The Marine Biologist Issue 11

THE MARINE BIOLOGICAL
Issue 11 October 2018
ISSN 2052-5273
The
Marine
Biologist
The magazine of the
marine biological community
One environment, one health:
a mass stranding case study
Conserving the North Atlantic right whale
Pink salmon and their plankton prey
The Commonwealth Blue Charter
ASS O CIATIO N
Est. 1884
Incorporated by
Royal Charter
Pinnacles of life | Ligurian Sea animal forests | 'Very interesting' sea slugs

The Marine Biological Association
The Laboratory, Citadel Hill,
Plymouth, PL1 2PB, UK
Editor Guy Baker
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Executive editor Matt Frost
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+44 (0)1752 426343
Editorial Board Guy Baker, Kelvin
Boot, Matt Frost, Paul Rose.
Membership Alex Street
alexa@mba.ac.uk
+44 (0)1752 426347
www.mba.ac.uk/membership
ISSN: 2052-5273
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Editorial
A warm welcome to The Marine
Biologist magazine. A full range of
material awaits, including brain-eating
parasites, entangled cetaceans, trophic
cascades, and more.
From the indiscriminate death
caused by depleted oxygen, to mortalities
of starfish or sharks due to disease,
mass strandings of marine animals
starkly reveal what is normally hidden,
pointing to forces of death and
destruction unimaginable on land.
With increasing knowledge of our
impact on the ocean, we also have to
ask to what extent were human
activities responsible?
In 2017, hundreds of dead and
dying leopard sharks washed up in San
Francisco Bay. In our headline article,
Joe DeRisi, a renowned researcher in
the field of medical metagenomics,
explains how they solved the case of the
leopard sharks, and gives a fascinating
insight into this far-reaching area of
environmental research.
Attention has been on the marine
environment for all the wrong reasons.
As I write this, a lost beluga whale is
still in the Thames estuary in southern
England, Cuvier’s beaked whales are
washing up in unprecedented numbers
on the west coast of Scotland, and
orcas near industrialized countries face
extinction (see (see PCBs – an unresolved
marine mammal problem. The
Marine Biologist, 8, 14). The media
have been seeking expert comment
about Benny the beluga and thanks to
MBA members registered on our
expert list we were able to respond (and
get a mention on a national radio
station).
Small island developing states
(SIDS) are on the front line of climate
chaos (see Too hot in paradise! The
Marine Biologist, 6, 26). 25 of the
world’s 39 SIDS are in the Commonwealth
and have most to gain from
cooperatively addressing the problems
facing the global ocean. The Commonwealth
Blue Charter, ratified in April, is
an action-oriented and country-led
catalyst for improving ocean health.
We learn more from Jeff Ardron,
project lead on the Commonwealth
Blue Charter for the Commonwealth
Secretariat (page 20).
The IPCC special report makes
troubling reading. The authors could
not be clearer in stating the urgency of
limiting global warming to 1.5°C, and
the report maps out pathways to
achieving this. Business leaders have
pledged support and it remains for
governments to give the right signals. I
hope our current crop of leaders can
find the greatness to act in the interest
of all the inhabitants of this blue
planet.
In the first of a series of articles
scientists at the start of their careers
share their particular marine biological
passion. In this edition, we hear about
deep-sea ecosystems and the growing
threat of mineral extraction. If you
have an idea
you’d like to
discuss we
would love to
hear from you.
Contents Issue 11, October 2018
02 Editorial
04 In brief
Research digests
06 Shared learning experiences at sea to help conserve the
North Atlantic right whale Kim Davies
08 Pinnacles of life Gemma and Ben Cresswell
10 So many dead sharks, so little time Joe DeRisi and Hanna Retallack
13 Beauty in the dark Francesco Enrichetti, Margherita Toma and Marzia Bo
15 The “very interesting” Celtic sea-slug Mike Kent
16 Pink salmon and their plankton prey Sonia Batten, Greg Ruggerone
and Ivonne Ortiz
17 Commotion in the ocean Rebecca Faulkner
Policy
20 Less talk and more action: the Commonwealth Blue Charter
moves into high gear Interview with Jeff Ardron
22 Ensuring our voice is heard Matt Frost
22 Caught in 'the Act' Craig Loughlin and Shaun Nicholson
Features
23 Microbes require micronutrients too Katherine Helliwell
24 Electromagnetic fields and the invisible threat to seabed
species Kevin Scott
26 The ocean microbiome; a biological engine that
rules the waves Michael Cunliffe
27 A once-untouched world, now under threat? Emily Hardisty
28 Marine science at the gateway to the Patagonian fjords Matt Lee
Sharing marine science
06
08
10
29 And the winners are... MBA student bursary awardee reports
www.mba.ac.uk
@thembauk
We welcome your articles, letters and reviews, and we can
advertise events. Please contact us for details or see the
magazine website at www.mba.ac.uk/marine-biologist
Front cover: A leopard shark (Triakis semifasciata) stranded in San Francisco Bay, victim of a
parasitic protozoan. See page 10 for the full story. © Jennifer Kampe.
Back cover: Barracuda circle a diver on a seamount in Papua New Guinea. See page 8.
© Gemma & Ben Cresswell.
31 To present science is human, to communicate science
is divine Stacy A. Krueger-Hadfield
33 Reviews
Top: Right whale. Illustration © Marc Dando.
Middle: A barrel sponge on a seamount in
Papua New Guinea. Image © Gemma & Ben
Cresswell.
Bottom: Leopard shark stranded in San
Francisco Bay, Image © The DeRisi lab.
02 The Marine Biologist | October 2018 October 2018 | The Marine Biologist 03

In brief
In brief
Emiliania huxleyi and rain clouds:
nothing new under the sun?
A recent paper published in iScience by
Miri Trainic and her team examined how
virus infection in phytoplankton Emiliania
huxleyi contributes to the formation of
clouds.
The research showed that infected
phytoplankton cells released calcium
carbonate plates—called coccoliths—three
times faster than healthy E. huxleyi
populations.
Coccoliths readily become incorporated
into sea spray. The research team designed
an experiment to mimic sea spray and
found that the coccoliths associated with a
virally infected population contained two
coccoliths per cm 3 of air, whilst none were
present in the spray from the uninfected
population. Furthermore, the tiny calcium
carbonate particles are very light and stay
aloft for longer than comparable potential
cloud nuclei such as sea salt particles.
Once in the atmosphere, however, these
tiny coccoliths may help or hinder the
formation of clouds. Coccoliths can
become cloud condensation nuclei and
hence increase the formation of clouds; but
they also neutralize dimethyl sulphide—a
substance associated with cloud formation
released by healthy and infected algal
blooms. The idea that virus-infected E.
huxleyi contribute to cloud formation is not
new. MBA Director Professor Willie Wilson
and his team first demonstrated elevated
levels of dimethyl sulphide following virus
infection over 10 years ago and suggested
viruses were an integral cog that sustains
Gaian equilibrium of the planet. However,
Trainic’s research extends Wilson’s
observations by revealing the important role
that coccoliths could play. In situ experiments
would be the next step to establish
which mechanism is dominant, but in any
case the research further highlights that
cloud formation is not only a result of
physical processes such as evaporation
Emiliania huxleyi Image © Colin Brownlee.
and heat exchange between atmosphere
and ocean, but also of biological
processes.
Giulia LaBianca
The State of the Polar Oceans
'The Southern Ocean alone soaks up
more than 40 per cent of all the carbon our
oceans extract from the air.' This striking
fact is found in The State of the Polar
Oceans 2018 report compiled by a
consortium of leading UK and Norwegian
science institutions, and released in July.
Covering a broad range of topics
including climate change, biodiversity and
conservation of marine life, the report
emphasizes the level of technology,
scientific expertise and collaboration
needed to collect and analyse data from
these inhospitable regions.
The report highlights some of the
changes recorded in the polar oceans
which include: summer temperatures in the
Arctic Ocean now 2–3°C warmer than the
1982–2010 mean, and reduction in summer
sea ice from 7 million km 2 in the late 1970s
to 4 million km 2 in 2017; and up to 234
microplastic particles found in a single litre
of melted Arctic sea ice.
More advanced and robust polar
observing systems (shipborne, autonomous
and moored sensors) enable more data to
be collected year-round. Better models
mean more precise estimates of change
and reduced uncertainty in climate
predictions. Professor Mike Meredith British
Antarctic Survey (BAS) Polar Oceans team
leader said, 'We are beginning to understand
what these changes mean for
climate, sea level, for the marine ecosystem
as well as for humans and society.'
The report stresses the need for ongoing
sustained observations of these key regions
of the Earth System.
Working in the dark – new
regulatory developments for deep
sea mineral exploitation
Metals such as cobalt, manganese and
copper are used in everyday applications
such as car batteries, mobile phones, and
solar panels. As terrestrial stocks of these
valuable resources dwindle, companies are
looking towards the deep sea to continue
to meet consumer demands.
In July, the International Seabed Authority
(ISA), which regulates exploitation of deep
seabed minerals, met in San Francisco with
the aim to create a mining code that will
allow exploration and exploitation of the
deep sea. Contracts based on this code will
last 30 years.
The ISA have decided that regional
environmental management plans (RMPs)
Deep sea clams Calyptogena magnifica.
Image © Richard A. Lutz.
are the most effective method of conservation.
Such plans would establish no-mining
zones to protect vulnerable biodiversity
hotspots such as active hydrothermal vents
and polymetallic nodules. The Royal Society
and the UK Foreign and Commonwealth
Office have produced extensive reports on
scientific knowledge of the deep-sea and
potential impacts of mining. Fifty NGOs
concluded that there is not enough
scientific knowledge to create effective
boundaries. As Carl Gustaf Lundin, Director
of the IUCN’s (International Union for
Conservation of Nature) Global Marine and
Polar Programme puts it: ‘We are operating
in the dark … Our current understanding of
the deep sea does not allow us to
effectively protect marine life from mining
operations’.
Further work towards developing the
mining code has been postponed until
2019 but there is pressure from industry for
regulators to decide rules within the next 2
years in order for planned mining to
commence in 2027. Legislations must be
made quickly as developing mining
techniques and machinery that comply with
legislation takes time and investment.
In the past there have been issues with
compliance—this could have severe
impacts on fragile deep-sea habitats
—therefore, ways to enforce new regulations
need to be considered meticulously.
With the deep-sea bed making up 50% of
the entire seafloor, it is important that the
ISA ensures sustainability, despite the
pressures of societal demand.
Beth Scrivener
We need to talk about ocean
acidification
A literature review in the Journal of the
Marine Biological Association shows that
ocean acidification (OA) is not being
adequately communicated to the public
and politicians, despite the potential for
significant negative impacts on marine life
and the economy.
Searches in Reuters and BBC websites
found that the number of stories containing
the phrases ‘ocean acidification’ was 122,
whilst those containing ‘climate change’
was 18,400.
In UK school examinations at GCSE and
A Level there is no specific reference to OA,
although carbon cycle, carbon sequestration
in oceans as way to remove carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere and acid gas
pollution are mentioned.
A Google Images search of environmental
campaigns showed significantly fewer
results for ‘climate change protest’
compared to ‘ocean acidification protest’.
In the political sphere, there is little
evidence of consideration of OA in either
House of the UK Parliament, in contrast to
climate change debates, which appeared in
a higher number of debate titles, spoken
references and written statements.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) says that OA causes
ecosystems and marine biodiversity to
change and that the potential economic
impact and consequences for food security
could be substantial. The IPCC suggests
that the only way to minimise long-term,
large-scale risks is to reduce CO2
emissions.
It is clear that the scientific community
has a role in communicating to society not
only the consequences of OA, but also the
science behind efforts to adapt and
mitigate. Ultimately, an informed public able
to engage in public debate can influence
government policy.
See resources at www.oceanacidification.org.uk/Resources
and oceanacidification.noaa.gov/WhatWeDo/
EducationOutreach.aspx
Giulia LaBianca
Red alert
Marine wildlife has been devastated on
Florida’s Gulf Coast this year by a toxic
algal bloom, known as a ’red tide‘. So
severe is the problem that in August
Florida’s Governor declared a state of
emergency.
Behind the problem is a microscopic alga
called Karenia brevis which, when enough
of it is present, turns the water red.
Although naturally occurring and not
uncommon off Florida’s coast, this bloom
has been ongoing for ten months, and is
the largest in over a decade. Several
Aerial view showing a bloom of Karenia
brevis algae along south-west Florida’s Gulf
of Mexico coast in the US. Image © Manatee
Research Program/Mote Marine Laboratory.
hundred loggerhead turtles have died,
along with 115 manatees, a whale shark,
48 bottlenose dolphins and many thousands
of fish. The sea turtle is currently
listed as endangered, and manatees are
considered a threatened species.
The neurotoxins produced by K. brevis,
called brevetoxins, not only kill marine life,
but also make shellfish dangerous to eat.
The human population is further affected by
the ability of brevetoxins to aerosolize,
which can cause irritation of the respiratory
system. Tourism and business leaders
report a 6% business loss compared to last
year, resulting in significant economic as
well as environmental impacts.
Scientists are still trying to determine the
cause of this harmful algal bloom, but the
current consensus is a combination of
factors including heavy rainfall, ocean
temperature, salinity, wind patterns and
pollution.
Ellie Parker
Mysterious mating - the secret lives
of Basking Sharks
For years scientists have speculated
where basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus)
mate. Potential courtship behaviours have
been described by Sims et al. off Plymouth,
South West England with mating conjectured
to occur at depth here. Individuals the
size of newborns have been observed off
South West England and the Hebrides in
Scotland, further implying that parturition
may occur in these areas.
Researchers from the University of Exeter
and Scottish Natural Heritage may have
found a way to uncover this mystery by
attaching towed camera tags to basking
sharks off the coast of Mull in the Inner
Hebrides. This is the first time this type of
technology has been used to observe and
record their behaviour and the footage
revealed non-feeding sharks forming large
aggregations on the sea bed, engaging in
what is speculated to be courtship
interactions, for example fin-to-fin contact.
The success of these cameras in
observing known behaviours indicates the
potential for future observations of mating.
This will be a significant step forward,
solving many unanswered questions about
mating behaviours in basking sharks, and
allowing more precise knowledge of areas
and duration of their mating seasons to aid
the protection of this magnificent species.
Beth Scrivener
An epic way to support young
marine biologists!
After 15 days, a snapped chain, several
punctures and rough nights wild camping,
George Allen and his friend Joe Biggins
completed 1,011 miles cycling the length of
the UK mainland from John O’Groats in
Scotland to Land’s End in Cornwall.
They made friends and shared stories
along the way, but also raised awareness of
causes close to their hearts. George kindly
George Allen at the beginning and George
and Joe Biggins at the end of their epic ride.
Images © George Allen.
chose to support young people on their
journey of education and skills development
for the marine environment through the
MBA’s Young Marine Biologist programme.
A total of £664.88 was raised which will
be used to subsidise Young Marine
Biologists presenting at the upcoming YMB
Summit in London in November through the
George Allen Bursary. Thank you George
for your tremendous support!
Alex Street
Degrees of danger
Scientists have delivered the starkest
warning yet of the need to limit global
warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial
levels in the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change) special report, released
on 8 October.
Scientists were surprised by the
difference in outcomes for people and
wildlife between a rise of 1.5°C compared
to 2°C. At 1.5°C, the proportion of people
exposed to water stress would be 50%
lower than at 2°C. In the marine environment,
the predicted outcome of a 1.5°C
rise is loss of 70-90% of coral reefs by
2030, compared to 99% loss in a 2°C
temperature rise scenario.
The main finding of the report is that
reductions in emissions must take place
quickly if we are to head off the worst
effects. It urges policy makers to act as a
matter of urgency to curb emissions and
achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
MBA Research Fellow Nova Mieszkowska
commented: 'With ongoing
warming of the global ocean, range shifts
towards cooler, higher latitudes are likely to
continue and accelerate. The MBA’s
MarClim project has shown that responses
are species-specific, making forecasts of
impacts on marine ecosystems very
difficult. The collection of long-term,
sustained observations of the abundance
and distribution of species, such as those
time-series maintained by the MBA have
shown some of the fastest shifts in any
natural system, highlighting the importance
of continuing time-series data collection for
marine species.'
Politicians are expected to respond to
the report in December when governments
meet in Poland to discuss meeting the Paris
agreement goals.
04 The Marine Biologist | October 2018 October 2018 | The Marine Biologist 05

Research digests
Shared learning experiences
at sea to help conserve the
North Atlantic right whale
Kimberley Davies investigates what draws these mysterious giants to the Gulf of
St Lawrence in Canada—and in the process gains new perspectives on how people
use and understand this area.
Hopes were high when we stepped aboard the fishing
vessel Jean-Denis Martin in New Brunswick, Canada
in mid-July to begin our mission to study a newly
discovered habitat for North Atlantic right whales in the
Gulf of St Lawrence (GoSL). Among the eight-person crew
were marine mammal scientists, oceanographers, teachers,
students and fishermen, about to spend two weeks searching
for right whales in the same area where twelve animals
had been killed the year before. We knew we would see
the animals, spend time photographing them, collecting
oceanographic samples to study their food resource, and
hopefully gain new insight into why the animals were
suddenly so abundant in this region. But we weren’t
expecting some of the most beautiful surprise moments that
we were privileged to share with each other and the animals.
The second morning two students and the deck hand
and I were up at dawn to conduct a plankton tow on the
back deck of the vessel. Even though he had fished these
waters for snow crab for years, the deck hand had never
seen a right whale up close. We were about to deploy
when a right whale broke the surface just off the port side.
Several other blows followed and the boat was surrounded
by these mammoth creatures taking breaths in between
diving for copepods; it was spectacular. We unexpectedly
woke up to whales a few times, which, given how
few they are (only 450 animals left in the species), is an
exceptionally rare treat. The whales were fairly difficult
to sample, taking long foraging dives for 10–20 minutes
in between breaths, which meant a lot of waiting around
for them to surface in order to take photographs (Fig.
1). We were delighted by these early morning visits.
I am an oceanographer, and the reason that I was on
board the Jean-Denis Martin was to measure the food
resource that right whales are foraging on in the Gulf.
Right whales are specialists on Calanus copepods, and
one of the things I am curious to know is what portion
of their Gulf diet is comprised of arctic-borne Calanus
hyperboreus—an especially fat copepod—that is rare in
warmer right whale habitats to the south. This investigation
involved deploying a 1m ring net, (using the crab
pot-hauler as a makeshift winch). Most of the crew had
never used a plankton net before, and had therefore not had
the chance to observe tiny creatures from the deep, so it
was a unique experience for me to be able to share with
them (Fig. 2). There was widespread fascination that right
whales could get all the nutrition they need from these tiny,
rice-sized copepods barely visible to the naked eye! When
we preserved the samples in formalin and looked at them
the next day, they brimmed with an orange grease: a lipid
that had leaked from the copepod body cavity—the same
lipid that makes copepods very nutritious for right whales.
Surveying for right whales is a boom-or-bust endeavour.
Figure 1. A right whale surfaces for a breath in the Gulf of St
Lawrence, July 19, 2018. Image © NEAQ/CWI/DAL
Figure 2. Science and vessel crew prodding through a plankton
sample in search of interesting specimens. In addition to the copepods
that right whales eat, we discovered larvae, ctenophores, and
pteropods in our samples. Image © DAL
At times we would slog through fog
and rain waiting for fair search conditions,
and other times there were so
many animals to photograph that with
all hands on deck we could not sample
them all. It is important to photograph
the head, body and flukes of each
Illustration of a right whale.
© Marc Dando.
individual, preferably from both
sides, both for identification purposes
and health assessment. When many
animals are moving around an area, it
can quickly become disorienting and
difficult to track which animals we had
already photographed, and which still
need to be sampled. This was particularly
difficult one evening when we
came upon a surface-active group (Fig.
3), which is a social behaviour where
many animals are furiously writhing
around with one another. Twelve or
so animals were coming and going,
and we had to keep meticulous track
of which animals we had photographed.
A
few scientists
have developed such
incredible eyes for this task
that they can instantly recognize
individual animals as distinct from
others through the binoculars; this
helps us minimize duplication of effort.
They saw nuances in the scarring and
head shape while I, as a greenhorn at
this task, was still trying to make out
that it was a right whale! I learned so
Figure 3. Photographing a right whale surface-active group at sunset from the
observation deck. Image © NEAQ/CWI/DAL
Research digests
much from working with this team.
Entanglement in snow crab fishing
rope was a major factor contributing
to the disaster in the GoSL in 2017.
As a result, strict new rules were put
into place in our survey area, including
mandatory reporting of lost gear and
a large closed area. Since the fishery
had closed by the time our survey
began, we hoped to
see no gear and no
new entanglements.
The Jean-Denis
Martin is a snow
crab fishing vessel and
its captain and
crew were experts
who taught us
much about
how they deploy
and retrieve gear.
In a few places, we did
unfortunately find some lost gear—for
example, a free-floating rope and
buoy that was no longer attached to
a trap—and we were able to see how
the fishermen grappled for it and
hauled it aboard. This experience
helped me to understand how the
fishermen would have to change their
protocols in order to adapt to ropeless
gear, which is one solution proposed
to eliminate entanglement risk. For
the most part, the area was pleasantly
gear free, and thankfully we did not
see any animals entangled in gear.
We saw about 50 right whales
during the first leg of our cruise,
and collected plankton samples at
25 stations. Overall, it was a very
successful trip and our survey data
will be used by managers to help
define conservation measures in
the area in subsequent years. But
the unique aspect of this particular
cruise was the diversity of crew on
board, and how much we were all
able to converse and learn about each
others’ disciplines and perspectives.
Kimberley Davies
(kim.davies@Dal.Ca), PhD,
Department of Oceanography,
Dalhousie University.
06 The Marine Biologist | October 2018
October 2018 | The Marine Biologist 07

Research digests
Pinnacles of life
MBA Members Gemma and Ben Cresswell are using novel sampling techniques
to assess fish communities on pinnacle coral reefs in Papua New Guinea.
In 1959 the eminent American
ichthyologist Carl Hubbs published
his observations of the biological
assemblages found on a series of
seamounts and submerged banks in
the Pacific. Struck by the abundance
of life on these deep, isolated features
of the ocean floor, he searched
to understand how these unique
communities came to be and what
supported them. Nearly 60 years later,
and despite significant advances in
technology, we are still asking the same
questions about seamount ecology.
Often characterized by highly
abundant fish communities and
elevated levels of top predators, these
systems are hotspots of diversity and
oases of productivity,
scattered across
otherwise deep,
open oceanic
waters. Their
role in the global
seascape is likely
a key facilitator
of both regional
and large-scale
patterns of connectivity, that is,
the linking of habitats by physical
movement of individuals, genetic
flow between populations and numerous
other ecological processes.
Unfortunately, research on these
ubiquitous systems continues to be
sparse, stemming largely from the
logistical challenges visiting them:
of the estimated million global
seamounts, only a handful have ever
been visited or thoroughly studied.
Meanwhile, the need for greater understanding
of deep habitats has become
pressing in the light of degrading
shallow-water ecosystems and the continual
expansion of deep-sea fisheries
and ocean-floor mineral exploration.
Kimbe Bay (Fig. 3a) on the island
of New Britain, Papua New Guinea,
is a rich seascape of diverse marine
Figure 1. Bathymetric profile of Kimbe Bay.
habitats. Mangroves and seagrass beds
hug the coast and near-shore fringing
reef systems follow the contours of the
bay. At the heart of the bay is a sunken
caldera. This structure forms a ring
of submerged pinnacles which rise to
within 20 m of the surface (Fig. 1).
Researchers at James Cook University
(JCU) have recently embarked
on a project to study these pinnacle
coral reefs. Applying many principals
of seamount ecology, they hope to
address questions which may explain
the unique community and trophic
structures found on these features.
Although deeper, smaller and isolated,
these pinnacle reefs possess many
of the species found on the shallow
near-shore platform
reefs of
the bay, along
with some stark
differences.
Familiar groups
of butterflyfish
and herbivorous
grazers
dart around the
benthos, whilst several metres above
them a swirling haze of barracuda
(Fig. 3c) circle the reef, seemingly
at rest. Schools of large bluefin
trevally roam the reef top, some up
to a metre long, and gliding batfish
(Fig. 3b) make graceful, repetitive
ascents to the surface. Out on the
pinnacles everything is condensed
onto the small areas of patch coral
habitat, creating an explosion of life.
The JCU research group are
examining the differences in the fish
communities found on coral pinnacles
and those inhabiting nearshore
shallow reefs. They aim to conduct
the first baseline studies of these sites,
examining fish community diversity,
abundance and biomass down to
depths of 80 m. The challenge is to
conduct this deep reef research within
the budget of a PhD project: no ROVs,
rebreather diving or multi-beam sonar
on this project’s kit list. This project
hopes to validate both remote camera
technology and environmental DNA
(eDNA) as low-cost, low-survey-effort
methods in surveying hard-to-reach
marine habitats and also contribute
to knowledge of deeper submerged
habitats like seamounts and pinnacles.
To do this, the team have designed a
multi-camera stereo-video drop camera
unit (DropCam). The DropCam
consists of two stereo-video bars and
four cameras, arranged back-to-back
to enable a near 360-degree radial view
(Fig 2). Paired with composite video
software, the footage can be analysed
simultaneously to avoid repeat counts
of individuals. The method emulates
that of a traditional underwater visual
census: the stationary point count.
The camera is lowered to successively
lower depths and areas of the pinnacle,
conducting 5-minute recordings
during each sample drop. Stereo-video
footage from calibrated cameras allows
for length estimates of individuals
recorded, and biomass calculations are
then made using established speciesspecific
length–weight relationships.
In addition to the DropCam
surveys, the team are sampling water at
depth to collect eDNA. eDNA is the
collection of genetic material found in
a given sample of environmental materiel:
soil, streamwater or seawater, for
example. The collected material is then
amplified and sequenced using highthroughput
next generation technology,
with a series of universal primers
that target fish-specific DNA and can
Figure 2. DropCamera Unit. © Gemma &
Ben Cresswell.
Figure 3. a) Kimbe Bay on the island of New
Britain, Papua New Guinea.
b) Batfish.
c) Black bar barracuda.
d) 30m Deep on a pinnacle reef.
All images © Gemma & Ben Cresswell.
be matched to large genetic databases
to identify the species present. In
particular, the ability to detect the presence
of rare or highly cryptic organisms
could greatly enhance and complement
other more established visual survey
methods for marine environments.
By 2050, the provincial population
of West New Britain is set to double,
creating a pressing need for sustainable
development and resource use plans.
Although much research has been
conducted on the region’s near-shore
reefs, lack of data on offshore systems
often precludes them from planning
considerations, and properties conferring
potential ecosystems resilience
in these deeper systems have not
been quantified. The team hope that
results from the study will both assist
future systematic planning of marine
protected area networks in Kimbe
Bay, and further the understanding
of biophysical factors that may allow
some reefs to persist in the dawning
age of regular mass bleaching events.
Pinnacles and seamounts in
bio-hotspots like Kimbe Bay are
listed as priority habitats by the
Convention on Biological Diversity, in
recognition of their ecological roles in
maintaining biodiversity, marine food
webs and larval settlement patterns.
Although small in scale and funding,
projects utilizing emerging low-cost
technologies have great potential
to plug holes in our knowledge
of logistically challenging marine
habitats, contributing data for deficient
systems by conducting research where
otherwise there would be none.
Gemma Cresswell (gemma.
galbraith@my.jcu.edu.au) and Ben
Cresswell (benjamin.cresswell@
jcu.edu.au) are supervised by Profs
Geoff Jones and Mark McCormick
at James Cook University and the
Australian Research Council Centre
of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies.
a
b
c
d
08 The Marine Biologist | October 2018
October 2018 | The Marine Biologist 09

Section name
Research digests
Box 1. The wider picture
So many dead sharks,
so little time
Mark Okihiro of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife told us: 'There are
several locations throughout central and Southern California that have annual
spawning aggregations of leopard sharks. The largest is at La Jolla (San Diego)
where several hundred to several thousand leopard sharks gather during the summer
months. Catalina Harbor (Santa Catalina Island) and Richardson Bay (San Francisco
Bay) are also gathering places for leopard sharks [See Fig. 2].
'There have been many other shark strandings over the past two years involving
several other shark species'.
Environmental pathologists Joe
DeRisi and Hanna Retallack used
genetic techniques to solve the case
of a mass mortality of leopard sharks
in California.
The one health concept
encompasses the health of human
and non-human species and
the environment. This holistic view
of the world is important, especially
for infectious diseases. Knowing the
spectrum of pathogens that infect the
species around us, be they terrestrial
or aquatic, reptiles, birds or mammals,
can provide insight into the health
of the ecosystem,
and in some cases,
the impact on
human health.
Dr Joe DeRisi
leads a research
group at the University of California
San Francisco that uses genomic
approaches to get to the bottom
of medical mysteries. A proponent
The idea that we should only be
looking at people for infectious
diseases is short-sighted
Figure 1. Leopard shark (Triakis semifasciata)
stranded in San Francisco Bay, 2017.
Image © Jennifer Kampe.
of the One Health approach, Dr
DeRisi specializes in cases of human
and non-human infection, using the
genetic signatures
of infectious agents
to home in on
likely culprits. The
DeRisi Laboratory
responds to
unsolved cases and its work is wideranging,
from novel viruses of birds
(avian bornavirus), reptiles (arenavirus
in boa constrictors and pythons), to
Figure 2. Location map of California, USA.
Image: NordNordWest derivative work:
Banaticus (talk) - USA_California_location_
map.svg
Zika virus and parasites. 'The idea that
we should only be looking at people
for infectious diseases is short-sighted.'
says Dr DeRisi. 'We know from
experience that many diseases that
come to worry us, such as SARS [severe
acute respiratory syndrome], MERS
[Middle East respiratory syndrome],
HIV, all had non-human origins—they
all start as zoonotic transmissions.'
The DeRisi Lab uses metagenomic
next generation sequencing, a
technique that massively reads all the
RNA or DNA sequence in any given
biological sample. Importantly, this
technique is unbiased—there is no
preconceived notion of what might
be there. As Dr DeRisi explains:
'The sequencing merely looks at
every piece of RNA that happens
to be in the sample regardless of
what organism it came from. With
the exception of a prion, essentially
every pathogenic organism is
composed on RNA or makes RNA
at some point in its life cycle.'
Once a sample is processed, the
sequences are compared to large
genetic databases to match up with
known pathogens. A strength of the
technique is that a good match is
unnecessary. If a new pathogen is
encountered that is not in the database,
for example an unknown virus
or a parasite, its presence can still be
detected by looking at how similar it
is to something that is already present
in the database. This similarity gives
a good idea of where the mystery
organism falls on the evolutionary
tree of life. Indeed, this technique has
been used to discover many completely
novel viruses. But is there anything out
there that is truly unknown? 'There is
still a possibility that there might be
genetic sequences that we cannot assign
to a particular group because they are
so different.' says Dr DeRisi. 'However,
as the database grows larger, our
knowledge of the tree of life continues
to expand dramatically and the chance
of finding something that isn’t related
to any known family becomes smaller.'
In the spring of 2017, members of
the public began reporting sharks washing
up on the beaches of San Francisco
bay (see Figs. 1 and 2). Leopard sharks
(Triakis semifasciata) were observed
swimming unusually close to shore
and appearing uncoordinated and
disoriented—behaviour suggestive of
an inner ear or central nervous system
issue. At the height of the epizootic in
April and May, 20–30 dead leopard
sharks were being found daily along
the shoreline. The total number of
leopard sharks that died between March
and August 2017 in San Francisco
Bay was estimated at over 1,000. The
team worked with pathologists from
the California Department of Fish and
Wildlife (see Box 1.) to try to identify
what was causing these sharks to strand
themselves and die on the beach.
Hanna Retallack, a graduate student
at the DeRisi Lab, takes up the story.
'Based on the shark’s clinical symptoms
we focused on the head and brain (see
Fig. 3), and we sampled the fluids that
surround the brain. Amongst the RNA
from the shark, in those fluids there
could be nucleic acids from viruses,
bacteria, fungi, and so on. In this case
we identified a single-celled, free-living
protozoan, known as Miamiensis
avidus, a member of the Scuticociliate
class of ciliates.' The team considered
the possibility that the protozoan was
simply a vector for the real causative
agent; for example, a virus. However,
the technique detects the genetic
material of everything in the sample,
including the viruses of the protozoa.
In addition, M. avidus had been
demonstrated to be a pathogen in other
aquatic species, including farmed fish.
The trigger for the shark mass
mortality remains to be established
with any certainty; was it favourable
conditions for the parasite to grow,
or environmental factors rendering
the sharks more susceptible to infection?
Another key piece of evidence
was uncovered when the team looked
at the wider environmental picture.
Hanna Retallack: 'What we noticed
Researcher Hanna Retallack holding a dead
leopard shark. Image © The DeRisi Lab.
10 The Marine Biologist | October 2018 October 2018 | The Marine Biologist 11

Research digests
Figure 3. Gross histology and lesions in brains of stranded leopard sharks. (A-B). Dissection from
the superior aspect of the head exposing the endolymphatic ducts (arrow). C) Brain with
hemorrhagic lesions removed from cranial cavity of (B) and depicted in situ in (E). D-F) Dissection
of cranial vault revealing superior surface of brain, hemorrhagic lesions and congested olfactory
lamellae (arrows). (OB) olfactory bulb; (OLo) olfactory lobe; (Cb) cerebellum; (OLam) olfactory
lamellae. Scale bars, 2 cm. Reproduced from Retallack et al, (2018).
is that the years when there were
large numbers of sharks dying in
the bay coincided with the end of
particularly heavy rainy seasons here.'
Dr DeRisi added 'I think the most
important piece of data in the paper is
the historical rainfall association with
die-off of the sharks of the Bay. It’s
amazing how strong the correlation is
and this hasn’t actually been published
before. What is clear is that there is an
association between heavy rainfall and
die-off. And at least in the last season,
you have an association between the
presence of the Scuticociliate and the
disease. What this work ultimately does
is establish M. avidus as the primary
suspect in the die-off, associated with
heavy rainfall in San Francisco Bay.
'In future when there is heavy
rainfall, we will be able to go out and
see if the association is confirmed, and
whether our primary suspect is indeed
the etiologic agent. Ultimately, one
would want to undertake a challenge
experiment in which healthy
sharks were exposed to M. avidus
at different salinities, to see if you
could recapitulate the disease in a
controlled environment. This would
be necessary to prove what we call
in the business, Koch’s postulates:
proof that an infectious agent actually
causes the disease you say it does.'
One of the challenges in this
research was that, in common with
many aquatic organisms that are
not of high commercial value, the
genome of the leopard shark had not
been fully characterized. 'In order
to do this analysis we had to cobble
together the sequences of many
species to arrive at something that
looked like mostly shark.' Dr DeRisi
explained. 'For the application of
the One Health approach, I really
think it is important to get a broader
view of the genomic sequences of
all living organisms around us.'
As we acquire better sequences of
aquatic species, our ability to detect
and identify pathogens and diseases
will improve. Furthermore, knowing
the sequence of these organisms can
help us understand how they evolve,
and what special properties they have.
This is important because it can help
us understand disease processes across
different species, including our own.
A current priority for the DeRisi Lab
is surveillance on particular groups of
insects, looking especially at mosquitos
and ticks as vectors of disease. As for
the future, with so many organisms
and so many pathogens, the potential
scope of work for the DeRisi Lab
knows no bounds. As Joe says, 'In the
coming year, something interesting
will crop up; it always does. I can
guarantee that something will be dead!'.
Joe DeRisi 1,2 and Hanna Retallack 1
(Hanna.Retallack@ucsf.edu)
1 Department of Biochemistry and
Biophysics, University of California
San Francisco, CA 94158
2 Chan-Zuckerberg Biohub, 499
Illinois St., San Francisco, CA 94158
Glossary
Epizootic: an episode when a disease is
temporarily prevalent and widespread in
an animal population.
Metagenomics: the study of genetic
material recovered from environmental
samples.
Zoonotic: a disease that normally exists
in animals but that can infect humans.
Further reading
Retallack, H., Okihiro, M.S., Britton,
E., Van Sommeran, S., & DeRisi, J.L.
(2018). Metagenomic next-generation
sequencing reveals Miamiensis avidus
(Ciliophora: Scuticociliatida) in the 2017
epizootic of leopard sharks (Triakis
semifasciata) in San Francisco Bay,
California. Journal of Wildlife Diseases.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/301556
Beauty in the dark
Francesco Enrichetti, Margherita Toma and Marzia Bo describe a fragile
treasure of Mediterranean biodiversity: namely the animal forests of the
Ligurian Sea.
In recent years, animal forests have
received growing attention from
the scientific community all over
the world. Like their terrestrial
counterparts, marine animal forests,
thriving from shallow to deep waters,
are complex, three-dimensional
habitats providing shelter to a rich
associated fauna. In these ecosystems,
animals are considered structuring
species, modelling the
surrounding environment by
forming dense aggregations
of conspicuous individuals
or massive bioconstructions
built upon biogenic remains.
Generally, the leading actors
of these communities are
sessile filter feeders such
as sponges, cnidarians and
bryozoans, whose arborescent
morphology and fragile skeletons
make them vulnerable to mechanical
damage inflicted by bottom fishing
gear. Indeed, their fragility, as well as
their peculiar biological characteristics,
including longevity and low recovery
ability, defines the habitats hosting
them as Vulnerable
Marine Ecosystems.
Over the last decade,
Remotely Operated
Vehicles (ROVs) have
been widely employed in
the Mediterranean Sea to
shed light on the so-called
twilight animal forests:
overlooked communities
dominated by sponges,
gorgonians and black
corals thriving along the
deep continental shelf
and upper bathyal zone
between 40 and 300
m depth. This transition
zone towards the
dark realm is strongly
influenced by considerable amounts
of food coming from both the surface
primary production and the upwelling
currents rising along canyons and
slopes. Furthermore, the low light
penetration progressively excludes algae
from spatial competition, enhancing
the development of rich and complex
animal communities thriving in
moderately turbulent environments.
Figure 1. Map of the Ligurian coastline indicating location of the four
main cities: Imperia, Savona, Genova and La Spezia.
The Ligurian Sea, situated in
the northwesternmost part of the
Mediterranean Sea, is a 2,800 m deep
basin embracing the Italian region
of Liguria and the French island of
Corsica (see Fig. 1). The Ligurian
shoreline is a 300 km-long stretch of
Figure 2. One of the ROVs employed in the surveys.
Image © F. Enrichetti for ARPAL
Research digests
The promontory of Portofino, within the
Portofino marine protected area.
Image © F. Enrichetti for ARPAL
highly urbanized coast characterized
by a relatively narrow continental
shelf, abundant river inputs and
fragmented hardgrounds subjected to
high fishing effort. In order
to fill the knowledge gap on
the twilight animal forests of
Liguria, an extensive ROV
survey (Fig. 2) was carried
out between 2012 and 2018
including over 80 study sites
and more than 90 hours of
video footage. The footage
was analysed with the
ROV-Imaging technique to
study the occurrence and aggregation
patterns of the structuring species,
identify their degree of vulnerability
and delineate management guidelines.
The Ligurian sea is constellated
by a rich variety of twilight animal
forests, occasionally representing the
bathymetric extension
of coastal, shallow-water
assemblages or, alternatively,
isolated, offshore
aggregations. Over 100
major forests, structured
by 20 different species,
were identified, with the
gorgonian assemblage the
most widespread type.
Seven gorgonian species
form single-species and
mixed aggregations, with
the species Paramuricea
clavata (Fig. 3a), Eunicella
cavolini and E. verrucosa
the most common
between 40 and 70 m and
reaching densities as high
12 The Marine Biologist | October 2018 October 2018 | The Marine Biologist 13

Research digests
Research digests
a
d
Figure 3. (a) The red gorgonian Paramuricea clavata hosting the Mediterranean basket-star Astrospartus mediterraneus in the middle of a Eunicella
cavolini forest. Deep Portofino Shoal, 70 m. (b) Bed of the sabellids Sabella pavonina. Vado Ligure, 65 m. (c) A sponge ground dominated by Sarcotragus
foetidus. Varazze, 45 m. (d) A patch of red coral Corallium rubrum from the vertical cliff of Maledetti, 70 m. (e) A colony of the yellow scleractinians
Dendrophyllia cornigera entangled in a long line. Mantice Shoal, 85 m. (f) Lost trammel net on a vertical cliff. Maledetti Shoal, 75 m. Images (a), (b), (d),
(e) © S. Canese (ISPRA), Ligurian Sea, 50–80 m. Image (c) © F. Betti. Image (f) © F. Enrichetti during the Ligurian survey 2016 for ARPAL
as 15 colonies per m 2 (Fig 3a). Black
corals form dense forests too, mainly
represented by Antipathella subpinnata
below 60 m on isolated shoals. Massive
extensions of keratose sponge grounds,
covering hectares of sea bottom and
dominated by Sarcotragus foetidus and
Spongia lamella have been reported
here for the first time. A forest of the
yellow scleractinian Dendrophyllia
cornigera (Fig. 3e) (80–200 m depth)
totalling more than 10,000 colonies
represents here the northernmost
record within the Mediterranean Sea.
Dense aggregations of bryozoans are
also very common in the deep coralligenous
assemblages. Additionally,
sparse between the hard grounds, there
are soft bottom forests including those
formed by the hydrozoan Lytocarpia
myriophyllum on biogenic detritus
and those of soft corals and pennatulaceans
on sand and mud. Finally,
the serpulid Sabella pavonina (Fig.
3b) creates strikingly beautiful beds
at 55–70 m on soft bottoms, never
previously reported elsewhere, with
densities up to 110 individuals per m 2 .
Not only beautiful but also
extremely vulnerable: marine litter
was found in all the investigated sites.
14 The Marine Biologist | October 2018
b
e
About 90% of it was represented
by lost or abandoned artisanal and
recreational fishing gear, often entangling
benthic species (Figs 3e and f).
Particularly well-preserved sites are
known within Marine Protected Areas
(MPAs), and offshore shoals along the
western Ligurian coast. The occurrence
of damage is particularly evident in
areas characterized by elevated hard
grounds close to major ports where
impacts can be quantified as high as
30 lost gears every 100 m and over
80% of the colonies showing entanglements
or mechanical abrasions of
living tissues and epibiont overgrowth.
Hence, the picture we have now is
probably one of diminished biodiversity
in the region compared to 80
years ago, especially for soft bottom
communities swept by trawlers.
Special protection measures are
urgently required to protect these
unique ecosystems, whilst accepting
that a balance with human activities
needs to be taken into consideration.
This study provided reference data
for future monitoring programmes
and information for the creation
of environmental indexes. In addition,
we developed a georeferenced
c
f
database, in which animal forests are
superimposed upon areas of different
levels of exploitation. This will enable
us to identify a potential network
of sensitive habitats that may form
a basis for future MPA proposals.
Francesco Enrichetti 1 (fraenrichetti@
gmail.com), Margherita Toma 2
(margherita.toma@edu.unige.it),
Marzia Bo 3 (marzia.bo@unige.it)
1. PhD student working on the deep
megabenthic communities of the
Ligurian Sea.
2. Research Fellow in marine zoology
working on the ROV-Imaging protocol
and ROV Italian benthic archive.
3. Researcher in zoology working
on the characterization of the deep
Mediterranean benthic communities.
All authors are at the University of
Genova, Italy.
The research team: from left to right, M.
Toma, F. Enrichetti and M. Bo.
The 'very interesting' Celtic sea-slug
Compared to other sea slugs, the Celtic sea-slug (Onchidella
celtica) is not glamorous. But, as Mike Kent explains, take a
close look and you might understand why C.M. Yonge called
it '... the very interesting little air-breathing sea-slug ...'.
The Celtic sea slug is a warm-water species whose
distribution extends from the Azores to north Devon
in south-west England, making it a potential climate
change indicator species on UK shores. Furthermore,
it is the only British species of the Onchidiidae, a
family regarded as ideal for studying the evolution of
invertebrates from the sea to wetland environments.
In the 1940s, Vera Fretter highlighted some of the
unusual morphological features of the Celtic sea slug: its
highly mobile chemo-tactile labial palps, a posteriorly
located lung, repugnatorial glands that secrete a neurotoxin,
and a gut that digests cellulose without cellulase. She also
described the reproduction of this hermaphrodite, its
embryonic development within eggs cemented to the walls
of crevices, and its emergence as a fully-formed miniature
adult. But she leaves unanswered questions about the
role of the hatchlings in the dispersal of the species.
In Britain, the Celtic sea slug is found on surf-swept
rocky shores. With no protective shell and very limited
powers of adhesion, it survives by avoiding adverse conditions,
taking refuge for most of its life in a crevice.
The Celtic sea slug emerges only at low tide, scraping a
living mainly by grazing the biofilm on rocks and shells,
returning home before the flood tide can sweep it into
the sea. This raises questions about its chronobiology.
Perhaps the Celtic sea slug is most interesting for its
The unusual morphological features of the Celtic sea slug: (a) the highly
vascularized, mobile and sensitive labial palps; (b) a repugnatorial
gland; (c) ventral view of sea-slug showing the pneumostome, the
posterior opening that leads to the lung.
Despite secreting no cellulase in their digestive tract, large Celtic
sea-slugs are often observed feeding on seaweeds. This 25 mm
specimen is eating sea lettuce, Ulva lactuca. All images © Mike Kent.
potential as a model organism for the new discipline of
movement ecology. Its emergence only at low tide, its small
size and the relatively short distances it moves, make it a
convenient organism to study in its natural environment.
It is also easy to maintain and breed in the laboratory.
Using time-lapse photography I recorded the foraging and
mating movements of Celtic sea slugs over two complete
neap-to-spring tidal cycles. Professor Steve Hawkins and
I then took advantage of freely available image analysis
software statistical packages to study the timing and duration
of foraging. Unlike many intertidal organisms, temporal
patterns of Celtic sea slug movement are highly irregular
and not easy to predict. Spatial patterns are proving to be
just as variable and unpredictable. Tracks range from short
Results of manually tracking the movement of a single Celtic sea slug
on 24th May 2015 at New Polzeath, Cornwall, UK.
and simple out-and-back tracks to highly complicated and
convoluted tracks. Intriguingly, no matter what the path,
the distance or duration of its movements, the Celtic sea
slug nearly always finds its way back to its home refuge.
Preliminary analyses of movement data suggest O.
celtica adopts different patterns of movement to search
for food, find a mate, and return home. Determining
precisely how and why it does this continues to make
the study of this little sea slug 'very interesting'.
Dr Mike Kent, mem.MBA (rmike.kent@tiscali.co.uk)
Further reading
Fretter, V. (1943) Studies in the functional morphology and
embryology of Onchidella celtica (Forbes and Hanley) and
their bearing on its relationships. Journal of the Marine
Biological Association of the United Kingdom 25: 685-720.
Kent, R.M.L. & Hawkins, S.J. (2018). On the timing and
duration of foraging in Onchidella celtica. Journal of the
Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 1-9.
doi:10.1017/S0025315418000103
October 2018 | The Marine Biologist 15

Research digests
Pink salmon and their plankton prey
Data from the Continuous Plankton Recorder survey has highlighted an unusual
control on plankton populations in the North Pacific. By Sonia Batten, Greg
Ruggerone and Ivonne Ortiz.
Pink salmon are the most
abundant of the Pacific salmon
species and have a fixed two-year
life cycle between hatching in the
rivers, migrating to the open ocean to
feed and mature and then returning
to their native river to spawn and die.
In some regions, alternate years have
very different numbers of pink salmon,
often referred to as the odd-year and
even-year runs, which are almost
entirely genetically separate from
each other. The parts of the ocean
where they go to feed and grow may
also experience the same high and
low densities in alternating years.
A monitoring programme to sample
and record plankton has been running
in the North Pacific since 2000, using
Figure 1. Map showing the study region in the southern Bering Sea and
around the Aleutian Islands. The locations of the plankton samples are
shown by yellow crosses and fall along the North Pacific Great Circle
Route used by commercial ships.
Image: National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration/Department of Commerce.
continuous plankton recorders towed
behind commercial ships. Plankton
are the tiny free-floating plants (phytoplankton)
and animals (zooplankton)
that form the base of marine food
chains. When looking at the summer
samples collected from around the
Aleutian Islands
and the southern
Bering Sea (Fig.
1) we noticed
that some of the
plankton groups
showed a strong
alternating yearto-year
pattern
in numbers. In
addition, the
phytoplankton
pattern was opposite to the zooplankton
pattern (in this case diatoms and large
copepods, respectively). This suggested
that impacts from pink salmon, which
feed on zooplankton, were moving down
the food chain, also known as a 'trophic
cascade' effect. When numbers of pink
salmon were high (in odd years) the
numbers of copepods were low because
they were being eaten by the salmon.
The reduction in copepods meant that
their phytoplankton food, the diatoms,
could grow unchecked and so numbers
were high. We saw the reverse pattern
in even years: fewer salmon leading to
more copepods and so fewer diatoms
(Fig. 2). What was also interesting was
that while the pattern persisted from
2000 to 2012, the 2013 odd-year run
of pink salmon was unexpectedly low
and the plankton numbers responded.
It was clear there was a strong relationship
between predator and prey.
This finding is highly unusual
because most of the time the changes
we see in plankton numbers are
caused by changes in ocean climate
Figure 2. The trophic cascade effect – the relationship between East
Kamchatka pink salmon (data from Ruggerone and Irvine, 2018) and
plankton around the eastern Aleutian Islands. In years with high pink
salmon abundance, there are fewer large copepods (upper) and more
diatoms (lower).
Box 1. Pink salmon facts
Pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), also called Humpies
in Alaska, are at the highest abundance in the North Pacific
since records began in 1925. Pink salmon represent nearly 70%
of all Pacific salmon. Pink salmon are especially abundant in
(temperature, currents and so on).
That is, environmental or climate
control of plankton populations is a
much more common result and we
expect these impacts to be passed up
the food chain to the fish, birds and
mammals that feed on them, not to
see impacts on plankton at the base
of the food chain by a single predator.
Our unique findings further suggest
that in this region, in years when
pink salmon are very abundant, there
may not be enough plankton around
for other species to feed and grow
as much as they potentially could.
Pink salmon are found in many
rivers around the North Pacific rim.
The stocks feeding in our region of
interest were likely wild fish from
East Kamchatka, Russia, but in many
places the numbers of pink salmon
are increased by releasing fry from
hatcheries into rivers. Our result
implies that hatchery production
may not lead to more pink salmon
returning as adults if food in the ocean
is limited, and in fact may impact
other species of salmon, fish and
seabirds that feed in the same area.
Sonia Batten (Sonia.Batten@mba.
Commotion in the ocean
The process for managing underwater
noise is out of step with the latest
science. Here, Rebecca Faulkner
describes new guidance available for
industry, regulators and policy makers.
Underwater noise pollution poses a
global threat to marine wildlife,
from charismatic ocean giants
like the blue whale to ecosystem
cornerstones such as small fish,
crustaceans, and zooplankton. As
the ‘blue economy’ continues to
grow, ever more human activities are
making the seas noisier. These activities
include seismic surveys for oil and
gas exploration, coastal construction
projects, the installation of renewable
energy infrastructure, and shipping
traffic. The noise pollution emitted by
these activities can drown out sounds
that marine mammals and some fish
use to communicate, displace animals,
increase physiological stress, and in some
cases, cause auditory injury or mortality.
To manage this threat, regulatory
agencies often require developers to
undertake an Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) for major marine
projects. The EIA process involves
several steps to identify sensitive
receptors and noise pressures and
determine the risk of impact and
Figure 1. Infographic as part of science-based
guidance for addressing the threat of underwater
noise.
Research digests
odd years (600 million per year) compared with even years (312
million per year). Hatchery pink salmon production in Alaska
and Asia is tremendous (82 million per year), exceeding total
abundance of wild chum salmon (53 million per year) and nearly
equal to wild sockeye salmon abundance (85 million per year).
ac.uk), Greg Ruggerone (gruggerone@
nrccorp.com) and Ivonne Ortiz
(ivonne@u.washington.edu).
Further reading:
Batten, S.D., Ruggerone, G.T. & Ortiz,
I. (2018). Pink Salmon induce a trophic
cascade in plankton populations in the
southern Bering Sea and around the
Aleutian Islands. Fisheries Oceanography.
https://doi.org/10.1111/fog.12276
Ruggerone, G.T., & Irvine, J.R. (2018).
Number and biomass of natural- and
hatchery-origin pink, chum, and
sockeye salmon in the North Pacific
Ocean, 1925-2015. Mar Coast Fish:
10:152-168. https://doi.org/10.1002/
mcf2.10023
suitable mitigation measures. Noise
modelling is often undertaken to
estimate the possible extent of adverse
effects. Noise exposure criteria are used,
which define sound levels at which
various severities of responses are
expected. Regulators may then grant or
decline consent, or require additional
mitigatory action to be taken.
One problem is that many EIAs
for underwater noise lack reference to
the best available science and do not
apply appropriate methods. Regulators
may also lack sufficient expertise to
critically assess these assessments. To
begin to bridge this gap, our new paper
published in the Journal of Applied
Ecology provides developers, regulators,
and policymakers with clear, sciencebased
guiding principles to address
this emerging threat (see Fig. 1).
The impact of the noise pollution
depends on the acoustic sensitivity of
marine species in the area. Sound has
two components: sound pressure and
particle motion (water and substrate
borne). Marine mammals primarily
sense sound pressure. Although some
fish species can detect sound pressure
16 The Marine Biologist | October 2018 October 2018 | The Marine Biologist 17

Research digests
Research digests
indirectly, fish and many aquatic
invertebrates—such as the Norway
lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) and
mussel (Mytilus edulis)—primarily
sense particle motion. At present,
noise exposure criteria exist only for
sound pressure (in fact, there is currently
insufficient data to establish
noise exposure criteria for marine
invertebrates), and the modelling
of particle motion is not common
practice. The scope for including
particle motion in routine
assessments is, therefore, currently
limited. Nonetheless, scientists recognize
the importance of, and the
need to consider, particle motion when
regulating noise-generating activities.
We may be a long way from being able
to assess the effects of particle motion
on marine species, although instrumentation
and techniques used for particle
motion measurement and analysis are
becoming more widely available.
Measures to reduce the amount
of noise pollution emitted at source
Figure 2. Big Bubble curtain, Borkum West 2 windpark in
Germany. Image: Hero Lang (Fotograf) Fa. Hydrotechnik
Lübeck (Rechteinhaber) [CC BY-SA 3.0 DE], via Wikimedia
Commons.
include bubble curtains and other
acoustic barriers which can be placed
around pile driving operations (Fig.
2). Deployment of such measures is
routine for pile driving of offshore
wind farms in some northern European
countries, (e.g. Germany and
Denmark), but in other jurisdictions
it is rare for the effect of noisereducing
technologies to be assessed,
and consequently recommended or
required by regulators. Further
work is clearly needed to broaden
awareness among decision makers
of the importance and efficacy of
these noise reduction measures.
Rebecca Faulkner (rebecca.
faulkner@cefas.co.uk)
Further reading:
Faulkner, R.C., Farcas, A. &
Merchant, N.D. Guiding principles
for assessing the impact of
underwater noise. Journal of
Applied Ecology, 2018;00:1–6.
https://doi.
org/10.1111/1365-2664.13161
Nedelec, S. L., Campbell, J.,
Radford, A. N., Simpson, S. D., &
Merchant, N. D. (2016). Particle
motion: The missing link in underwater
acoustic ecology. Methods in Ecology
and Evolution, 7, 836–842. https://doi.
org/10.1111/2041-210X.12544.
Popper, A.N. & Hawkins, A.D. (2018)
The importance of particle motion to
fishes and invertebrates. The Journal of
the Acoustical Society of America, 143,
470–488.
MBA academic publishing
The MBA publishes scientific journals in support of its charitable aims.
If you would like to publish original research or reviews in the MBA’s journals,
please contact the editor:
Journal of the Marine Biological Association: Professor Jane Lewis lewisjm@westminster.ac.uk
Marine Biodiversity Records: Dr Nova Mieszkowska nova@mba.ac.uk
18 The Marine Biologist | October 2018 October 2018 | The Marine Biologist 19

Policy
Less talk and more action:
the Commonwealth Blue Charter
moves into high gear
Image © Romello Williams on Unsplash.
Many of the countries worst affected
by climate change belong to the
Commonwealth. Jeff Ardron, project
lead on the Commonwealth Blue
Charter, told The Marine Biologist why
the time is right to translate words into
practical solutions.
How did the Blue Charter come into
being?
At the first UN Ocean Conference
in June 2017, the Commonwealth
Secretary-General asked a number
of delegates from Commonwealth
countries if the ocean was a priority
for them, and whether the secretariat
should become more engaged. The
resounding response was ‘yes!’, and I
was tasked to organise something that
could bring together the Commonwealth
members. The germ of what was
to become the Commonwealth Blue
Charter was to cooperatively address
the problems that are facing the global
ocean; problems that no single country
can tackle alone. The Charter of the
Commonwealth added a number of
principles to the mix, emphasising
human rights, equity, transparency,
sustainability, and rule of law.
After nine months of consultations
and (sometimes hectic) revisions
with our member countries, we had a
statement ready for consideration by
the 53 Heads of Government. One
sunny day in April, at the Commonwealth
Heads Of Government
Meeting (CHOGM) in London, not
only did they sign but they loudly
applauded. The positive spirit present
in the room from the highest levels of
the government was really palpable.
Why do you think Oceans have risen
so much on the international agenda
in the past year or two?
For the past 10 or 20 years, we as
scientists and policy makers have been
saying that the
ocean is this fantastic
but largely
ignored resource:
a giant generator
of oxygen, life,
and of food and security for coastal
communities. But, I think most people
just took it for granted. Then, as
pressures and stresses increased, and
the ocean’s health began to seriously
decline, it became harder to ignore.
Suddenly everyone has started to take
notice. In Britain the Blue Planet II
series has had a huge effect. Everywhere,
there’s been the equivalent
of a Blue Planet moment, when
advocates and the public are saying
to their governments, 'Hey, wait,
you’ve got to pay attention to this!'
The positive spirit present in the
room from the highest levels
of the government was really
palpable
How are marine biologists engaging
with the Blue Charter?
A country steps forward to lead on
an issue that’s important to them, we
create an action group around that
topic, and then other Commonwealth
countries and partners are invited to
join. As I mentioned, the Blue Charter
was officially launched in April. Right
now, we are in the middle of this
process, wherein countries are being
invited to join the action groups. Then,
we will invite the NGOs, including
any scientific
organizations that
are interested.
To date, eleven
countries have
stepped forward
to lead on eight topics: aquaculture;
blue economy; coral reef restoration;
mangrove restoration; marine plastics;
ocean acidification; ocean and climate
change; and ocean observation, all of
which have a science component.
The action groups are meant to be
filling the gap between what people
are doing on the ground, for example
the scientists who are actively out
there restoring corals, with the highlevel
commitments—the UN Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs)
and so forth. The past decade has
created a massive amount of high-level
policy; there are over 200 different
rules, declarations and commitments
that Commonwealth countries have
signed up to. The SDGs alone have
several hundred indicators. So, there
are all these targets at the highest
levels, and we have community groups
at home, picking up rubbish on
the beaches, scientists regenerating
coral from tiny fragments, thinking
about seagrass disease and so forth,
but there is very little connecting
these two worlds. This is where the
action groups come in, consulting
the expertise of the people on the
ground, finding out what works and
what doesn’t, so they can provide
realistic recommendations and project
proposals to their governments.
The Blue Charter 'could turn around
the decline in ocean health'. That is a
big statement. What is it about this
initiative that makes people think it
could be the turning point?
The Commonwealth Blue Charter
is designed to be action-orientated and
country-led; in other words, it’s not a
traditional international multilateral
environment agreement (MEA),
involving painstaking word-by-word
negotiations, that has to be passed by
painful consensus wherein the least
enthusiastic country is the one that
sets the tone. We have not taken that
approach here. You will note that
in the Blue Charter, climate change
and the Paris targets are mentioned,
but there is no commitment to
ending climate change, neither are
The [Blue Charter] action groups
fill the gap between what people
are doing on the ground, and the
high-level commitments
there any new commitments around
plastic or fisheries or any of those
very important and relevant topics.
Rather, we highlight the importance of
existing commitments and issues, and
mandate the creation of action groups
to deal with them. The action group
approach is very different because the
countries that step forward are the
countries that care and are engaged.
Thus, the front-runners are the ones
setting the pace, developing the good
practices, and coming back to the other
countries with recommendations.
As a driver for
change, are
there any
comparisons to
be made with
SDG 14? 1
We all need
each other. SDG
14 is fantastic.
Peter Thompson,
UN special
envoy for the
ocean, was one
of the main
architects behind
SDG 14, and
later organized
the UN Oceans
Conference. He
has also been a
stalwart supporter
and an ambassador for the Blue
Charter. In other words, there has been
cooperation, not competition, between
Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General of UNCTAD (United Nations Conference
on Trade and Development); Peter Thomson, United Nations Oceans
Envoy; and the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland, Commonwealth Secretary-
General, at the second United Nations Ocean Forum in Geneva, July
2018. Image © Commonwealth Secretariat.
1 Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve
and sustainably use the oceans, seas and
marine resources for sustainable development
the UN and the Commonwealth. The
SDGs are very important throughout
Commonwealth membership; you’d be
surprised how many governments in
Commonwealth countries that we visit
have reorganized their work streams
and the policies around meeting
SDG targets. What the SDGs do not
provide, however, is the ‘how to’, and
that’s where the Blue charter steps
in, exchanging good practices among
countries and seeing what works.
To what extent is this about the
Commonwealth finding a role and
purpose?
The Commonwealth Secretariat
thinks ocean issues are important, and
the Commonwealth countries also
think that the oceans are important.
If that makes the Commonwealth
relevant then that’s great, but that’s
not why we’re doing it. The Commonwealth
is a bit of an unsung,
sometimes maligned, hero. Sure, any
international organization is a difficult
beast to coordinate, and can always be
improved. But the Commonwealth
has particular advantages too: we share
a language (in most Commonwealth
countries English is spoken), and a
similar judicial system, making it
easier to translate legislation passed
in one country into the legislation
of another. From its colonial beginnings,
the Commonwealth has had
to evolve several times, and I think
we are now in what you might call
the ‘post-post-colonial’ era. We find
that the smaller countries are setting
the pace on the Blue Charter.
Jeff Ardron (j.ardron@commonwealth.
int) began his career in a fishing
village on the west coast of Canada.
Seeing declining catches convinced
him to go back to university and do
something about the situation. He has
co-founded two environmental NGOs,
and has been involved on the boards
of numerous others. He has worked
at national and international levels,
within and outside of governments,
in Canada, Germany, the USA, and
currently the UK. Jeff is now project
lead on the Commonwealth Blue
Charter for the Commonwealth
Secretariat.
20 The Marine Biologist | October 2018 October 2018 | The Marine Biologist 21

Policy
Ensuring our voice is heard
Matt Frost brings us up to date on the MBA's current
activities in marine policy.
The MBA continues to work with its members to engage
in a wide range of policy areas. I am particularly
grateful to those of you who respond to invitations to
participate in MBA consultation responses. I am sure it’s
the last thing you want to hear about, but Brexit continues
to be a dominant issue in the UK in terms
of the requirement from government for
evidence and opinion from scientists and
marine stakeholders. In the last few months
the MBA has responded to consultations
on 'Environmental Principles and Governance after
the United Kingdom leaves the European Union' and
on the White Paper for 'Sustainable fisheries for future
generations' (i.e. what fisheries will look like post-Brexit).
We have also contributed to the Environmental Audit
Committee’s Sustainable Seas inquiry, which created a
great deal of interest within the UK marine community.
Caught in 'the Act'
Marine licensing can apply to scientific
research on the High Seas, advise
Craig Loughlin and Shaun Nicholson.
The Marine Management
Organisation (MMO) is a
non-departmental public body
responsible for the licensing, planning
and enforcement of many activities
in the seas primarily around England.
Under section 66 of the Marine and
Coastal Access Act 2009 (‘the Act’),
certain activities within the UK marine
area require a marine licence. In
broad terms, such activities include:
deposits; construction, alteration
and improvement works; removal
of substances and objects; dredging;
The RSS James Clark Ross.
marine biology is in
the policy spotlight as
never before
and the incineration of substances
or objects. The licensing remit of the
MMO is not, however, restricted
solely to the marine and coastal waters
around England; activities that may
require a marine licence also include
the deposit of any substance or object
anywhere in the sea from a British
vessel, aircraft or marine structure.
In 2015, the MMO received an
application from a research group based
at Plymouth University who wished to
undertake a tracer study in the Southern
Ocean. The researchers planned to
monitor the hydrodynamics of the Antarctic
Circumpolar Current through
the release of fluorescein tracer dye
from a British-registered vessel. Following
consideration of the details of the
application, a marine licence was issued
for the licensable activity. In April
2015, the RSS James Clark Ross set
sail from Port Stanley, and embarked
on a four-week research cruise
south-east of the Falkland Islands.
Since its establishment in
April 2010, the MMO has issued
approximately 500 marine licences
per year for activities mainly within
English waters. The application from
On an international front, we have been talking to a
number of people about the Decade of Ocean Science for
Sustainable Development (2021-2030) coordinated by
UNESCOs Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission
(IOC). A key element of this plan is “Building on existing
research and initiatives, the Decade will boost international
cooperation to developing scientific research and innovative
technologies, connecting ocean science with societal needs”
(see https://en.unesco.org/ocean-decade/about). The MBA's
position is that marine biology should be at
the heart of this plan. Large-scale oceanographic
science is already in scope but we need
to make sure that consideration of marine biodiversity
at appropriate scale is not overlooked.
This is an exciting time for marine biology,
which is in the ‘policy spotlight’ as never before.
It is important therefore that the MBA takes this
opportunity to speak out and influence the future
of marine biology and the marine environment.
Dr Matt Frost (matfr@mba.ac.uk) is Deputy Director and
Head of Policy for the Association.
Plymouth University was a first that
covered deposits from a research vessel
deployed in the Southern Ocean. As
a marine licence was required for an
activity some 13,000 km from the
MMO’s north-eastern English base,
it also represented the most distant
activity the MMO has licensed to date.
Further details on activities that
may require a marine licence can
be found on the MMO’s website or
directly by contacting the MMO
by email at marine.consents@
marinemanagement.org.uk
Craig Loughlin (craig.loughlin@
marinemanagement.org.uk) is Senior
Technical Manager in the Strategic
Marine Licensing Team at the MMO.
Dr Shaun Nicholson Mem.
MBA (shaun.nicholson@
marinemanagement.org.uk) is Head
of Strategic Marine Licensing Team
at the MMO.
Microbes require
micronutrients too
Katherine Helliwell introduces the role of vitamins in
shaping marine phytoplankton evolution and ecology.
Vitamins: structurally diverse dietary necessities
Vitamins are essential micronutrients required in the
human diet, because they play important roles in metabolic
reactions occurring in our cells. There are 13 structurally
diverse vitamins (Fig. 1a), including nine water-soluble
(B vitamins and vitamin C) alongside four lipid-soluble
compounds (A, D, E and K). Failure to obtain sufficient
levels of these important metabolites can lead to an array
of life-threatening conditions. For instance, vitamin C
deficiency, famously identified in
sea-locked sailors deprived of fruit and
vegetables, causes the disease scurvy.
However, numerous other conditions
associated with vitamin deficiency are
known, including beri beri (vitamin B1), pellagra (vitamin
B3), and pernicious anaemia (vitamin B12), to name a few.
Phytoplankton need vitamins too
Vitamins are not just necessary for human and animal
nutrition; surprisingly, they play important roles in
regulating marine microbial communities. This was
first recognized by Dr Edgar Johnson Allen who was
the Director of the MBA from 1894 to 1936 (Fig. 1b).
Dr Allen noticed that growth of laboratory cultures of
marine microalgae (photosynthetic eukaryotic microbes)
in artificial seawater could be stimulated by supplementation
with a small volume of natural seawater. This led him
to hypothesize that something in the natural seawater,
Vitamins play important roles
in regulating marine microbial
communities
Features
analogous to vitamins of human nutrition, may have been
responsible for this effect. Following this initial observation,
it was recognized that algae, just like humans, do indeed
need vitamins too. Evidence indicates more than half of all
microalgal species surveyed (representing species from fresh,
marine and brackish habitats) need cobalamin (vitamin
B12) to grow. In addition, 20% and 5% require thiamine
(vitamin B1) and biotin (vitamin B7), respectively.
Intriguingly, vitamin dependence appears to be scattered
across the different algal lineages. For instance, among
the Volvocacean lineage of green algae Gonium pectorale
dies without vitamin B12, whereas a closely-related
species G. multicoccum grows perfectly well (Fig. 2a).
Vitamins in the sea
Vitamins are clearly important growth factors for many
phytoplankton species, begging the question: where
do algae get their vitamins? Recent
evidence from oceanographic studies
indicate that B vitamins are in scarce
supply in marine ecosystems. Whilst
many phytoplankton can synthesize
their own vitamins, enabling them to thrive in vitaminlimiting
regions of the ocean, vitamin-dependent species
will die when the supply is short. Increasing evidence
suggests that vitamin requirers may rely on interactions
with cohabiting vitamin-synthesizing microbes to satisfy
their needs. For instance, B12-dependent algae can obtain
this vitamin from associated B12-synthesizing bacteria.
However, further work is needed to understand the nature
of such interactions in natural ecosystems, and how
vitamins are cycled in aquatic microbial communities.
Katherine Helliwell (katherine.helliwell@mba.ac.uk) is an
MBA NERC Independent Research Fellow.
a. b.
Figure 1(a). Chemical structures of five water-soluble B vitamins, and vitamin C. (b). Edgar Johnson Allen by Walter Stoneman, image © National
Portrait Gallery, London.
22 The Marine Biologist | October 2018 October 2018 | The Marine Biologist 23

Features
Features
Figure 2(a). Evolution of vitamin B12 dependence has arisen on multiple occasions in the Volvocacean lineage of green algae (ü: does not need
B12 for growth, û: requires B12). Abbreviated genus names: C. = Chlamydomonas, G. = Gonium, V. = Volvox, P. = Panodrina, E. = Eudorina. (b).
Schematic diagram illustrating B vitamin cross-exchange between marine plankton.
Further Reading
Helliwell, K. E. (2017). The roles of B vitamins in phytoplankton
nutrition: new perspectives and prospects. New
Phytologist. 216(1): 62-68.
Croft, M.T., Lawrence, A.D., Raux-Deery, E., Warren, M.
and Smith, A.G. (2005). Algae acquire vitamin B12 through a
With the predicted decline in
non-renewable energy
sources such as coal, oil, and
natural gas in future decades, there
is an increasing need for alternative
renewable energy sources.
Renewable or ‘green’ energy is
seen as an inexhaustible resource
that can be harnessed for the
foreseeable future with everincreasing
efficiency due to the
advancements in technology.
Current renewable energy
sources include solar (which
contributed 12,318 megawatts
(MW) energy in 2017, ranking
sixth internationally for installed
capacity), hydroelectricity (which
produced 1,650 MW last year
from hydroelectric power stations),
and the cheapest, most productive
source of renewable energy: wind with
a total energy output of 19,261 MW
from terrestrial and marine turbines,
which provides energy to 12.7 million
homes per year in the UK alone.
UK offshore wind
Currently the UK is the largest
global producer of electricity from
offshore wind farms (1,837 turbines
symbiotic relationship with bacteria. Nature. 483, 90-93.
Browning, T.J., Achterberg, E.P., Rapp, I., Engel, A.,
Bertrand, E.M, Alessandro Tagliabue, A. and Moore, M.
(2017) Nutrient co-limitation at the boundary of an oceanic
gyre. Nature. 551, 242-256.
Electromagnetic fields and the invisible threat to seabed species
The UK is the world's largest producer
of electricity from offshore wind. As
Kevin Scott explains, amongst the
many benefits of this form of renewable
energy lurk unforeseen consequences
for seabed life.
Figure 1. Offshore wind turbines. Image © Erica Chapman,
St Abbs Marine Station.
producing 7,155 MW: 15% of UK
electricity generation in 2017) and has
more projects in planning or construction
than any other country (Fig. 1).
Due to planning constraints, lack of
inexpensive land near major population
centres and the perceived aesthetics
associated with many renewable
energy structures, there is increasing
pressure to move potential locations
offshore. Another attractive aspect of
offshore wind developments is
the addition of artificial reefs,
which act as scour protection
for the turbines and increase
biodiversity around relatively
unproductive areas. Is this all too
good to be true? In short: yes. All
renewable energy devices have to
transport the electricity generated
to the shore via sub-sea cables.
Around wind farms, there will
be a myriad of cables, resulting
in the invisible stressor: electromagnetic
fields (EMF) (Fig. 2).
Electromagnetic fields and
magneto-sensitive species
EMFs originate from both anthropogenic
sources (telecommunication
cables, Marine Renewable Energy
Devices (MREDs)) and natural sources
(Earth’s geomagnetic field). The
Earth’s natural magnetic field
varies in strength from 0.025
to 0.065 milliTesla (mT). The
strengths predicted around
sub-sea power cables vary widely
from 0.18 to 165 mT. Currently
there is no industry-standard
insulation which can prevent
magnetic field leakage. The
EMFs from MREDs cover
extensive areas around deployments
due to the interactions
of the leaked magnetic field
with other cables, resulting
in induced electromagnetic fields
of varying intensities and size.
Many marine species have been
shown to be magneto-sensitive. The
Earth’s magnetic field is used by the
bacterium (Magnetospirillum magnetotacticum)
and the alga (Anisonema
platysomum) for orientation and by
the European eel (Anguilla anguilla),
salmon (Salmo salar) and spiny
lobster (Palinurus elephas) for migration.
In many other marine species,
magnetite crystals within cells
act as an internal compass
thought to aid in migration.
Imagine an individual crab
setting off on a migration of
300+ miles to lay eggs: there are
very few visual cues available,
just open expanses of featureless
seafloor. No problem; with
compass pointed and bearing
set true, these journeys are not
as daunting as they may seem.
Figure 2. Anatomy of a sub-sea cable.
Now imagine the same journey
with a compass needle that
keeps spinning. That is what
may well be occurring around these
power cables, that will undoubtedly
be crossing migratory routes of
a number of marine species.
Exposure to artificial EMF has been
shown to negatively affect marine species
in a variety of ways. For example:
brown shrimp (Crangon crangon) and
edible crabs (Cancer pagurus) have been
shown to be attracted to EMF at a
cost of natural roaming behaviour. Sea
urchin (Paracentrotus lividus) embryonic
development has been found
to be delayed during exposure, and
barnacle larvae (Amphibalanus amphitrite)
settlement adversely affected.
Fish are also impacted; the coho
salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) suffers
suppressed stress-related hormones
and halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus)
incur delayed development.
A recent study conducted by St
Abbs Marine Station on the effects of
EMF on the commercially important
Figure 3. Edible crabs situated next to a subsea cable.
Image © Petra Harsanyi, St Abbs Marine Station.
edible crab highlights the potential
effects on overlooked benthic species.
The edible crab fishery is the most
valuable crab fishery in the UK, with
nearly 30,000 tonnes caught in 2014
(worth £13.8 million) in Scotland
alone. This study concluded that
edible crab is highly attracted to EMF,
overriding natural roaming behaviour
(Fig. 3). Crabs were affected on a
physiological level, with a disrupted
L-lactate and D-glucose circadian
rhythm which is essential
for maintaining metabolic
processes. If we assume this
could be the case for several
other crustacean species, then
artificial reefs created around
turbine bases, that will be
in close proximity to power
cables, could act as ‘magnets’,
attracting species and negating
the potential refuge that these
reefs are meant to provide.
Future considerations
and outlook
But it is not all doom and
gloom. Renewable energy is the future,
and the UK is perfectly placed to capitalize
on stormy seas and windy coasts.
Renewable energy provides 14,500 jobs
in Scotland and is worth £1 billion to
the Scottish economy. We have a unique
opportunity to get ahead of the game,
identify any potential problems, and
find solutions as we advance the UK’s
renewable infrastructure. Given the
uncertainty of the effects of MREDs’
stressors on marine benthic species, it
is clear more research is needed
to develop an understanding of
population-level consequences
and cumulative impacts. These
knowledge gaps need to be
addressed before the implementation
of the many approved wind
farm sites around the UK, to help
mitigate an ever-growing problem.
Kevin Scott (kevin.scott@
marinestation.co.uk) Marine
Station Manager, St Abbs
Marine Station.
Further reading:
Scott, K., Harsanyi, P., &
Lyndon, A.R. (2018). Understanding
the effects of electromagnetic field
emissions from Marine Renewable
Energy Devices (MREDs) on the
commercially important edible crab,
Cancer pagurus (L.). Marine Pollution
Bulletin, 131, 580-588.
24 The Marine Biologist | October 2018 October 2018 | The Marine Biologist 25

Features
The ocean microbiome
a biological engine that rules the waves
Michael Cunliffe reminds us, it’s the small things that matter when
thinking about the ocean!
What is the ocean
microbiome?
Seawater can initially
appear translucent, but it is teeming
with microbial life. The numbers are
immense and a little mind-blowing.
They vary, dependent on exactly where
you are in the ocean, but one drop
of seawater can contain 10 million
viruses, 1 million bacteria and a
thousand unicellular eukaryotes we
call protists. That’s one drop—imagine
all the drops in the oceans combined!
Combined together, these microbes in
their huge numbers and diversity, all
active and interacting with each other
and performing ecosystem functions,
make up the ocean microbiome.
A sense of scale—small but mighty
Recent calculations of the distribution
of biomass on Earth have
put marine microbes into global
perspective. There are an estimated
10 29 bacteria in the world’s oceans,
making up 1.3 giga tonnes (Gt) of
carbon (that’s 1,300,000, 000,000,000
grams!). In comparison, the total global
human population (estimated at 10 10 )
weighs only 0.06 Gt. The application
of DNA sequencing technologies has
also shown us that marine microbial
diversity is massive and the differences
between taxa are immense.
What do marine microbes do
and why are they important?
Microbes are the catalysts that
sustain marine ecosystem functions
and are vital for healthy and diverse
seas. They drive biogeochemical
cycles, maintaining the chemical
composition of seawater and the
atmosphere. This is where their vast
diversity is important because many
different microbes are specialists for
a specific function and they interact
with each other through established
networks of chemical reactions.
Microbes also form the base of the
marine food web. Unicellular microalgae
photosynthetically use sunlight
to produce organic carbon in the same
way as grass in a field or leaves on a
tree. Marine microbial photosynthesis
produces half of the oxygen we breathe!
A graphic illustrating the scale of microbial life. © Jack Sewell.
Microbes are also helping to solve
the problems that we have created
in the marine environment because
of their diverse metabolic capability.
For example, following the Deep
Water Horizon oil spill disaster in
the Gulf of Mexico, oil-degrading
bacterial specialists dramatically
increased in abundance and removed
some of the contamination.
Bioprospecting for blue gold
What marine microbes do in the
ocean naturally is important, but
some scientists are bringing these
functions into the laboratory for
biotechnological use. For example,
marine microbes appear to be a rich
source of antimicrobial compounds
that could be used to fight diseasecausing
microbes, and the degradative
power of marine microbes could
also be harnessed to help reduce
the impacts of plastic pollution.
Michael Cunliffe (micnli@mba.
ac.uk) MBA Senior Research Fellow,
and Associate Professor in Marine
Microbiology, University of Plymouth.
Further reading
Bar-On, Y.M., Phillips, R. & Milo, R.
(2018) The biomass distribution on
Earth. Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences. DOI: https://
doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1711842115.
de Vargas, C., Audic, S., Henry, N. et
al. (2015) Eukaryotic plankton diversity
in the sunlit ocean. Science. DOI:
10.1126/science.1261605
Figure 1. A black smoker hydrothermal vent emitting fine-grained
sulphide minerals. Image © Richard A. Lutz.
Emily Hardisty is an aspiring marine biologist with a
fascination for deep-sea environments and hydrothermal vents.
The picture that may come to mind when describing the
deep sea is that of cold, darkness and extreme pressure.
Advances in submarine technologies have aided the
discovery and understanding of deep-sea ecosystems,
revealing that hydrothermal vents support an enormous
biomass and productivity. However, with the recent
developments in deep-sea mining this diverse, delicate world
is now under threat.
Hydrothermal vents are found at depths of 1,000–4,000m,
usually along mid-ocean ridges. Sea water seeping down into
the seabed reacts with hot rock to form superheated chemical-laden
fluid that is ejected back into the ocean (Fig. 1). It
is here that chemosynthesis forms the basis of the food chain,
a form of primary production driven by specialized chemosynthetic
bacteria, rather than sunlight energy. A large
majority of the organisms adapted to this niche are holobiont
(host symbionts), harbouring the chemosynthetic bacteria,
for example the giant tube worm (Fig. 2).
In recent decades the demand for marine minerals and
metals has risen exponentially. Both inactive and active
hydrothermal vent sites have potentially commercial concentrations
of copper, zinc, gold, lead, barium and silver.
Mining operations targeting vent systems could include
the mechanical removal of ore, associated species and the
entirety of vent chimneys, resulting in a flatter topography
and compressed sediment. Even though vent systems are
naturally exposed to mineral fallout, larger sediment plumes
created during mining operations could expose vent species
to harmful amounts of sediment. This could smother
attached organisms and directly impact filter-feeding species.
Leaving some minerals and fauna untouched, and
reducing the amount of mining in designated areas could
minimize vent biodiversity loss. However, the uncertainty
of vent species recovery and large gaps in ecological
Features
A once-untouched world, now under threat?
knowledge make it difficult to assess the effectiveness of
these mitigation measures and concern is growing that
both direct and indirect impacts of deep-sea mining
will lead to the destruction and loss of vent habitats.
What will be the effects of deep-sea mining on vent species’
Figure 2. Aggregations of giant tube worms Riftia pachyptila surrounding
and inhabiting a hydrothermal vent. Image © Richard A. Lutz.
larval populations and population connectivity? Accumulating
evidence suggests that vent invertebrate populations
depend on the connectivity maintained by larval supplies,
with studies indicating that deep-sea circulation is the key
to the diversity, gene flow, and distribution of vent species.
However, other studies suggest that vent populations are
self-sustaining, retaining larvae. The possibility remains
that mining disturbances could deplete the larval supply for
such secluded environments, often separated by hundreds
of kilometres. This means that the destruction of one vent
system could have major implications for the connectivity
between other hydrothermal vent communities.
Ensuring that adequate sources of larvae are protected for
the recovery of vent systems is likely to be imperative.
Actions to sustain, study and conserve deep-sea environments
will aid overall ocean biodiversity and increase the
possibility of discoveries that could change our perceptions
of life on Earth.
Emily Hardisty (emilyhardisty@hotmail.co.uk) is a Marine
Science degree student at Falmouth Marine School.
Further reading
Mullineaux, L.S., Adams, D.K., Mills, S.W. & Beaulieu, S.E.
(2010) ‘Larvae from a far colonize deep-sea hydrothermal
vents after a catastrophic eruption’, Proceedings of the
National Academy of Science, 107(17), pp. 7829-7834.
Niner, H.J., Ardron, J.A., Escobar, E.G., Gianni, M.,
Jaeckel, A., Jones, D.O.B., Levin, L.A., Smith, C.R., Thiele,
T., Turner, P.J., Dover, C.L.V., Watling, L. & Gjerde, K.M.
(2018) ‘Deep-Sea Mining With No Net Loss of Biodiversity-
An Impossible Aim’, Frontiers in Marine Science, Available
at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/
fmars.2018.00053/full
26 The Marine Biologist | October 2018 October 2018 | The Marine Biologist 27

Features
Sharing marine science
Marine science at the gateway
to the Patagonian fjords
By Matthew Lee and Daniel Varela
The view from the Centro i~mar of the Canal Tenglo and Volcán Calbuco. © M. Lee.
The Centro i~mar is a marine station in
Chile's fjordland. Matt Lee introduces
some of the current research into this
unique environment.
Puerto Montt in southern Chile in
known as the gateway to
the Patagonian fjords. The
Pacific coastline of southern Chile,
from Puerto Montt down to Cape
Horn, consists of a complex series
of archipelagos, channels and fjords.
This is an area of outstanding natural
beauty: scarcely
populated and with
limited accessibility,
much of the area
is designated as
national parks. The
principal economic
activities in this
area are aquaculture
and fisheries which
rely on the pristine
marine habitat for
their success.
The Centro i~mar (Fig. 1) was established
in 2002 by the Universidad de
Los Lagos to study this environment,
its ecosystems, the anthropogenic
impacts, and to help develop a sustainable
management of marine resources.
The Centro i~mar also hosts the university’s
doctoral and masters programs
in the Management and Conservation
of Natural Resources. There are currently
17 researchers working at the
Centro i~mar on a variety of topics
including: the ecology and cultivation
Figure 1. The Centro i~mar, Puerto Montt, Chile. © M. Lee.
of macroalgae; the ecology and dynamics
of harmful algae; the population
genetics of marine organisms; the ecology
and ecophysiology of crustaceans
and molluscs; microbiology; biotechnology;
fish physiology and ecology;
physical and biological oceanographic
processes; and meiofaunal ecology.
Research into blooms of toxic
marine microalgae is of significant
importance in our region. Over recent
years there have been a number of
microalgae blooms of species such
as Alexandrium
catenella (Fig. 2) and
Pseudochattonella
verruculosa, that
have had significant
impacts on the
aquaculture industry,
with knock-on
consequences
for the regional
economy. For
example a bloom of
P. verruculosa in the
Figure 2. The bloom forming microalga Alexandrium catenella. © D.
Varela.
austral summer of 2016 killed nearly
25 million salmonids, resulting in
the closure of farms and processing
plants, and many people losing their
jobs. There are predictions that as
climate and ocean conditions change,
blooms will occur with increasing
frequency. A number of Centro i~mar
researchers are studying various aspects
of these algal blooms, such as how
the oceanographic dynamics of the
fjords and channels systems affect
At the MBA conference I presented
my published undergraduate work
on ocean acidification and how it
influences Mytilus edulis. This was the
first time I had presented my research
in front of an academic audience, giving
the population dynamics of bloomforming
microalgae, and under what
conditions the resting microalgal
cysts germinate to form blooms.
Another important area of research
for the Centro i~mar is the ecology
and cultivation of macroalgae, with
species of interest including Macrocystis
pyrifera, Durvillia antarctica and Gracillaria
chilensis (Fig. 3). The research
focuses on developing cultivation
techniques, and adding value with, for
me a taste of what to expect from future
scientific conferences and meetings.
It also led to engaging questions and
discussions about my project and future
implications for research in this area.
It was also very informative to
attend talks from other postgraduate
students. These talks introduced me to
areas of research previously unknown
to me; I was particularly intrigued
by the talk on ‘Why whales can’t get
cancer’. A few of the talks were directly
relevant to my current research into
nanoplastics, which allowed me to discuss
future techniques and directions,
in particular a method of potentially
quantifying the plastics in the freshwater
system I currently work on.
I found the workshops particularly
helpful and interesting. The first
workshop, run by the Royal Society
of Biology, involved networking,
Figure 3. Cultivation of the macroalga Gracillaria chilensis. © M. Lee.
example, the production of biofuels,
and using algae as part of integrated
multitrophic aquaculture systems.
Southern Chile is a fantastic
place for marine research and the
investigators of the Centro i~mar
are always open to collaborations.
Dr Matthew R. Lee
(matthew.lee@ulagos.cl)
Centro i~mar, Universidad de Los
Lagos, Puerto Montt, Chile
http://i-mar.cl/
And the winners are...
MBA student bursary awardees report on how the grants have helped them develop their careers.
The MBA Postgraduate
Conference, 21–23 May 2018,
Plymouth.
Daniel Sadler presenting at the MBA
Postgraduate Conference.
Image © Daniel Sadler.
and how to correctly interact with
other academics at a conference.
The exercise, which I found incredibly
useful, involved exiting your
comfort zone to talk to other people
you have yet to meet, and to discuss
aspects of your research and theirs.
It is also to be noted that the
social events, such as the meeting
in the National Marine Aquarium
and dinner at the MBA were equally
useful in establishing contacts and
meeting people with similar research
interests. In conclusion, my experience
of this, my first scientific conference,
was incredibly educational, allowing
networking with people with diverse
research interests, and was enjoyable
to say the least. I look forward
to the MBA conference 2019!
Daniel Sadler
(daniel.e.sadler@hotmail.com)
28 The Marine Biologist | October 2018 October 2018 | The Marine Biologist 29

Sharing marine science
Asia-Pacific Coral Reef
Symposium, 4–8 June 2018,
Cebu City, The Philippines.
attended this Symposium with the
I help of a Marine Biological
Association bursary.
I presented my research from
the first year of my PhD on the
conservation of Japanese coral reef
ecosystems under climate change,
which I am undertaking at The
University of Leeds. This was my
first time presenting at and attending
an international conference, and
overall it was a fantastic experience.
The theme of the conference was
‘Coral Reefs of the Asia-Pacific:
working together amidst contemporary
challenges’, and with over 620 participants,
there were many interesting talks
and posters from academics, students
and representatives of NGOs. It was
very inspiring to meet people who are
working on similar topics to me, and
I got some great feedback on my work
which will help develop my research.
While many of the talks acknowledged
coral reef degradation, what
was refreshing was that these talks also
provided hope for the future, through
showing the recovery potential of
degraded reefs and providing potential
solutions towards their conservation.
For me, the take-home message was
that coral reefs may not survive in their
current locations and current states,
but with hard work, we can ensure that
they will survive and persist somewhere
and somehow, for future generations.
The evening dinners of the conference
were excellent, introducing us to
Filipino culture through local delicacies
Katie Cook at the Asia-Pacific Coral Reef Symposium in the Philippines. Image © Katie Cook.
and performances of traditional singing
and dancing. The students’ night was a
particular favourite of mine as I made
friends with many like-minded young
scientists who I will hopefully meet
again at conferences in years to come.
Katie Cook (katiemcook2@gmail.com)
Identifying marine species and
habitats: the biotope approach
Anyone who has been rockpooling
can tell you of the myriad
communities that exist on our coasts,
from boulders covered in seaweed, to
anemone-filled rockpools, and even the
glimpse of kelp forests on a spring tide.
Understanding the extent and
distribution of these distinct communities
is essential for monitoring
and conserving our coastline, and
this is where marine biotopes come
in. Developed by the Joint Nature
Conservation Committee (JNCC), the
biotope approach allows habitats to be
mapped, and their extent monitored.
On the beautiful island of Great
Cumbrae, I and a small group of
ecologists had the opportunity to
learn how to identify and record
biotopes, with the expert guidance
of Paula Lightfoot and Jane Pottas.
Our practice run on Farland Point
allowed us to get to grips with the
basic principles, as well as honing
our identification skills. Once we had
gathered the necessary information,
we were back in the lab, using a bit
of detective work (and the extremely
helpful JNCC website) to identify each
biotope we had come across. With a
full day's experience under our belts,
we were prepared to take things up a
notch at White Bay. My group opted
to take transects of the biotopes down
the shore, recording the abundance
of species present in each biotope as
we worked our way down the shore.
As well as the widespread algae, we
also found brittle stars, sea lemons,
and a monster of a dahlia anemone.
This course allowed me to learn
and practice new skills, which will
be very useful in my journey as a
PhD researcher. I am extremely
grateful to the MBA for providing
me with a travel bursary to help
make this opportunity possible.
Abbie Mabey (A.L.Mabey@soton.ac.uk)
Abbie Mabey learning about biotopes, isle of
Great Cumbrae. Image © Abbie Mabey.
To present science is
human, to communicate
science is divine
Stacy A. Krueger-Hadfield argues that courses in science
communication are a necessary part of scientific training.
Science communication courses, workshops, and guides
are popping up across scientific disciplines.
Communicating with the wider public is increasingly
important, but surprisingly, students do not have many
opportunities to hone these skills beyond learning the strict
rules of a scientific paper.
I have puzzled over the renewed emphasis on science
communication. Should that not have been the goal all
along? Should we not be able to translate our work for
someone outside our immediate field of research as well as
someone without a science background? Is that not our duty
when using taxpayers’ money to fund our research?
In 2017, I had the pleasure of interviewing Joe Palca,
from National Public Radio (NPR), for The Molecular Ecologist,
a blog I have been writing for since 2014. He eloquently
described how a literate person could have, and still can,
read and understand Darwin. I am not sure that my parents,
who were my seaweed roadies throughout my Masters
research, could easily read one of my scientific publications
from that research, despite sampling those seaweeds.
How do we improve our communication skills such that
our research is readily accessible?
The short answer is practice. However, this necessitates a
venue in which to practise.
I was fortunate that I was required to take a course called
Proseminar at California State University, Northridge
(CSUN) in California while conducting my Masters thesis
research. The course was led by Professor Robert Espinoza, a
Megan Roegner presenting her poster at Darwin Day, A Celebration of
Science in February 2018. Image © Stacy A. Krueger-Hadfield
Sharing marine science
herpetologist at CSUN. Little did I know at the time just
how much of an influence this course would have on my
career.
Fast forward to 2016. I was beginning my position as a
tenure-track Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama
at Birmingham (UAB), and forming my research laboratory.
I chose to lecture my first semester, rather than my second,
as I was waiting on lab renovations and my lab consisted
of … well, me. I could create a seminar on a topic of my
choice. I cast around for ideas, but inevitably came back to
Proseminar. I had never come across another course quite
like it—neither in Europe where I earned my PhD and
conducted postdoctoral research at the Marine Biological
Association, nor back in the United States as a postdoc.
There were opportunities to write scientific papers, maybe
even give mini-lectures, but there were few opportunities
to hone presentation skills, enhance grantsmanship,
or learn how to peer review. I sent Prof Espinoza an
email about my plan to offer a similar graduate course
at UAB. He responded with all of his course materials.
I took his template and made it my own, including
offering students an opportunity to publish blogs on The
Molecular Ecologist and more material on social media.
Over the past two years, I have been fortunate enough
to offer my version of Proseminar, called Scientific Communication,
twice. Alumni have been awarded poster
and oral presentation prizes at national and international
conferences, won competitive grants, and have published
blogs on The Molecular Ecologist. Two of my SciComm
alumni also enrolled on a short course on poster presentations
that I offered for Darwin Day, a Celebration of
Science in February 2018. I was the chair of our Darwin
Day festivities at UAB, and PhD students Sabrina Heiser
and Megan Roegner (now Dr Roegner) presented posters
about their thesis research. Members of the wider Birmingham
community attend this event. Thus, posters had to
be approachable, interactive, and not a Dickens novel!
Speaking as an alumna and now an assistant professor,
I am convinced that it is necessary to implement
similar courses across universities and research
laboratories. Below are some of the aspects of a career
in scientific research which we tackle each semester:
1. Peer review: constructive criticism is a skill one must
acquire through rigorous practice. We peer review every
type of communication upon which we work throughout
the course, from grants to blog posts. This has led to funded
Sigma Xi Grants-In-Aid because both the scientific merit
and the broader impacts of the successful grants were
clearly and articulately explained to a general audience.
2. Presentations: we design and create posters (not your
typical jargon-y and text-heavy posters, but posters in the
spirit of 'brevity is the soul of wit') and oral presentations
throughout the semester. The oral presentations are split
into three parts in which students present a theory, then
30 The Marine Biologist | October 2018 October 2018 | The Marine Biologist 31

Sharing marine science
Sharing marine science
Box 1. What the students say
“Taking a science communication class has greatly improved my
skills to communicate my research to a wider audience. It also
taught me to constructively criticize the work of others, and, realize
at the same time, that there is not always a right or wrong way to
present research. Whilst improving skills that I am still working on, I
also became more confident in finding my own style of presenting.
Last but not least, I got a non-peer-reviewed publication on The
Molecular Ecologist blog out of the class, as well as several successful
grant applications.” – Sabrina Heiser, Plymouth University
alumna and MBA member, now a PhD student in the Amsler Lab at
UAB.
Sabrina Heiser presenting her poster at Darwin Day, A Celebration of
Science, in February 2018. Image credit Stacy A. Krueger-Hadfield
a data talk, and conclude with a 20-minute seminar that
includes both theory and data (not unlike a shortened job
talk). After each presentation, we critique the things which
went well and the things which fell short of the goal.
3. Grantsmanship: it is a fact universally acknowledged
that if you do not apply for that grant, you will not be
awarded that grant. The only way to improve grant-writing
skills is to write and apply for every grant one possibly
can, but also get peer feedback. Students on my course
come from various fields within the biological sciences. If
one can write a compelling grant on algal chemical ecology
which someone who works on Drosophila epigenetics
can understand, one is headed in the right direction.
4. Curriculum vitae: CVs tell the tale of one’s
career. We work on each student’s CV, from aesthetics
to content. Once again, peer review is key!
5. Blogging: the opportunity to be published on
Blaze, the UAB mascot.
Image © Steve Wood
The Molecular Ecologist blog. This is a non-peer-reviewed
publication to add to their CV and early in a CV’s life, real
estate is important. Contributing to The Molecular Ecologist
has profoundly changed my writing and how I think
about writing scientific articles. Writing is something that,
as scientists, we really need to try to do every day. It is, in
effect, similar to running, cycling, or swimming. When
you miss a session, you feel it. Being able to write for different
audiences is an important skill. Moreover, it opens
up other opportunities outside of tenure-track academia.
Stacy A. Krueger-Hadfield (sakh@uab.edu) is Assistant
Professor in the Department of Biology at The University
of Alabama at Birmingham www.uab.edu/cas/biology
Further reading
Krueger-Hadfield lab science communication: https://www.
quooddy.com/outreach-press-and-presentations.html
The Molecular Ecologist:
http://www.molecularecologist.com
Reviews
Deep thinkers
Author: Janet Mann (Editor)
ISBN: 13: 9781782405078
Format: Hardback 192 pp.
Published by: University of
Chicago Press
This book aims to summarize
the current scientific
knowledge of whale and
dolphin intelligence (and
complex behaviours) for a wide
audience. Whilst it appears to
be a coffee table book aimed
at the lay reader, it is written by
scientists and is rather uneven
in terms of pitching towards
the readers’ levels of scientific
knowledge.
The book has an introduction
and eight chapters. The
first chapter is an overview of
cetacean research techniques.
Chapter 2 is on the cetacean
brain. Through annotated
figures the authors do quite a
good job of explaining
complicated neuroanatomy. I
would have perhaps been
more critical of the encephalization
quotient, which is not a
great way of assessing
intelligence as so many
unusual factors affect marine
mammal body masses (such
as thick blubber layers in most
species and the massive
spermaceti organ in sperm
whales), but that’s a personal
bugbear of mine. Despite that,
this is an interesting and pretty
accessible chapter.
Chapter 3 is on cognition
(i.e. what many would consider
to be intelligence). This is one
of the longer chapters and
personally one of my favourites,
as it describes a number
of intriguing experiments
testing dolphins’ cognitive
abilities, as as well as giving a
description of dolphin
cognition pioneer and extreme
oddball, John Lilly. Chapter 4
is an interesting and accessible
review of cetacean
communication from detailed
discussions on signature
whistles to humpback whale
song. There is also a section
on the problem noise poses to
cetacean communication.
Chapter 5 is on social
behaviour and Chapter 6
covers culture in cetaceans.
Chapter 7 is a short chapter
on tool use in cetaceans
including examples, such as
bubble netting. Again, a really
interesting chapter, and an
easy read to boot.
The final chapter is on
cetacean conservation. The
chapter covers a broad range
of issues from whaling to
pollution and noise. As this
really is my forte, I have one or
two very minor quibbles but
they don’t distract from this
being a good, broad discussion
of the wide range of
environmental threats faced by
cetaceans. Having just read a
litany of their woes, the
average reader would probably
want to do something to help
cetacean conservation.
Fortunately, the chapter ends
with a 'what you can do'
section (although a selection of
links to NGO websites (e.g.
www.whales.org) would have
been useful here).
Deep Thinkers is really
interesting and an accessible
read (although if you are not a
cetacean scientist you may
have to look up a few terms).
Chris Parsons
(ecm-parsons@earthlink.net)
Exemplary Practices in
Marine Science
Education
Author(s): Géraldine Fauville,
Diana L. Payne, Meghan E.
Marrero, Annika Lantz-Andersson,
Fiona Crouch (Eds)
ISBN: 9783319907772;
9783319907789 (ebook)
Format: Hardback
Published by: Springer
This is the first book
dedicated exclusively to
marine science education. It
has 24 chapters by 56
contributors, most are from the
USA, but contributors from
Europe, Asia, and Australia
give the book an international
flavour. The chapters are
grouped into three sections:
Introduction, Research and
Practitioner. Each chapter
takes the form of a standalone,
extensively referenced
paper.
The Introduction starts with
an inspiring chapter on ocean
literacy, the main theme of the
book. The second chapter
focuses on project development
and evaluation. It ends
with a conscience-pricking
admonition for practitioners to
publish their projects so that
other educators can benefit
from their findings.
The eight Research
chapters highlight a variety of
theoretical frameworks used to
implement and evaluate ocean
literacy projects delivered in
different formal, informal and
community contexts, to
different age groups.
The core of the book
consists of 14 Practitioner
chapters which showcase
exemplary practices. The
chapters include a variety of
case studies from different
parts of the world. They
contain much practical wisdom
about designing, delivering,
and evaluating projects in
different settings.
Inevitably, in a 542-page
book compiled by five editors
with contributions from 56
authors, the writing style varies
from the conversational and
subjective to the formal and
objective. There is no glossary
and the index does not include
all the keywords. There are
some distracting typos, and
the text on a few figures is
difficult to read. But these are
minor gripes. What shines
through each chapter is the
passion the contributors have
for improving ocean literacy.
Together, they have produced
a truly inspiring volume that
contains a wealth of information
for anyone involved in
marine science education or
citizen science projects.
Mike Kent MemMBA
(mike.kent@tiscali.co.uk)
Eye of the Shoal. A
Fishwatcher’s Guide to
Life, the Oceans and
Everything
Author: Helen Scales
ISBN: 978-1-4729-3684-4
Format: Hardback 320 pp.
Published by: Bloomsbury
Sigma
How many of us were aware
that the red fluorescence of
some deepwater gobies’ eyes
reflects in the eyes of shrimps
or some other invertebrates
marking them out as prey?
Helen Scales’ book is full of
such intriguing nuggets. She
displays wide experience of
fishwatching all over the
planet, and shows a thorough
understanding of fish’s natural
history and environment. She
has produced a compendium
of lovely little stories from the
lives of fishes.
The narrative is enhanced by
abundant interesting footnotes.
The use of scientific names
would have broken up the flow
of the text, but personally, I
would have appreciated a
glossary of scientific names of
the fish mentioned, so that I
could read up further on some
of the accounts.
Each chapter carries a
frontispiece illustrating some of
the characters that appear
within, but further relevant
illustrations would have been
informative.
32 The Marine Biologist | October 2018 October 2018 | The Marine Biologist 33

Sharing marine science
This book encompasses the
stories of the people who study
fish and some of the ingenious
methods they use. The fish’s
environment is seen from a
scientific viewpoint, bringing
fish behaviour together with
physics, geology and chemistry,
and includes some of the
latest research. Its scope is
wide-ranging including the
effects of not only fisheries but
also global politics.
Historical aspects include:
the importance of fossil shark
teeth as the basis of 17th
century stratigraphy; and
colliers taking buckets of
putrefying fish down the mine
to provide a dim, but safe, light.
Many anecdotes seem half
told, leaving you wanting more
information; in the absence of
scientific names this is not
always easy to find. In the case
of the Sunfish (Mola mola), the
mystery of how a fish without a
tail can leap clear of the water
or ‘breach’ is left unexplained.
The book ends with a case
for the intellectual abilities of
fish and the question ‘do fish
feel pain’, in the context of wild
or farmed animals.
This is a significant coverage
of the world of fascinating fish.
With the decline of global
catches after the passing of
‘peak fish’ in 1996, it may
induce people to take fish
seriously.
Doug Herdson (douglas.
herdson@btinternet.com)
Exploring Britain's
Hidden World. A Natural
History of Seabed
Habitats
Author: Keith Hiscock
ISBN: 978-0-9955673-4-4
Format: Hardback 272pp
Published by: Wild Nature
Press
Our reliance on the ocean
for the food we eat, the oxygen
we breathe, the inspiration and
awe it engenders, and the
services it provides in—thus
far—mitigating the worst
effects of climate change have,
for too long, been taken for
granted. In part, at least, this is
due to our lack of a real
connection with this ‘alien’
environment. That is until
scuba and recreational diving
became accessible to many
more people. This book charts
the progress that has been
made over the last 50 years
from a perspective of personal
experience over that time.
Despite the advances in
technology and accessibility of
diving, it is still the preserve of
a tiny minority. This means that
the vast majority of people are
still woefully unaware of the
spectacular marine life to be
found in the ‘cold, grey waters’
that surround this island.
Mention the marine
environment to most people
and they will conjure up images
of places like the Great Barrier
Reef, The Red Sea, or the
Maldives. If only they knew
what they were missing on their
doorstep! This book is
wonderfully illustrated with
hundreds (too many to count)
of the author’s beautiful
photographs that give the
reader the opportunity to be
inspired and hopefully realize
that under that often grey and
forbidding surface there are
many hidden gems to rival
anything anywhere else in the
world.
Awareness of the threats to
marine wildlife are now more in
people’s minds: Blue Planet II
and plastic are testament to
that. This book touches on the
many threats but perhaps falls
just short in really exploring the
scale of these threats. My one
other criticism is the map on
page 6. It claims to show the
names of places mentioned in
the text, but apart from the
south-west of England it falls
way short in achieving that
aim.
But this book is first and
foremost a celebration of
Britain’s hidden world, and as
such it is a triumph.
John Baxter
(j.baxter4@btinternet.com)
Become an examiner
with Cambridge
We are growing and over 10000 schools in
more than 160 countries are now part of our
Cambridge learning community. To support
our continued growth worldwide, we are
inviting teachers to develop their
professional experience by becoming
Cambridge examiners.
We are welcoming new examiners for the
following subjects at Cambridge IGCSE,
Cambridge Pre-U and Cambridge International
AS & A Level.
• Marine Science
• Biology
• Environmental Management
• Combined Science
Requirements are:
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which fit around your existing commitments.
34 The Marine Biologist | October 2018
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Issue 12 of The Marine Biologist
The
Marine
Biologist
The magazine of the
marine biological community
April 2019
www.mba.ac.uk/marine-biologist