Stewart Nicol is Head of the Discipline of Anatomy & Physiology and Deputy Head of the School of Medicine. He is also the Associate Head of Medical Science
Research Interests
Dr Nicol’s research interests are in the broad area of comparative physiology, publishing principally in the area of energetics, thermoregulation and respiration. He uses a combination of field and laboratory studies to construct comprehensive pictures of the energy relationships of animals with their environment. Recent work has been on the ecophysiology of monotremes (platypus, echidna). Studies on the echidna have focussed on hibernation and have shown that rather than being a response to extreme cold and absence of food, which is the case with most northern hemisphere hibernators, echidna hibernation is a more flexible means of reducing energy expenditure during relative energy shortages
Research Areas:Teaching
Dr Nicol's main teaching interests are in respiratory physiology and acid-base physiology. He has a broader interest in developing more student centred learning, and in curriculum development within the School of Medicine.
Selected Publications:- Kim, H. D., Zeidler, R. B., Sallis, J. D., Nicol, S. C. and Isaacks, R. S. , 1981, 'The adenosine triphosphate deficient erythrocytes of the echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus)', Science, 213, pgs. 1517-1519
- Nicol, S. C., Andersen, N. A. and Tomasi, T. E, 2000, 'Seasonal variations in thyroid hormone levels in free-living echidnas', General and Comparative Endocrinology , 117, pgs. 1-7
- Bethge, P., Nicol, S., Culik, B. and Wilson, R. , 1997, 'Diving behaviour and energetics in breeding Little Penguins Eudyptula minor', Journal of Zoology (London) , 242, pgs. 483-502
- Nicol, S., and Andersen, N. A. , 2002, 'Timing of hibernation in Tasmanian echidnas: why do they do it when they do?', Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A, 131, pgs. 603—611
- Nicol, S. C., Andersen, N. A., Phillips, N. H. and Berger, R. J. , 2000, 'The echidna manifests typical characteristics of rapid eye movement sleep', Neuroscience letters , 283, pgs. 49-52
Current and Supervised Project/s:
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