Staff profile
-
Job title: Senior Lecturer
-
Dept: Geographical and Life Sciences
-
Tel: 01227 782327
-
Campus: Canterbury
PhD (Edinburgh), BSc Zoology (Nottingham), PGCHE (Bristol).
Teaching
Foundation: Foundation Science: Biology
Level 4: Core science; The Organism and its Environment (module director); Variety of life (module director)
Level 5: Molecular Biology (module director), Evolution
Level 6: Pests, Parasites and Pathogens; Bioinformatics
Research
My research aims to understand the ecological and genetic impact of environmental variation. The aim of this work is to use analyses of specific model species and systems to address both system-specific and wider more general questions. Much of my recent work has utilized the free-living nematode C. elegans and closely related species to analyze the basis of variation in a variety of genotype by environment interactions. Here, analysis focuses on the effect on ecologically relevant phenotypes, such as those that determining individual reproductive success. Quantifying variation between individuals and strains and identifying the specific genetic differences that underlie this variation is crucial to this work.
Current work aims to use a combination of experimental studies in both model (C. elegans and related species) and non-model systems (Meloidogyne incognita and Steinernema feltiae) and mathematical modeling to understand population dynamics and dispersal in species reliant on ephemeral resources. This work uses a detailed understanding of such systems to investigate their evolutionary biology and to inform both biocontrol and pest management. Other work in the lab has investigated how the heat shock response interacts with fecundity and ongoing work is investigating the evolutionary biology of ageing.
Recent publications
Green J.W.M., Harvey S.C. (2011) Caenorhabditis elegans dauer larvae development in growing populations. Nematology, in press.
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/brill/nemy/pre-prints/nem2580|
Harvey SC, Orbidans HE (2011) All eggs are not equal: the maternal environment affects progeny reproduction and developmental fate in Caenorhabditis elegans. PLoS ONE 6(10): e25840. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0025840
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0025840|
Harvey S.C., Barker GL, Shorto A, Viney ME. (2009) Variation in gene expression in the early development of dauer larvae of Caenorhabditis elegans. BMC Genomics, 10:325. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/10/325||
Harvey S.C. (2009) Non-dauer larval dispersal in Caenorhabditis elegans. Journal of Experimental Zoology B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution, 312:224-230.
Campos-Ramos, R., Harvey, S.C. & Penman, D.J. (2009) Sex and the synaptonemal complex in the genus Oreochromis (Cichlidae). Genetica, 135:325-332
Harvey, S.C., Shorto, A. & Viney, M.E. (2008) Quantitative genetic analysis of life-history traits of Caenorhabditis elegans in stressful environments. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 8:15.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/8/15||
For a complete list of publications see CREATE|
Postgraduate supervision
Masters and PhD research proposals within the following broad research themes (and their combinations) are particularly welcome:
GxE interactions; evolutionary biology of ageing; sexual antagonism; biocontrol; stress responses; ephemeral habitats