Chester Sands

Geneticist

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Chester Sands

Geneticist

Biography

I moved to the United Kingdom from Australia in 2005 to take up the post of Molecular Phylogeneticist. Since then I have participated in several Antarctic expeditions led by British Antarctic Survey, Alfred Wegener Institute (Germany) and National Science Foundation (USA) sampling the sea floor of the Weddell, Scotia, Bellingshausen, Amundsen and Ross Seas. I have spent time working at King Edward Point laboratory on South Georgia and the Bonner Laboratory at Rothera (West Antarctic Peninsula). Since 2010 I have been teaching the Molecular Evolution component of the Polar Microbiology course at the University of Norway in Svalbard.

Research interests

Planet Earth is an ever-changing environment with both great and subtle interactions between the physical and biological realms. Our team has identified one such interaction that may be the most significant negative feedback to climate change (Peck et al. 2010 Global Change Biology); as sea ice decreases in the polar seas, algal blooms – which absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) – tend to occur over shallower waters. Over deeper waters microbes recycle the dead algal cells as they drift down to the depths and the carbon they have assimilated is released into the water. Over shallower waters the cells are more likely to reach the bottom and be eaten by the encrusting organisms that live there so that the carbon is immobilized into their shells and skeletons. Upon their death, the carbon is then buried and thus removed from the carbon cycle. I am interested how individuals and assemblages are maintained over time, particularly assemblages that are unique such as on the continental shelf of Antarctica and the smaller shelf areas of the Islands of the Southern Ocean. Individuals respond to change by either adapting to it, moving to regions they are better adapted to or dying out. How assemblages respond to change may impact the “ecosystem services”, such as natural carbon capture and storage (CCS) identified in Southern Ocean species (Barnes 2015 Current Biology; Barnes et al. 2016 Global Change Biology). Signatures of demographic changes can be identified in the DNA of the ancestors of those animals and plants that survived the change, even after many millions of years allowing us to see how species reacted to changes in the past and help us predict how they will change in the future (Sands et al. Frontiers of Ecology and Evolution).

My major interest is the inference of processes that underlie observed patterns of diversity, principally of invertebrates. Practically this requires techniques used in biogeography, molecular systematics, phylogeography and population genetics, incorporating the *omics tools. Conceptually this requires the teasing apart of contributing forces of adaptation and drift, and how these two forces are affected by environmental and demographic changes.

Publications from NERC Open Research Archive

2023

Newsham, K.K. , Foot, G.W. , Sands, C.J. , Goodall-Copestake, W.P. . (2023) A cosmopolitan Serendipita species forms mycothalli with leafy liverworts on sub-Antarctic South Georgia. Fungal Biology. 10.1016/j.funbio.2023.11.006 (In Press)

Lau, Sally C. Y., Strugnell, Jan M., Sands, Chester J. , Silva, Catarina N. S., Wilson, Nerida G.. (2023) Genomic insights of evolutionary divergence and life history innovations in Antarctic brittle stars. Molecular Ecology, 32. 3382-3402. 10.1111/mec.16951

Barnes, David K.A. , Goodall-Copestake, William, Weller, Kara, Durrent, Andrew, Souster, Terri, Dunlop, Kathy, Gossmann, Theresa, Sands, Chester J. , Morley, Simon A. , Zwerschke, Nadescha . (2023) Use of emerging technologies to help measure fjordic biodiversity and blue carbon: mini-manned submarines and autonomous underwater vehicle swarms. Carbon Footprints, 2. 10 pp. 10.20517/cf.2022.24

Sands, Chester J. , Zwerschke, Nadescha, Bax, Narissa, Barnes, David K.A. , Moreau, Camille, Downey, Rachel, Moreno, Bernabé, Held, Christoph, Paulsen, Maria. (2023) The Growing Potential of Antarctic Blue Carbon. Oceanography, 36. 5 pp. 10.5670/oceanog.2023.s1.5

2022

Quiroga, Eduardo, Ortiz, Paula, Soto, Eulogio H., Salinas, Nicole, Olguín, Nicole, Sands, Chester . (2022) Geographic patterns of soft-bottoms benthic communities in Chilean Patagonian fjords (47°S-54°S) – influence of environmental stress on diversity patterns and stable isotope signatures. Progress in Oceanography, 204. 11 pp. 10.1016/j.pocean.2022.102810

Short, K.A., Sands, C.J. , McInnes, S.J. , Pisani, D., Stevens, M.I., Convey, P. . (2022) An ancient, Antarctic-specific species complex: large divergences between multiple Antarctic lineages of the tardigrade genus Mesobiotus. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 170. 10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107429

Zwerschke, Nadescha , Barnes, David K.A. , Sands, Chester J. . (2022) Response to concerns regarding the role of Antarctic blue carbon habitats in a global context [Response]. Global Change Biology, 28. e7-e8. 10.1111/gcb.16048

Zwerschke, Nadescha , Sands, Chester J. , Roman-Gonzalez, Alejandro, Barnes, David K.A. , Guzzi, Alice, Jenkins, Stuart, Muñoz-Ramírez, Carlos, Scourse, James. (2022) Quantification of blue carbon pathways contributing to negative feedback on climate change following glacier retreat in West Antarctic fjords. Global Change Biology, 28. 8-20. 10.1111/gcb.15898

2021

Muñoz-Ramirez, C., Beltrán-Concha, M., Pérez-Araneda, K., Sands, C. , Barnes, D. , Roman-Gonzalez, A., De Lecea, A., Retallick, K., Van Landeghem, K., Sheen, K., Gonnelli, K., Scourse, J.D., Bascur, M., Brante, A.. (2021) Genetic variation in a small bivalve along a retreating glacier fjord, King George Island, Antarctica. Revista de Biología Marina y Oceanografía, 56. 10.22370/rbmo.2021.56.2.3059

Barnes, David K.A. , Bell, James B., Bridges, Amelia E., Ireland, Louise , Howell, Kerry L., Martin, Stephanie M., Sands, Chester J. , Mora Soto, Alejandra, Souster, Terri, Flint, Gareth, Morley, Simon A. . (2021) Climate mitigation through biological conservation: Extensive and valuable blue carbon natural capital in Tristan da Cunha’s giant Marine Protected Zone. Biology, 10. 18 pp. 10.3390/biology10121339

Lau, Sally C.Y., Strugnell, Jan M., Sands, Chester J. , Silva, Catarina N.S., Wilson, Nerida G.. (2021) Evolutionary innovations in Antarctic brittle stars linked to glacial refugia. Ecology and Evolution, 11. 17428-17446. 10.1002/ece3.8376

Sands, Chester J. , O'Hara, Timothy D., Martín-Ledo, Rafael M.. (2021) Pragmatic assignment of species groups based on primary species hypotheses: the case of a dominant component of the Southern Ocean benthic fauna. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8. 11 pp. 10.3389/fmars.2021.723328

Barnes, D.K.A. , Sands, C.J. , Paulsen, M.L., Moreno, B., Moreau, C., Held, C., Downey, R., Bax, N., Stark, J., Zwerschke, N. . (2021) Societal importance of Antarctic negative feedbacks on climate change: blue carbon gains from sea ice, ice shelf and glacier losses.. The Science of Nature, 108. 14 pp. 10.1007/s00114-021-01748-8

Murphy, Eugene J. , Johnston, Nadine M., Hofmann, Eileen E., Phillips, Richard A., Jackson, Jennifer A. , Constable, Andrew J., Henley, Sian F., Melbourne-Thomas, Jess, Trebilco, Rowan, Cavanagh, Rachel D. , Tarling, Geraint A. , Saunders, Ryan A. , Barnes, David K.A. , Costa, Daniel P., Corney, Stuart P., Fraser, Ceridwen I., Höfer, Juan, Hughes, Kevin A. , Sands, Chester J. , Thorpe, Sally E. , Trathan, Philip N. , Xavier, José C.. (2021) Global connectivity of Southern Ocean ecosystems. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9. 29 pp. 10.3389/fevo.2021.624451

Saucède, Thomas, Eléaume, Marc, Jossart, Quentin, Moreau, Camille, Downey, Rachel, Bax, Narissa, Sands, Chester , Mercado, Borja, Gallut, Cyril, Vignes-Lebbe, Régine. (2021) Taxonomy 2.0: computer-aided identification tools to assist Antarctic biologists in the field and in the laboratory. Antarctic Science, 33. 39-51. 10.1017/S0954102020000462

Bax, Narissa, Sands, Chester J. , Gogarty, Brendan, Downey, Rachel V., Moreau, Camille V.E., Moreno, Bernabé, Held, Christoph, Lund Paulsen, Maria, McGee, Jeffrey, Haward, Marcus, Barnes, David K.A. . (2021) Perspective: Increasing Blue Carbon around Antarctica is an ecosystem service of considerable societal and economic value worth protecting. Global Change Biology, 27. 5-12. 10.1111/gcb.15392

2020

Newsham, Kevin K. , Cox, Felipa, Sands, Chester J. , Garnett, Mark H., Magan, Naresh, Horrocks, Claire A., Dungait, Jennifer A.J., Robinson, Clare H.. (2020) A previously undescribed Helotialean fungus that is superabundant in soil under maritime Antarctic higher plant. Frontiers in Microbiology, 11. 13 pp. 10.3389/fmicb.2020.615608

Muñoz-Ramírez, Carlos P., Barnes, David K.A. , Cárdenas, Leyla, Meredith, Michael P. , Morley, Simon A. , Roman-Gonzalez, Alejandro, Sands, Chester J. , Scourse, James, Brante, Antonio. (2020) Gene flow in the Antarctic bivalve Aequiyoldia eightsii (Jay, 1839) suggests a role for the Antarctic Peninsula Coastal Current in larval dispersal. Royal Society Open Science, 7. 11 pp. 10.1098/rsos.200603

Bascur, Miguel, Muñoz-Ramírez, Carlos, Román-González, Alejandro, Sheen, Katy, Barnes, David K.A. , Sands, Chester J. , Brante, Antonio, Urzúa, Ángel. (2020) The influence of glacial melt and retreat on the nutritional condition of the bivalve Nuculana inaequisculpta (Protobranchia: Nuculanidae) in the West Antarctic Peninsula. PLoS ONE, 15. 10.1371/journal.pone.0233513

Barnes, D.K.A. , Sands, Chester H. , Cook, Alison, Howard, Floyd, Roman Gonzalez, Alejandro, Muñoz–Ramirez, Carlos, Retallick, Kate, Scourse, James, Van Landeghem, Katrien, Zwerschke, Nadescha . (2020) Blue carbon gains from glacial retreat along Antarctic fjords: what should we expect?. Global Change Biology, 26. 2750-2755. 10.1111/gcb.15055

Gogarty, Brendan, McGee, Jeff, Barnes, David , Sands, Chester , Bax, Narissa, Haward, Marcus, Downey, Rachel, Moreau, Camille, Moreno, Bernabe, Held, Christoph, Paulsen, Maria Lund. (2020) Protecting Antarctic blue carbon: As marine ice retreats can the law fill the gap?. Climate Policy, 20. 10.1080/14693062.2019.1694482

2019

Jossart, Quentin, Sands, Chester J. , Sewell, Mary A.. (2019) Dwarf brooder versus giant broadcaster: combining genetic and reproductive data to unravel cryptic diversity in an Antarctic brittle star. Heredity, 123. 622-633. 10.1038/s41437-019-0228-9

Barnes, David K.A. , Sands, Chester J. , Richardson, Andrew, Smith, Ness. (2019) Extremes in benthic ecosystem services; Blue carbon natural capital shallower than 1000 m in isolated, small and young Ascension Island’s EEZ. Frontiers in Marine Science, 6. 10.3389/fmars.2019.00663

Moreau, C., Danis, B, Jossart, Q., Eléaume, M., Sands, Chester , Achaz, G., Agüera, A., Saucède, T.. (2019) Is reproductive strategy a key factor in understanding the evolutionary history of Southern Ocean Asteroidea (Echinodermata)?. Ecology and Evolution, 9. 8465-8478. 10.1002/ece3.5280

Bax, Narissa, Moreno, Bernabe, Moreau, Camille, Barnes, David , Paulsen, Maria, Held, Christoph, Downey, Rachel, Sands, Chester , Souster, Terri. (2019) Carbon storage by Kerguelen zoobenthos as a negative feedback on climate change.. In: Welsford, D., Dell, J., Duhamel, G. (eds.). The Kerguelen Plateau: Marine Ecosystems and Fisheries. Proceedings of the second symposium., Australian Antarctic Division, 119-123.

2018

Barnes, David K.A. , Morley, Simon A. , Bell, J., Brewin, P., Bridgen, K., Collins, M., Glass, T., Goodall-Copestake, Will P. , Henry, L., Laptikhovsky, V., Piechaud, N., Richardson, A., Rose, P., Sands, Chester J. , Schofield, A., Shreeve, R., Small, A., Stamford, T., Taylor, B.. (2018) Marine plastics threatens giant Atlantic Marine Protected Areas. Current Biology, 28. R1137-R1138. 10.1016/j.cub.2018.08.064

Barnes, David K.A. , Fleming, Andrew , Sands, Chester J. , Quartino, Maria Liliana, Deregibus, Dolores. (2018) Icebergs, sea ice, blue carbon and Antarctic climate feedbacks. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 376. 10.1098/rsta.2017.0176

Moreau, Camille, Mah, Christopher, Agüera, Antonio, Améziane, Nadia, Barnes, David , Crokaert, Guillaume, Eléaume, Marc, Griffiths, Huw , Guillaumot, Charlène, Hemery, Lenaïg G., Jażdżewska, Anna, Jossart, Quentin, Laptikhovsky, Vladimir, Linse, Katrin , Neill, Kate, Sands, Chester , Saucède, Thomas, Schiaparelli, Stefano, Siciński, Jacek, Vasset, Noémie, Danis, Bruno. (2018) Antarctic and sub-Antarctic Asteroidea database. ZooKeys, 747. 141-156. 10.3897/zookeys.747.22751

2017

Barnes, David K.A. , Sands, Chester J. . (2017) Functional group diversity is key to Southern Ocean benthic carbon pathways. PLOS ONE, 12. 14 pp. 10.1371/journal.pone.0179735

Nolan, E.T., Barnes, D.K.A. , Brown, J., Downes, K., Enderlein, P., Gowland, E., Hogg, O.T., Laptikhovsky, V., Morley, S.A. , Mrowicki, R.J., Richardson, A., Sands, C.J. , Weber, N., Weber, S., Brickle, P.. (2017) Biological and physical characterization of the seabed surrounding Ascension Island from 100–1000 m. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 97. 647-659. 10.1017/S0025315417000820

Galaska, Matthew P., Sands, Chester J. , Santos, Scott R., Mahon, Andrew R., Halanych, Kenneth M.. (2017) Crossing the divide: Admixture across the Antarctic Polar Front revealed by the brittle star Astrotoma agassizii. The Biological Bulletin, 232. 198-211. 10.1086/693460

Galaska, Matthew P., Sands, Chester J. , Santos, Scott R., Mahon, Andrew R., Halanych, Kenneth M.. (2017) Geographic structure in the Southern Ocean circumpolar brittle star Ophionotus victoriae (Ophiuridae) revealed from mtDNA and single-nucleotide polymorphism data. Ecology and Evolution, 7. 475-485. doi:10.1002/ece3.2617

2016

Barnes, David K.A. , Sands, Chester J. , Hogg, Oliver T., Robinson, Ben J.O. , Downey, Rachel V., Smith, James A. . (2016) Biodiversity signature of the Last Glacial Maximum at South Georgia, Southern Ocean. Journal of Biogeography, 43. 2391-2399. doi:10.1111/jbi.12855

Barnes, David K.A. , Ireland, Louise , Hogg, Oliver T., Morley, Simon , Enderlein, Peter, Sands, Chester J. . (2016) Why is the South Orkney Island shelf (the world’s first high seas marine protected area) a carbon immobilization hotspot?. Global Change Biology, 22. 1110-1120. 10.1111/gcb.13157

2015

Sands, Chester J. , O'Hara, Timothy, Barnes, David K.A. , Martín-Ledo, Rafael. (2015) Against the flow: evidence of multiple recent invasions of warmer continental shelf waters by a Southern Ocean brittle star. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 3. 10.3389/fevo.2015.00063

Saucede, Thomas, Griffiths, Huw , Moreau, Camille, Jackson, Jennifer , Sands, Chester , Downey, Rachel, Reed, Adam, Mackenzie, Melanie, Geissler, Paul, Linse, Katrin . (2015) East Weddell Sea echinoids from the JR275 expedition. Zookeys, 504. 1-10. 10.3897/zookeys.504.8860

2014

Morley, S. A. , Belchier, M., Sands, C. , Barnes, D. K. A. , Peck, L. S. . (2014) Geographic isolation and physiological mechanisms underpinning species distributions at the range limit hotspot of South Georgia. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 24. 485-492. doi:10.1007/s11160-013-9308-8

2013

Bull, James K., Sands, Chester J. , Garrick, Ryan C., Gardner, Michael G., Tait, Noel N., Briscoe, David A., Rowell, David M., Sunnucks, Paul. (2013) Environmental complexity and biodiversity: the multi-layered evolutionary history of a log-dwelling velvet worm in montane temperate Australia. PLoS One, 8. 10.1371/journal.pone.0084559

Linse, Katrin , Griffiths, Huw J , Barnes, Dave KA , Brandt, Angelika, Davey, Niki, David, Bruno, De Grave, Sammy, d'Udekem d'Acoz, Cédric, Eléaume, Marc, Glover, Adrian G., Hemery, Lenaïg G., Mah, Christopher, Martín-Ledo, Rafael, Munilla, Tomás, O'Loughlin, Mark, Pierrat, Benjamin, Saucède, Thomas, Sands, Chester J , Strugnell, Jan M, Enderlein, Peter. (2013) The macro- and megabenthic fauna on the continental shelf of the eastern Amundsen Sea, Antarctica. Continental Shelf Research, 68. 80-90. doi:10.1016/j.csr.2013.08.012

Kaiser, Stefanie, Brandão, Simone N., Brix, Saskia, Barnes, David K.A. , Bowden, David A., Ingels, Jeroen, Leese, Florian, Schiaparelli, Stefano, Arango, Claudia P., Badhe, Renuka, Bax, Narissa, Blazewicz-Paskowycz, Magdalena, Brandt, Angelika, Brenke, Nils, Catarino, Ana I., David, Bruno, De Ridder, Chantal, Dubois, Philippe, Ellingsen, Kari E., Glover, Adrian G., Griffiths, Huw J. , Gutt, Julian, Halanych, Kenneth M., Havermans, Charlotte, Held, Christoph, Janussen, Dorte, Lörz, Anne-Nina, Pearce, David A. , Pierrat, Benjamin, Riehl, Torben, Rose, Armin, Sands, Chester J. , Soler-Membrives, Ana, Schüller, Myriam, Strugnell, Jan M., Vanreusel, Ann, Veit-Köhler, Gritta, Wilson, Nerida G., Yasuhara, Moriaki. (2013) Patterns, processes and vulnerability of Southern Ocean benthos – a decadal leap in knowledge and understanding. Marine Biology, 160. 2295-2317. 10.1007/s00227-013-2232-6

Moreau, Camille, Linse, Katrin , Griffiths, Huw , Barnes, David , Kaiser, Stefanie, Glover, Adrian, Sands, Chester , Strugnell, Jan, Enderlein, Peter, Geissler, Paul. (2013) Amundsen Sea Mollusca from the BIOPEARL II expedition. ZooKeys, 294. 1-8. doi:10.3897/zookeys.294.4796

Linse, Katrin , Jackson, Jennifer A. , Fitzcharles, Elaine, Sands, Chester J. , Buckeridge, John S.. (2013) Phylogenetic position of Antarctic scalpelliformes (Crustacea: Cirripedia: Thoracica). Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 73. 99-116. doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2012.11.006

Sands, Chester J. , Griffiths, Huw J. , Downey, Rachel V., Barnes, David K. A. , Linse, Katrin , Martin-Ledo, Rafael. (2013) Observations of the ophiuroids from the West Antarctic sector of the Southern Ocean. Antarctic Science, 25. 3-10. 10.1017/S0954102012000612

Martín-Ledo, Rafael, Sands, Chester , López-González, Pablo J.. (2013) A new brooding species of brittle-star (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) from Antarctic waters. Polar Biology, 36. 115-126. 10.1007/s00300-012-1242-z

2012

Czechowski, Paul, Sands, Chester J. , Adams, Byron J., D'Haese, Cyrille A., Gibson, John A.E., McInnes, Sandra J. , Stevens, Mark I.. (2012) Antarctic Tardigrada: a first step in understanding molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) and biogeography of cryptic meiofauna. Invertebrate Systematics, 26. 526-538. 10.1071/IS12034

Leese, Florian, Brand, Philipp, Rozenberg, Andrey, Mayer, Christoph, Agrawal, Shobhit, Dambach, Johannes, Dietz, Lars, Doemel, Jana S., Goodall-Copestake, William P. , Held, Christoph, Jackson, Jennifer A. , Lampert, Kathrin P., Linse, Katrin , Macher, Jan N., Nolzen, Jennifer, Raupach, Michael J., Rivera, Nicole T., Schubart, Christoph D., Striewski, Sebastian, Tollrian, Ralph, Sands, Chester J. . (2012) Exploring Pandora’s Box: potential and pitfalls of low coverage genome surveys for evolutionary biology. PLoS One, 7. 19 pp. 10.1371/journal.pone.0049202

2011

Barnes, David K.A. , Collins, Martin Anthony , Brickle, P., Fretwell, Peter , Griffiths, Huw J. , Herbert, David, Hogg, Oliver T., Sands, Chester J. . (2011) The need to implement the Convention on Biological Diversity at the high latitude site, South Georgia. Antarctic Science, 23. 323-331. 10.1017/S0954102011000253

Marley, Nigel J., McInnes, Sandra J. , Sands, Chester J. . (2011) Phylum Tardigrada: A re-evaluation of the Parachela. Zootaxa, 2819. 51-64.

2010

Hodgson, Dominic A. , Convey, Peter , Verleyen, Elie, Vyverman, Wim, McInnes, Sandra J. , Sands, Chester J. , Fernández-Carazo, Rafael, Wilmotte, Annick, De Wever, Aaike, Peeters, Karolien, Tavernier, Ines, Willems, Anne. (2010) The limnology and biology of the Dufek Massif, Transantarctic Mountains 82° South. Polar Science, 4. 197-214. 10.1016/j.polar.2010.04.003

2009

Kaiser, Stefanie, Barnes, David K. A. , Sands, Chester J. , Brandt, Angelika. (2009) Biodiversity of an unknown Antarctic Sea: assessing isopod richness and abundance in the first benthic survey of the Amundsen continental shelf. Marine Biodiversity, 39. 27-43. 10.1007/s12526-009-0004-9

2008

Sands, Chester J. , McInnes, Sandra J. , Marley, Nigel J., Goodall-Copestake, William P. , Convey, Peter , Linse, Katrin . (2008) Phylum Tardigrada: an “individual” approach. Cladistics, 24. 861-871. 10.1111/j.1096-0031.2008.00219.x

Research outputs

Chester Sands

Contact

Team

Links/Websites

General enquiries

Chester Sands

Biography

Research interests

Publications from NERC Open Research Archive

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2019

2018

2016

2013