David Pearce

Professor David Pearce

Professor

School: Geography and Natural Sciences

The underlying theme of my research is to use microbiology (and in particular novel molecular techniques applied to microbial ecology, microbial biodiversity and activity, environmental genomics, biogeochemical cycling and model extremophiles) to understand Polar ecosystem function and the potential for shifts in biogeochemical activity that may result from environmental change. I have taken the lead in the development of new frontiers of research in metagenomics, chemosynthetic communities, sediment sequestration of carbon and subglacial lake environments and have initiated new interdisciplinary approaches on the aerial environment (with chemists), ice nucleation activity (with physicists) and in the biogeochemistry of ice (with glaciologists).

Further Information

Email David

Key Publications

Diversity of DNA viruses in the atmosphere of sub-Antarctic South Georgia, Das, R., Malard, L., Pearce, D., Convey, P., Rahlff, J. 28 Jan 2026, In: Frontiers in Microbiology
UK Arctic Terrestrial Research: Towards International Polar Year 2032/33 and Beyond: Research Strengths, Priorities and Implementation, Phoenix, G., Harding, M., Hartley, I., Lancastle, L., Murton, J., Parker, T., Rutter, N., Street, L., Abbott, G., Barr, I., de la Barreda-Bautista, B., Belcher, A., Burke, E., Cameron, K., Chaturvedi, V., Clarkson, A., Convey, P., Crouch, J., Dalrymple, S., Dasari, S., Dutch, V., Hilton, B., Hirst, C., Hole, G., Kerby, J., Keskitalo, K., Lim, M., Macias-Fauria, M., Mayfield, R., Palmer, P., Pearce, D., Peck, L., Robinson, C., Sjögersten, S., van Soest, M., Streeter, R., Sulikova, S., Swainston, O., Wookey, P. 24 Mar 2026
Ancient environmental microbiomes and the cryosphere, Williams, A., Leung, V., Tang, J., Hidekazu, N., Suzuki, N., Clarke, A., Pearce, D., Lam, T. 1 Feb 2025, In: Trends in Microbiology
Crucial stepping stones in freshwater microbiology, Pearce, D., Lawrence, J., Avila Jimenez, M. Jan 2025, In: Nature Microbiology
Daily turnover of airborne bacterial communities in the sub-Antarctic, Malard, L., Convey, P., Pearce, D. 18 Jul 2025, In: Environmental Microbiome
House dust - a Pandora’s box of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) activity?, Pearce, D., Crown, M., Nelson, A., Jabeen, K., Thompson, J., Argyraki, A., Hursthouse, A., Bashton, M., Entwistle, J. 22 Oct 2025, In: Sustainable Microbiology
Landsystem models from remote and field based geomorphological mapping reveal diverse glacier dynamics on Svalbard, McCerery, R., Davies, B., Lovell, H., Calvo-Ryan, R., Pearce, D., Małecki, J., Woodward, J. 1 Sep 2025, In: Geomorphology
Microbial communities in sediments from different landform systems, Svalbard, McCerery, R., Woodward, J., Fernández Juliá, P., Calvo-Ryan, R., Muñoz-Muñoz, J., Davies, B., Pearce, D. Oct 2025, In: Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences
Persistent and Emerging Threats to Arctic Biodiversity and Ways to Overcome Them: A Horizon Scan, Lemieux, T., Coles, J., Haley, A., LaFlamme, M., Steel, S., Scott, K., Provencher, J., Price, C., Bennett, J., Barrio, I., Findlay, H., Goodman, S., Matthews, B., Näslund, J., Pearce, D., Hollister, R., Mallory, M., Smith, P., Schaepman-Strub, G., Cooke, S. Jan 2025, In: Arctic Science
Preparation protocol for epifluorescence microscopy when working close to the detection limit, McCerery, R., Hall, L., Omanakuttan, J., Chai, H., Lawrence, J., Woodward, J., Pearce, D. 1 Mar 2025, In: Letters in Applied Microbiology

PGR Supervision

Hannes Kade Deep Antarctic Subglacial Lake Exploration; Diversity, Geochemistry and Ecology Start Date: 01/10/2024
Luke Cockerton Targeting functional genes to study bacterial diversity, community structure and stability in the Polar atmosphere Start Date: 01/03/2020 End Date: 04/03/2025
Isis Cohen Nicholson Restored or reinvented? Assessing the success of peatland restoration pilot projects in the Northumberland National Parks using environmental DNA (eDNA) Start Date: 01/10/2023
Carmel Abbott Colonisation strategies of bacteria in extreme environments and health implications in the human exploration of space. Start Date: 01/03/2019 End Date: 17/10/2025
Rosalia Calvo Ryan The search for life on icy moons Start Date: 01/03/2020
Carmel Abbott Colonisation strategies of bacteria in extreme environments and health implications in the human exploration of space. Start Date: 01/03/2019
Sofía Galbán Méndez Start Date: 01/06/2026 End Date: 11/09/2026
Rosalia Calvo Ryan The search for life on icy moons Start Date: 01/03/2020 End Date: 17/10/2025
James Lawrence Antarctic Subglacial Lake Microbiology Start Date: 01/10/2023
Isis Cohen Nicholson Restored or reinvented? Assessing the success of peatland restoration pilot projects in the Northumberland National Parks using environmental DNA (eDNA) Start Date: 01/10/2023 End Date: 17/10/2025
James Lawrence Antarctic Subglacial Lake Microbiology Start Date: 01/10/2023 End Date: 17/10/2025
Hannes Kade Deep Antarctic Subglacial Lake Exploration; Diversity, Geochemistry and Ecology Start Date: 01/10/2024 End Date: 17/10/2025