Professor Alexander Milner

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Professor of River Ecosystems

Contact details

Telephone: + 44(0)121 41 48098
Fax: + 44(0)121 41 45528
Email: a.m.milner@bham.ac.uk

Address: School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Professor Alexander Milner has been at the University of Birmingham for 15 years, where he was initially responsible for setting up the Environmental Science and Environmental Management degrees. He is now responsible for the Masters degree in River Environmental Management. His research involves river ecosystems in alpine and Arctic environments and has long term studies in Glacier Bay National Park and Denali National Park in Alaska. The study in Glacier Bay represents the longest continual study of stream succession and development within a primary successional framework. Other studies have included how water sources are changing in glacially influenced river systems with climate change and how these changes alter ecological structure and function.

Qualifications

PhD in Aquatic Ecology, University of London
MSc in Applied Hydrobiology University of London
BSc (Hons)in Biological Sciences, University of Aston

Teaching

Courses presently led or contributed to;

Global Environmental Issues
Advanced Issues in Environmental Science
Ecological Systems
Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems
River Ecology, Research and Management, River Assessment and Biomonitoring and River Restoration modules of the Masters in River Environmental Management

Postgraduate supervision

Alexander Milner’s research involves river ecosystems in alpine and Arctic environments and includes long-term studies in Glacier Bay National Park and Denali National Park in Alaska. The study in Glacier Bay represents the longest continual study of stream succession and development within a primary successional framework. Other studies have included how water sources are changing in glacially influenced river systems with climate change and how these changes alter ecological structure and function. Ongoing research includes:

Hydroecology of glacier-fed river systems in Arctic and alpine regions (French Pyrenees, New Zealand, Lapland and Svalbard)
Colonisation and development of new streams in coastal Alaska
Long term variation in benthic communities/upwelling channels of braided floodplains in Denali National Park, interior Alaska

Professor Milner welcomes enquiries from prospective doctoral researchers in his areas of interest.

Other activities

Member of the European Science Foundation peer review panel (2006 -)

Member of the International Profiles Committee and Election/Place Committee of the North American Benthological Society.

Grants and Awards Committee, Freshwater Biological Association

Editorial Board – BMC Ecology (2005 - ), River Research and Applications (2007 - )

Member of the NERC Arctic Programme Advisory Group (March 2010 - )

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Jackson, MC, Friberg, N, Moliner Cachazo, L, Clark, DR, Mutinova, PT, O’Gorman, EJ, Kordas, RL, Gallo, B, Pichler, DE, Bespalaya, Y, Aksenova, OV, Milner, A, Brooks, SJ, Dunn, N, Lee, KWK, Ólafsson, JS, Gíslason, GM, Millan, L, Bell, T, Dumbrell, AJ & Woodward, G 2024, 'Regional impacts of warming on biodiversity and biomass in high latitude stream ecosystems across the Northern Hemisphere', Communications Biology, vol. 7, no. 1, 316. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-05936-w

Milner, S, Vega, E, Matthews, T, Conn, S & Windsor, FM 2023, 'Long term changes in macroinvertebrate communities across high latitude streams.', Global Change Biology, vol. 29, no. 9, pp. 2466-2477. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16648

Crossman, J, Bradley, C, Windsor, FM & Milner, S 2023, 'Water source dynamics influence macroinvertebrate communities across groundwater‑fed streams in a glacierized catchment', Hydrobiologia, vol. 850, no. 8, pp. 1801-1816. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-023-05182-x

Takenaka, M, Hayashi, K, Yamada, G, Ogura, T, Ito, M, Milner, AM & Tojo, K 2022, 'Behavior of snow monkeys hunting fish to survive winter', Scientific Reports, vol. 12, no. 1, 20324. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-23799-1

Lento, J, Culp, JM, Levenstein, B, Aroviita, J, Baturina, MA, Bogan, D, Brittain, JE, Chin, K, Christoffersen, KS, Docherty, C, Friberg, N, Ingimarsson, F, Jacobsen, D, Lau, DCP, Loskutova, OA, Milner, A, Mykrä, H, Novichkova, AA, Ólafsson, JS, Schartau, AK, Shaftel, R & Goedkoop, W 2022, 'Temperature and spatial connectivity drive patterns in freshwater macroinvertebrate diversity across the Arctic', Freshwater Biology, vol. 67, no. 1, pp. 159-175. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.13805

Eagle, LJB, Milner, AM, Klaar, MJ, Carrivick, JL, Wilkes, M & Brown, LE 2021, 'Extreme flood disturbance effects on multiple dimensions of river invertebrate community stability', Journal of Animal Ecology, vol. 90, no. 9, pp. 2135-2146. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13576

Pitman, KJ, Moore, JW, Huss, M, Sloat, MR, Whited, DC, Beechie, TJ, Brenner, R, Hood, EW, Milner, AM, Pess, GR, Reeves, GH & Schindler, DE 2021, 'Glacier retreat creating new Pacific salmon habitat in western North America', Nature Communications, vol. 12, no. 1, 6816. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26897-2

Arias Font, R, Khamis, K, Milner, S, Sambrook-Smith, G & Ledger, M 2021, 'Low flow and heatwaves alter ecosystem functioning in a stream mesocosm experiment', Science of the Total Environment, vol. 777, 146067. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146067

Eagle, LJB, Carrivick, JL, Milner, AM, Brown, LE & Klaar, MJ 2021, 'Repeated high flows drive morphological change in rivers in recently deglaciated catchments', Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, vol. 46, no. 7, pp. 1294-1310. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.5098

Milner, AM, Wood, SA, Docherty, C, Biessy, L, Takenaka, M & Tojo, K 2021, 'Winter diet of Japanese macaques from Chubu Sangaku National Park, Japan incorporates freshwater biota', Scientific Reports, vol. 11, no. 1, 23091. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-01972-2

Skovsholt, LJ, Pastor, A, Docherty, CL, Milner, AM & Riis, T 2020, 'Changes in hydrology affects stream nutrient uptake and primary production in a high-Arctic stream', Biogeochemistry, vol. 151, no. 2-3, pp. 187-201. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-020-00719-x

Comment/debate

Brown, LE, Khamis, K, Wilkes, M, Blaen, P, Brittain, JE, Carrivick, JL, Fell, S, Friberg, N, Füreder, L, Gislason, GM, Hainie, S, Hannah, DM, James, WHM, Lencioni, V, Olafsson, JS, Robinson, CT, Saltveit, SJ, Thompson, C & Milner, AM 2023, 'Author Correction: Functional diversity and community assembly of river invertebrates show globally consistent responses to decreasing glacier cover', Nature ecology & evolution, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 472-476. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-01989-y

Entry for encyclopedia/dictionary

Khamis, K, Milner, AM, Fell, SC, Hannah, DM & Brown, LE 2022, Alpine Streams and Rivers. in Encyclopedia of Inland Waters (Second Edition). vol. 2, Elsevier, pp. 598-615. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-819166-8.00120-1

Review article

Krause, S, Abbott, BW, Baranov, V, Bernal, S, Blaen, P, Datry, T, Drummond, J, Fleckenstein, JH, Velez, JG, Hannah, DM, Knapp, JLA, Kurz, M, Lewandowski, J, Martí, E, Mendoza‐lera, C, Milner, A, Packman, A, Pinay, G, Ward, AS & Zarnetzke, JP 2022, 'Organizational principles of hyporheic exchange flow and biogeochemical cycling in river networks across scales', Water Resources Research, vol. 58, no. 3, e2021WR029771. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021WR029771, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021WR029771

Pitman, KJ, Moore, JW, Sloat, MR, Beaudreau, AH, Bidlack, AL, Brenner, RE, Hood, EW, Pess, GR, Mantua, NJ, Milner, AM, Radić, V, Reeves, GH, Schindler, DE & Whited, DC 2020, 'Glacier Retreat and Pacific Salmon', BioScience, vol. 70, no. 3, pp. 220-236. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaa015

View all publications in research portal