Academic Career
- 2023 – present Research Associate in River Science, Loughborough University
- 2019 – 2023 Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography, University of Huddersfield
- 2014 – 2019 Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography and Geography Course Leader (2016-2018), University of Worcester
- 2011 – 2014 Lecturer in Physical Geography, University of Worcester
Professional Responsibilities
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Editorial board member of Freshwater Biology
Academic Prizes
- Winner of the Dick Chorley Medal and Prize for Postgraduate Research. Awarded by the British Society of Geomorphology in 2013
Tory is a freshwater ecologist with research interests in:
- The biotic responses to fine sediment disturbances within lotic environments.
- The influence of flow variability on instream macroinvertebrates.
- The colonisation of terrestrial vegetation in an intermittent river: diversity responses to increased drying.
- The effect of natural flood management wood structures on aquatic macroinvertebrate communities.
- The conservation and management of rivers, streams and ponds.
Her research is funded from a range of sources, including DEFRA, the British Society of Geomorphology, Yorkshire Water, Slow the Flow, and the Royal Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers.
Tory is currently a Research Associate in River Science on a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship project that is led by Dr Kate Mathers. The project is entitled "Stuck in the mud: tackling the threat of fine sediment deposition in one of the most endangered habitats in the world". The aim of the project is to quantify and develop a mechanistic understanding of how environmental controls drive fine sediment that impact aquatic biota. The project involves assessing the performance of multiple field methods to accurately quantify fine sediment and understand the impact of fine sediment on macroinvertebrates.
Prior to joining Loughborough University, Tory worked as a Senior Lecturer in Geography at the University of Huddersfield (2019-2023), and a Lecturer/Senior Lecturer at the University of Worcester (2011-2019). She has also worked as a hydrologist in an environmental consultancy in central Scotland.
Recent Postgraduate Research Students
- Mélanie Milin (2023) Aquatic macroinvertebrate diversity in an intermittent river network: implications for freshwater biodiversity conservation (based at University of Worcester and University of Huddersfield)
- George Bunting (2019) The influence of a fine sediment pulse on benthic and hyporheic invertebrate communities (based at University of Worcester)
- Milner V.S., Dutton J.S. & Hayes C. (2023) Colonisation of terrestrial vegetation in an intermittent river: diversity responses to seasonal drying. River Research and Applications, 39 (4), 703-717. https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.4085
- Milner V.S., Jones J.I., Maddock I.P. & Bunting G.C. (2022) The hyporheic zone as an invertebrate refuge during a fine sediment disturbance event. Ecohydrology, 15 (6). https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.2450
- Milner V.S., Maddock I.P., Jones J.I. & Bunting G.C. (2021) Do legacy effects of deposited fine sediment influence the ecological response of drifting invertebrates to a fine sediment pulse? Aquatic Sciences, 83 (70). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-021-00825-
- Hill M., Greaves H., Sayer C., Hassall C., Milin M., Milner V., Marazzi L., Hall R., Harper L., Thornhill I., Walton R., Biggs J., Ewald N., Law A., Willby N., White J., Briers R., Mathers K., Jeffries M. & Wood P. (2021) Pond ecology and conservation: research priorities and knowledge gaps. Ecosphere, 12. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3853
- Peralta-Maraver I., Stubbington R., Arnon S., Kratina P., Krause S., de Mello Cionek V., Leite N.K., da Silva A.L.L., Thomaz S.M., Posselt M., Milner V.S., Momblanch A., Moretti M.S., Nóbrega R. L.B., Perkins D.M., Petrucio M.M., Reche I., Saito V., Sarmento H., Strange E.& 4 others (2021) The riverine bioreactor: An integrative perspective on biological decomposition of organic matter across riverine habitats. Science of the Total Environment. 772. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145494
- Stubbington R., Milner V.& Wood P.J. (2019) Flow intermittence in river networks: understanding the ecohydrological diversity of aquatic-terrestrial ecosystems: Editorial to the special issue “The ecohydrology of temporary streams” Fundamental and Applied Limnology. 193 (1): 1-19.
- Leigh C., Boersma K., Galatowitsch M., Milner V.& Stubbington R. (2019) Are all rivers equal? The role of education in attitudes towards temporary and perennial rivers. People and Nature. 1 (2): 181-190.
- Milner V.S., Yarnell S.M. & Peek R.A. (2019) The ecological importance of unregulated tributaries in a regulated river. Hydrobiologia, 829 (1): 291-305.