Conservation and leadership in Southern Ocean ecosystems
CONSEC explores how climate change and human activity are transforming the Southern Ocean, guiding global science and conservation.
Jennifer Freer
Marine Ecosystems Modeller
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
Publications from NERC Open Research Archive
2025
Tarling, Geraint A. ORCID record for Tarling, Geraint A.. Abrahamsen, E. Povl ORCID record for Abrahamsen, E. Povl. Aksenov, Yevgeny ORCID record for Aksenov, Yevgeny. Anderson, Madeline P.B.C. ORCID record for Anderson, Madeline P.B.C.. Arrowsmith, Carol. Baker, Chelsey A. ORCID record for Baker, Chelsey A.. Barry, Chris ORCID record for Barry, Chris. Belcher, Anna ORCID record for Belcher, Anna. Benavides, Mar. Bischof, Milo J.D. Boland, Emma J.D. ORCID record for Boland, Emma J.D.. Bowes, Mike ORCID record for Bowes, Mike. Brearley, J. Alexander ORCID record for Brearley, J. Alexander. Brown, Peter J. ORCID record for Brown, Peter J.. Burson, Amanda ORCID record for Burson, Amanda. Buzzard, Sammie C. Callaghan, Nathan ORCID record for Callaghan, Nathan. Coët, Arthur. Cook, Kathryn B. ORCID record for Cook, Kathryn B.. Coombs, Sarah. Evans, Chris D. ORCID record for Evans, Chris D.. Fielding, Sophie ORCID record for Fielding, Sophie. Ford, Elaina. Fournier, Isabelle ORCID record for Fournier, Isabelle. Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Freer, Jennifer J.. Garcia-Martin, E. Elena ORCID record for Garcia-Martin, E. Elena. Ghosh, V.R. Dipin. Giering, Sarah L.C. ORCID record for Giering, Sarah L.C.. Grant, Alanna ORCID record for Grant, Alanna. Griffiths, Huw J. ORCID record for Griffiths, Huw J.. Hamilton, Ruta. Hendry, Katherine R. ORCID record for Hendry, Katherine R.. Hill, Simeon L. ORCID record for Hill, Simeon L.. Hubot, Nathan. Hunter, Aidan ORCID record for Hunter, Aidan. Johnston, Nadine M. ORCID record for Johnston, Nadine M.. Katavouta, Anna ORCID record for Katavouta, Anna. Kitson, Ezra ORCID record for Kitson, Ezra. Leng, Melanie J. ORCID record for Leng, Melanie J.. Lewis, Isabel H. Linse, Katrin ORCID record for Linse, Katrin. Lofts, Stephen ORCID record for Lofts, Stephen. Manno, Clara ORCID record for Manno, Clara. Martin, Adrian P. ORCID record for Martin, Adrian P.. Marzocchi, Alice ORCID record for Marzocchi, Alice. Mawji, Edward. Mayor, Daniel J. ORCID record for Mayor, Daniel J.. McKenzie, Rebecca M. ORCID record for McKenzie, Rebecca M.. Meijers, Andrew J.S. ORCID record for Meijers, Andrew J.S.. Meredith, Michael P. ORCID record for Meredith, Michael P.. Munday, David R. ORCID record for Munday, David R.. Pereira, M. Glória ORCID record for Pereira, M. Glória. O'Brien, Alexandra V.E. ORCID record for O'Brien, Alexandra V.E.. Olszewska, Justyna P. ORCID record for Olszewska, Justyna P.. Painter, Stuart C. Palmieri, Julien ORCID record for Palmieri, Julien. Patel, Shailee. Pickard, Amy E. ORCID record for Pickard, Amy E.. Richt, Jessica J.R. Rynders, Stefanie ORCID record for Rynders, Stefanie. Sanders, Rachael N.C. ORCID record for Sanders, Rachael N.C.. Saunders, Ryan A. ORCID record for Saunders, Ryan A.. Shepherd, Andrew. Slater, Thomas. Spears, Bryan M. ORCID record for Spears, Bryan M.. Stowasser, Gabriele ORCID record for Stowasser, Gabriele. Swiggs, Amy E. Taylor, Laura R. ten Hoopen, Petra ORCID record for ten Hoopen, Petra. Thorpe, Sally E. ORCID record for Thorpe, Sally E.. Timms-Wilson, Tracey M. van Soest, Maud A.J. Venables, Hugh J. ORCID record for Venables, Hugh J.. Wright, Zoe. Yool, Andrew ORCID record for Yool, Andrew. Young, Emma ORCID record for Young, Emma. (2025) BIOPOLE: biogeochemical processes and ecosystem functioning in changing polar systems and their global impacts.
Yang, Guang ORCID record for Yang, Guang. Atkinson, Angus ORCID record for Atkinson, Angus. Pakhomov, Evgeny A. ORCID record for Pakhomov, Evgeny A.. Schmidt, Katrin ORCID record for Schmidt, Katrin. Wang, Weilei ORCID record for Wang, Weilei. Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Freer, Jennifer J.. Tarling, Geraint A. ORCID record for Tarling, Geraint A.. (2025) Seasonally migrating zooplankton strongly enhance Southern Ocean carbon sequestration.
Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Freer, Jennifer J.. Warwick-Evans, Victoria ORCID record for Warwick-Evans, Victoria. Skaret, Georg. Krafft, Bjørn A. Fielding, Sophie ORCID record for Fielding, Sophie. Trathan, Philip N. ORCID record for Trathan, Philip N.. (2025) A new dynamic distribution model for Antarctic krill reveals interactions with their environment, predators, and the commercial fishery in the south Scotia Sea region.
2023
Vasiliadis, Michaelis. Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Freer, Jennifer J.. Collins, Martin A. ORCID record for Collins, Martin A.. Cleary, Alison Clare ORCID record for Cleary, Alison Clare. (2023) Assessing the trophic ecology of Southern Ocean Myctophidae: the added value of DNA metabarcoding.
Langbehn, Tom J. Aarflot, Johanna M. Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Freer, Jennifer J.. Varpe, Øystein. (2023) Visual predation risk and spatial distributions of large Arctic copepods along gradients of sea ice and bottom depth.
Belcher, Anna ORCID record for Belcher, Anna. Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Freer, Jennifer J.. Dornan, Tracey ORCID record for Dornan, Tracey. Saunders, Ryan A. ORCID record for Saunders, Ryan A.. (2023) Illuminating the Living Lanterns of Antarctica.
Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Freer, Jennifer J.. Tarling, Geraint A. ORCID record for Tarling, Geraint A.. (2023) Assessing key influences on the distribution and life-history of Arctic and boreal Calanus: are online databases up to the challenge?.
2022
Trathan, P.N. ORCID record for Trathan, P.N.. Fielding, S. ORCID record for Fielding, S.. Warwick-Evans, V. ORCID record for Warwick-Evans, V.. Freer, J. ORCID record for Freer, J.. 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.
Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Freer, Jennifer J.. Collins, Rupert A. Tarling, Geraint A. ORCID record for Tarling, Geraint A.. Collins, Martin A. ORCID record for Collins, Martin A.. Partridge, Julian C. Genner, Martin J. (2022) Global phylogeography of hyperdiverse lanternfishes indicates sympatric speciation in the deep sea.
Reisinger, Ryan R. Brooks, Cassandra M. Raymond, Ben. Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Freer, Jennifer J.. Cotté, Cédric. Xavier, Jose C. ORCID record for Xavier, Jose C.. Trathan, Philip N. ORCID record for Trathan, Philip N.. 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.
Grigor, Jordan J. Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Freer, Jennifer J.. Tarling, Geraint A. ORCID record for Tarling, Geraint A.. Cohen, Jonathan H. Last, Kim S. (2022) Swimming activity as an indicator of seasonal diapause in the copepod Calanus finmarchicus.
Tarling, Geraint A. ORCID record for Tarling, Geraint A.. Belcher, Anna ORCID record for Belcher, Anna. Blackwell, Mayleen. Castellani, Claudia. Cook, Kathryn Barbara ORCID record for Cook, Kathryn Barbara. Cottier, Finlo R. Dewar-Fowler, Victoria. Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Freer, Jennifer J.. Gerrish, Laura ORCID record for Gerrish, Laura. Johnson, Magnus L. Last, Kim S. Lindeque, Penelope Kate. Mayor, Daniel J. ORCID record for Mayor, Daniel J.. Parry, Helen E. Stowasser, Gabriele ORCID record for Stowasser, Gabriele. 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.
2021
Tarling, Geraint A. ORCID record for Tarling, Geraint A.. Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Freer, Jennifer J.. Banas, Neil S. Belcher, Anna ORCID record for Belcher, Anna. Blackwell, Mayleen. Castellani, Claudia. Cook, Kathryn B. ORCID record for Cook, Kathryn B.. Cottier, Finlo R. Daase, Malin. Johnson, Magnus L. Last, Kim S. Lindeque, Penelope K. Mayor, Daniel J. ORCID record for Mayor, Daniel J.. Mitchell, Elaine. Parry, Helen E. Stowasser, Gabriele ORCID record for Stowasser, Gabriele. Wootton, Marianne. (2021) Can a key boreal Calanus copepod species now complete its life-cycle in the Arctic? Evidence and implications for Arctic food-webs.
Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Freer, Jennifer J.. Daase, Malin. Tarling, Geraint A. ORCID record for Tarling, Geraint A.. (2021) Modelling the biogeographic boundary shift of Calanus finmarchicus reveals drivers of Arctic Atlantification by subarctic zooplankton.
2020
Freer, Jennifer ORCID record for Freer, Jennifer. Tarling, Geraint ORCID record for Tarling, Geraint. Collins, Martin ORCID record for Collins, Martin. Partridge, J.C. Genner, M.J. (2020) Estimating circumpolar distributions of lanternfish using 2D and 3D ecological niche models..
Birkmanis, Charlotte A. Freer, Jennifer ORCID record for Freer, Jennifer. 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.
Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Freer, Jennifer J.. Hobbs, Laura. (2020) DVM: The World’s Biggest Game of Hide-and-Seek.
Hastings, Reuben. Rutterford, Louise A. Freer, Jennifer ORCID record for Freer, Jennifer. Collins, Rupert A. Simpson, Stephen D. Genner, Martin J. (2020) Climate change drives poleward increases and equatorward declines in marine species.
2019
Freer, Jennifer J. ORCID record for Freer, Jennifer J.. Tarling, Geraint A. ORCID record for Tarling, Geraint A.. Collins, Martin A. ORCID record for Collins, Martin A.. Partridge, Julian C. Genner, Martin J. (2019) Predicting future distributions of lanternfish, a significant ecological resource within the Southern Ocean.
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
Stowasser, G., Fielding, S., & Tarling, G. (2026). The taxonomic composition, abundance and wet weight of macrozooplankton and micronekton captured by an RMT8 net during surveys of the Western Core Box (South Georgia), 2009-2019 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/967411bd-0a07-49fd-ad52-2bec65781ce7
Tarling, G., Mayor, D., Atherden, F., Jenkins, H., Castellani, C., Belcher, A., Freer, J., Grigor, J., Stowasser, G., Hunter, A., Conway, D., & Pond, D. (2026). Epi- and mesopelagic mesozooplankton depth-discrete distribution and abundance between Greenland and Svalbard (2018 and 2019) (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/69eb8320-9d2b-4cc1-818a-83d14c15c491
Freer, J., Warwick-Evans, V., Skaret, G., Krafft, B., Fielding, S., & Trathan, P. (2025). Modelled spatial predictions of the distribution and density of Antarctic krill in the South Scotia Sea between 2011-2020 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/4fd0a1bf-da1a-4021-82eb-2fc513910e32
Linse, K., Ford, D., Blackbird, S., Brix, S., Freer, J., Jeffreys, R., Schmidt, L., & Mayor, D. (2025). Benthic, epibenthic and pelagic marine invertebrate specimens collected during PS136 in the Arctic Fram Strait in 2023 and their individual lipid profiles and bulk isotopes (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/e115d087-e3e4-4794-b4e0-18262b8e6400
Freer, J., & Tarling, G. (2023). Processing and analysis of Arctic Calanus occurrence records from OBIS and GBIF databases (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/a5cbfbe1-6fa6-44cf-96fe-db92c32b69d0
Grigor, J., Freer, J., Cohen, J., Tarling, G., & Last, K. (2022). Morphometric, swimming activity and raw oxygen air saturation data from experiments on CV Calanus finmarchicus in the Fram Strait, Arctic Ocean, in August 2019 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/eefba4cd-c7a3-4e24-b2c8-5221fcfdde0b
Freer, J., Daase, M., & Tarling, G. (2021). Range-wide occurrence records of the subarctic copepod Calanus finmarchicus and associated environmental predictor variables (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/fc660bc3-09ab-4c1a-9d2a-4026951872c8
Freer, J. (2020). Occurrence records of ten Southern Ocean myctophid species with associated sea surface and depth-specific environmental conditions (Version 1.0) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/8e59f849-5b93-438e-a5e0-3c65636f9053
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Read more of: Conservation and leadership in Southern Ocean ecosystems
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Evaluating climate change risks to Patagonian and Antarctic toothfish
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Biogeochemical processes in polar ecosystems
Read more of: Biogeochemical processes in polar ecosystemsBIOPOLE studies how climate change is affecting the release of nutrients from the polar regions, and their redistribution around the world’s oceans.
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
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Study hints at how fishes in the twilight zone evolved
Read more of: Study hints at how fishes in the twilight zone evolvedA new study, led by British Antarctic Survey and the University of Bristol, provides the first evidence that a controversial evolutionary process may be responsible for lanternfishes becoming one of […]
