I am a postdoctoral researcher Researcher at Cardiff University in the UK. Throughout my PhD I worked closely with the Fondazione Edmund Mach, the USGS, McGill University and Université de Moncton. My project investigated how the gut microbiota diversity and composition of Arctic species such as polar bears (Ursus maritimus) and wolverines (Gulo gulo) are influenced by changing climatic and anthropogenic stressors. Changing climatic and anthropogenic stressors include changes in land use, diet, parasite profiles and contaminant accumulation. In doing so, I aimed to understand how rapidly changing conditions in the Arctic are influencing the gastrointestinal health of flag ship Arctic species.
Before starting my PhD, I spent three years working on black bear (Ursus americanus) and brown bear (Ursus arctos) research projects in America and Canada, including the ‘USGS Northern Continental Divide Grizzly Bear Research Project’ in Montana and various projects throughout Alaska. During my time on these projects, I became interested in the how anthropogenic and environmental pressures impact bacterial and parasitic communities within host species, and ultimately their health.
The Arctic is an ecosystem vulnerable to changing disease syndromes and the spill-over of emerging parasites due to climate-mediated changes in host behaviour and ranges, migratory patterns and invasion success of introduced species. In addition, a dramatic increase in mining and petroleum exploration and long range pollution within the Arctic poses a threat to the health and susceptibility of a range of resident species. Given the vulnerabilities of the Arctic, my research interests and skills are well-suited to the application of Arctic ecosystem research, which lead to the design of both my Masters of Research (MRes) and my current PhD project. My recent research, in conjunction with my research partners, shows that climate-mediated shifts in land use are linked to significant changes to the gut microbiota of polar bears belonging to the southern Beaufort Sea subpopulation – next, we’d like to understand which environmental exposures are driving these changes.
My research is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).
Email address: WatsonS2@cardiff.ac.uk
Twitter: @watsonse1
University website: https://profiles.cardiff.ac.uk/staff/watsons2
Publications:
Franz, M., Whyte, L., Atwood, T.C., Laidre, K.L., Roy, D., Watson, Sophie E., Góngora, E. and McKinney, M.A. (2022). “Distinct gut microbiomes in two polar bear subpopulations inhabiting different sea ice ecoregions.” Scientific Reports, 12(1), p. 522.
Watson, Sophie E., McKinney, M.A., Pindo, M., Bull, M.J., Atwood, T.C., Hauffe, H.C. and Perkins, S.E., (2021). “Diet-driven mercury contamination is associated with polar bear gut microbiota.” Sci Rep 11, article number 23372. [Open Access] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-02657-6
Watson, Sophie E., Hailer, F., Lecomte, N., Kafle, P., Sharma, R., Jenkins, E.J., Awan, M., L’Hérault, V. and Perkins, S.E. (2020). “Parasites of an Arctic scavenger; the wolverine (Gulo gulo).” International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife, 13, pp.178-185.
Watson, Sophie E., Hauffe, H.C., Bull, M.J., Atwood, T.C., McKinney, M.A., Pindo, M. and Perkins, S.E. (2019). “Global change-driven use of onshore habitat impacts polar bear faecal microbiota.” The ISME journal, 13(12), pp. 2916-2926. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31378786.
Women in the Arctic and Antarctic 