Contact

Name

Mark Taggart

Position

Senior Research Fellow – Theme Leader (Environmental Contamination and Ecological Health)

E-Mail Address

mark.taggart@uhi.ac.uk

Phone Number

+44 (0)1847 889674

Joined the ERI

February 1, 2011

Job Description

Theme Leader for one of ERI’s 4 core research themes – Environmental Contamination and Ecological Health.

Career

2013 – present: Senior Research Fellow – ERI
2011 – 2013: Research Fellow – ERI
2007 – 2011: “Juan de la Cierva” post-doctoral research fellow – IREC, University of Castilla-la-Mancha, Spain
2005 – 2007: Post-doctoral research and teaching fellow – University of Aberdeen
2000 – 2005: PhD Soil Science (Arsenic Biogeochemistry) – University of Aberdeen
1996 – 2000: Monitoring and Investigations Officer (Environment Agency)
1995 – 1996: MSc Geochemistry (with distinction) – University of Leeds
1994 – 1995: FGD Chemist (National Power/PowerGen)
1991 – 1994: BSc (Hons) Earth Science and Countryside Management (2:i) – Liverpool JM University

Qualifications

2000 – 2005: PhD Soil Science (Arsenic Biogeochemistry) – University of Aberdeen
1995 – 1996: MSc Geochemistry (with distinction) – University of Leeds
1991 – 1994: BSc (Hons) Earth Science and Countryside Management (2:i) – Liverpool JM University

Publications

SCOPUS author ID: 57199153028

108 international journal/book publications

3158 citations – h index = 37 (SCOPUS; as of January 2022)

4854 citations – h index = 41 (Google Scholar; as of January 2022)

See https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/persons/mark-taggart for full list.

 

2021-22 ONLY

 

2021

 

Li, Y., Taggart, M.A., McKenzie, C., Zhang, Z., Lu, Y., Pap, S., Gibb, S.W., 2021. A SPE-HPLC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination of priority pharmaceuticals and EDCs with high environmental risk potential in freshwater. Journal of Environmental Sciences 100, 18-27.

 

Pap, S., Taggart, M.A., Shearer, L., Li, Y., Radovic, S., Sekulić, M.T., 2021. Removal behaviour of NSAIDs from wastewater using a P-funtionalised microporous carbon. Chemosphere 264, 128439.

 

Pap, S., Boyd, K.G., Taggart, M.A., Sekulic, M.T., 2021. Circular economy based landfill leachate treatment with sulphur-doped microporous biochar. Waste Management 124, 160-171.

 

Martín-Vélez, V., Hortas, F., Taggart, M.A., Green A.J., O´Hanlon N.J., Sánchez M.I., 2021. Spatial variation and biovectoring of metals in gull faeces. Ecological Indicators 125, 107534.

 

Green, R.E., Taggart, M.A., Pain, D.J., Clark, N.A., Clewley, L., Cromie, R., Elliot, B., Green, R.M.W., Huntley, B., Huntley, J., Leslie, R., Porter, R., Robinson, J., Smith, K.W., Smith, L., Spencer, J., Stroud, D., 2021. Effect of a joint policy statement by nine UK shooting and rural organisations on the use of lead shotgun ammunition for hunting common pheasants Phasianus colchicus in Britain. Conservation Evidence 18, 1-9.

 

Gaffney, P.P.J., Hancock, M.H., Taggart, M.A., Andersen, R., 2021. Catchment water quality in the year preceding and immediately following restoration of a drained afforested blanket bog. Biogeochemistry, 153, 243-262.

 

Gray, A., Capewell, P., Zadoks, R., Taggart, M.A., French, A.S., Katzer, F., Shiels, B., Weir, W., 2021. Wild deer in the United Kingdom are a potential reservoir for the livestock parasite Babesia divergens. Current Research in Parasitology and Vector-Borne Diseases 1, 100019.

 

Herrero-Villar, M., Sánchez-Barbudo, I.S., Camarero, P.R., Taggart, M.A., Mateo, R., 2021. Increasing incidence of barbiturate intoxication in avian scavengers and mammals in Spain. Environmental Pollution, 117452.

 

Pais-Costa, A.J., Sánchez, M.I., Taggart, M.A., Green, A.J., Hortas, F., Vinagre, P.A., Marques, J.C., Martinez-Haro, M., 2021. Trace element bioaccumulation in hypersaline ecosystems and implications of a global invasion. Science of the Total Environment 800, 149349.

 

Pap, S., Sekulic, M.T., Bremner, B., Taggart, M.A., 2021. From molecular to large-scale phosphorus recovery from wastewater using cost-effective adsorbents: an integrated approach. In: Integrated and Hybrid Process Technology for Water and Wastewater Treatment; Chapter 4, 61-85. BOOK CHAPTER.

 

2022

 

Niemi, L., Landova, P., Taggart, M.A., Boyd, K., Zhang Z., Gibb, S., 2022. Spatiotemporal trends and annual fluxes of pharmaceuticals in a Scottish priority catchment. Environmental Pollution, 292, 118295.

 

Galligan, T.H., Green, R.E., Wolter, K., Taggart, M.A., Duncan, N., Mallord, J.W., Alderson, D., Li, Y., Naidoo, V., 2022. The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug nimesulide kills Gyps vultures at concentrations found in the muscle of treated cattle. Science of the Total Environment 807, 150788.

 

Pap, S., Gaffney, P.P.J., Bremner, B., Sekulic, M.T., Maletic, S., Gibb, S.W., Taggart, M.A., 2022. Enhanced phosphate removal and potential recovery from wastewater by thermo-chemically calcinated shell adsorbents. Science of the Total Environment, 814, 152794.

 

Badmus, U.O., Taggart, M.A., Elbourne, P., Sterk, H.P., Boyd, K.G., 2022. Effect of long-term storage and harvest site on the fatty acid profiles, mineral and antioxidant properties of selected edible Scottish seaweeds. Food Chemistry, 377, 131955.

 

Blanz, M., Stewart, S., Mainland, I., Ascough, P., Raab, A., Feldmann, J., Taggart, M.A., 2022. Trace element ratios in tooth enamel as palaeodietary indicators of seaweed consumption and coastal grazing, and their broader applicability. Journal of Archaeological Science, 139, 105551.

 

Gaffney, P.P.J., Hancock, M.H., Taggart, M.A., Andersen, R., 2022. Restoration of afforested peatland: Effects on pore- and surface-water quality in relation to differing harvesting methods. Ecological Engineering, 177, 106567.

 

Green, R.E., Taggart, M.A., Pain, D.J., Clark, N.A., Clewley, L., Cromie, R., Dodd, S.G., Elliot, B., Green, R.M.W., Huntley, B., Huntley, J., Pap, S., Porter, R., Robinson, J., Sheldon, R., Smith, K.W., Smith, L., Spencer, J., Stroud, D., 2022. Effectiveness of actions intended to achieve a voluntary transition from the use of lead to non-lead shotgun ammunition for hunting in Britain. Conservation Evidence, 19, 8-14.

Profile

Having joined ERI as a Research Fellow in 2011, I am currently Senior Research Fellow and theme leader for “Environmental Contamination and Ecological Health”. Prior to ERI I spent four years in Spain, at the University of Castilla-la Mancha, where I held a “Juan de la Cierva” Research Fellowship. Before this, I spent 7 years at the University of Aberdeen undertaking my PhD (in arsenic biogeochemistry) and subsequently a post-doctoral teaching and research fellowship.

 

I have 30 years experience in the environmental sector and have worked not only within academia, but also within industry (in Power Generation/Flue Gas Desulphurisation) and in regulation (having worked for the UK Environment Agency for 4 years). I hold a broad range of interdisciplinary research interests which are founded on a background in earth science, soil science and biogeochemistry. Current research tends more towards ecotoxicology and the fate, behaviour and effects of pollutants and toxicants within the environment. Much of my work involves the use/application of advanced analytical techniques (LC-MS/MS (ToF, triple quadrupole), GC-MS, ICP-AES, ICP-MS, SEM-EDS, XANES/EXAFS, XRF) to answer questions regarding the uptake, transfer and toxicity of metals/metalloids and emerging contaminants (i.e., pharmaceuticals) at higher trophic levels (in birds, mammals, etc).

 

A primary research theme since 2004 has involved the study of the effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), specifically diclofenac, on what are now Critically Endangered Gyps vultures on the Indian sub-continent. This work has been driven by an active on-going collaboration with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. For more comprehensive information regarding this research, please see the “Saving Asia’s Vultures from Extinction” (SAVE) website at http://www.save-vultures.org/.