Arctic copepods along gradients of sea ice and bottom depth. Limnology and Oceanography, 68 (). 18 pp. 10.1002/lno.12354
Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Jennifer J. Freer, Tarling, Geraint A. ORCID record for Geraint A. Tarling. (2023) Assessing key influences on the distribution and life-history of Arctic and boreal Calanus: are online databases up to the challenge?. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10 (). 13 pp. 10.3389/fmars.2023.908112
Belcher, Anna ORCID record for Anna Belcher, Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Jennifer J. Freer, Dornan, Tracey ORCID record for Tracey Dornan, Saunders, Ryan A. ORCID record for Ryan A. Saunders. (2023) Illuminating the Living Lanterns of Antarctica. Frontiers for Young Minds, 11 (). 7 pp. 10.3389/frym.2023.926063
2022
Trathan, P.N. ORCID record for P.N. Trathan, Fielding, S. ORCID record for S. Fielding, Warwick-Evans, V. ORCID record for V. Warwick-Evans, Freer, J. ORCID record for J. Freer, Perry, F.. (2022) Seabird and seal responses to the physical environment and to spatio-temporal variation in the distribution and abundance of Antarctic krill at South Georgia, with implications for local fisheries management. ICES Journal of Marine Sciences, 79 (). pp. 10.1093/icesjms/fsac168
Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Jennifer J. Freer, Collins, Rupert A., Tarling, Geraint A. ORCID record for Geraint A. Tarling, Collins, Martin A. ORCID record for Martin A. Collins, Partridge, Julian C., Genner, Martin J.. (2022) Global phylogeography of hyperdiverse lanternfishes indicates sympatric speciation in the deep sea. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 31 (). pp. 10.1111/geb.13586
Reisinger, Ryan R., Brooks, Cassandra M., Raymond, Ben, Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Jennifer J. Freer, Cotté, Cédric, Xavier, Jose C. ORCID record for Jose C. Xavier, Trathan, Philip N. ORCID record for Philip N. Trathan, Bornemann, Horst, Charrassin, Jean-Benoit, Costa, Daniel P., Danis, Bruno, Hückstädt, Luis, Jonsen, Ian D., Lea, Mary-Anne, Torres, Leigh, Van de Putte, Anton, Wotherspoon, Simon, Friedlaender, Ari S., Ropert-Coudert, Yan, Hindell, Mark. (2022) Predator-derived bioregions in the Southern Ocean: Characteristics, drivers and representation in marine protected areas. Biological Conservation, 272 (). 11 pp. 10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109630
Grigor, Jordan J., Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Jennifer J. Freer, Tarling, Geraint A. ORCID record for Geraint A. Tarling, Cohen, Jonathan H., Last, Kim S.. (2022) Swimming activity as an indicator of seasonal diapause in the copepod Calanus finmarchicus. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9 (). 11 pp. 10.3389/fmars.2022.909528
Tarling, Geraint A. ORCID record for Geraint A. Tarling, Belcher, Anna ORCID record for Anna Belcher, Blackwell, Mayleen, Castellani, Claudia, Cook, Kathryn Barbara ORCID record for Kathryn Barbara Cook, Cottier, Finlo R., Dewar-Fowler, Victoria, Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Jennifer J. Freer, Gerrish, Laura ORCID record for Laura Gerrish, Johnson, Magnus L., Last, Kim S., Lindeque, Penelope Kate, Mayor, Daniel J. ORCID record for Daniel J. Mayor, Parry, Helen E., Stowasser, Gabriele ORCID record for Gabriele Stowasser, Wootton, Marianne. (2022) Carbon and lipid contents of the copepod Calanus finmarchicus entering diapause in the Fram Strait and their contribution to the boreal and Arctic lipid pump. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9 (). 18 pp. 10.3389/fmars.2022.926462
Tarling, Geraint A. ORCID record for Geraint A. Tarling, Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Jennifer J. Freer, Banas, Neil S., Belcher, Anna ORCID record for Anna Belcher, Blackwell, Mayleen, Castellani, Claudia, Cook, Kathryn B. ORCID record for Kathryn B. Cook, Cottier, Finlo R., Daase, Malin, Johnson, Magnus L., Last, Kim S., Lindeque, Penelope K., Mayor, Daniel J. ORCID record for Daniel J. Mayor, Mitchell, Elaine, Parry, Helen E., Stowasser, Gabriele ORCID record for Gabriele Stowasser, Wootton, Marianne. (2022) Can a key boreal Calanus copepod species now complete its life-cycle in the Arctic? Evidence and implications for Arctic food-webs. Ambio, 51 (). pp. 10.1007/s13280-021-01667-y
Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Jennifer J. Freer, Daase, Malin, Tarling, Geraint A. ORCID record for Geraint A. Tarling. (2022) Modelling the biogeographic boundary shift of Calanus finmarchicus reveals drivers of Arctic Atlantification by subarctic zooplankton. Global Change Biology, 28 (). pp. 10.1111/gcb.15937
2020
Freer, Jennifer ORCID record for Jennifer Freer, Tarling, Geraint ORCID record for Geraint Tarling, Collins, Martin ORCID record for Martin Collins, Partridge, J.C., Genner, M.J.. (2020) Estimating circumpolar distributions of lanternfish using 2D and 3D ecological niche models.. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 647 (). 15 pp. 10.3354/meps13384
Birkmanis, Charlotte A., Freer, Jennifer ORCID record for Jennifer Freer, Simmons, Leigh W., Partridge, Julian C., Sequeira, Ana M. M.. (2020) Future Distribution of Suitable Habitat for Pelagic Sharks in Australia Under Climate Change Models.. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7 (). 11 pp. 10.3389/fmars.2020.00570
Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Jennifer J. Freer, Hobbs, Laura. (2020) DVM: The World’s Biggest Game of Hide-and-Seek. Frontiers for Young Minds, 8 (). pp. 10.3389/frym.2020.00044
Hastings, Reuben, Rutterford, Louise A., Freer, Jennifer ORCID record for Jennifer Freer, Collins, Rupert A, Simpson, Stephen D., Genner, Martin J.. (2020) Climate change drives poleward increases and equatorward declines in marine species. Current Biology, 30 (). pp. 10.1016/j.cub.2020.02.043
2019
Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Jennifer J. Freer, Tarling, Geraint A. ORCID record for Geraint A. Tarling, Collins, Martin A. ORCID record for Martin A. Collins, Partridge, Julian C., Genner, Martin J. (2019) Predicting future distributions of lanternfish, a significant ecological resource within the Southern Ocean. Diversity and Distributions, 25 (). pp. 10.1111/ddi.12934
Pre-2019
Freer, J.J. (2018) Ecological Niches and Geographic Distributions of Lanternfishes, University of Bristol, PhD thesis.
Freer, J.J., Partridge, J.C., Tarling, G.A., Collins, M.A., and Genner, M.J. (2018). Predicting ecological responses in a changing ocean: The effects of future climate uncertainty, Marine Biology, 165:7. doi: 10.1007/s00227-017-3239-1
Shechonge, A., Ngatunga, B.P., Bradbeer, S.J., Day, J.J., Freer, J.J., Ford, A.G.P., Kihedu, J., Richmond, T., Mzighani, S., Smith, A.M., Sweke, E.A., Tamatamah, R., Tyers, A.M., Turner, G.F., and Genner, M.J. (2018) Widespread colonisation of Tanzanian catchments by introduced Oreochromis tilapia fishes: the legacy from decades of deliberate introduction. Hydrobiologia, 832:235-253. doi:10.1007/s10750-018-3597-9
Bach, L.L., Freer, J.J., Kamenos, N.A. (2018). Photosynthetic acclimatization of tropical coralline algae to increased thermal variation, Frontiers in Marine Science, 4:212. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2017.00212
Genner, M.J., Freer, J.J., and Rutterford, L. (2017) Future of the Sea: biological responses to ocean warming, for the Government Office of Science: Foresight Future of the Sea Evidence Report. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/future-of-the-sea-biological-responses-to-ocean-warming
Freer, J.J., Mable, B.K., Clucus, G., Rogers, A.D., Polito, M., Dunn, M., Naveen, R., Levy, H.L., Hart, T. (2015) Limited genetic differentiation among chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarctica) colonies in the Scotia Arc and Western Antarctic Peninsula, Polar Biology, 38:1493–1502. doi: 10.1007/s00300-015-1711-2
DIAPOD : Mechanistic understanding of the role of diatoms in the success of the Arctic Calanus complex and implications for a warmer Arctic (NERC)
CHASE : Chronobiology of changing Arctic Sea Ecosystems (NERC)
Learn more about the Changing Arctic Ocean
2022
Study hints at how fishes in the twilight zone evolved
News 29 September, 2022