The Marine Biologist Issue 36

ISSUE 36 OCTOBER 2025
ISSN 2052-5273
THE MAGAZINE OF THE MARINE BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITY
FURRY
ECOSYSTEM
ENGINEERS

2
i n s i d e
ISSUE 36 OCTOBER 2025
ISSN 2052-5273
THE MAGAZINE OF THE MARINE BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITY
contents
ON THE COVER:
A southern sea otter (Enhydra
lutris nereis) in Monterey Bay.
© Rebecca Jewell.
Back cover
Copernicus Sentinel-2 image of a
vivid, turquoise algal boom east
of Scotland’s Shetland Islands.
Credit: Contains modified
Copernicus Sentinel data (2021),
processed by ESA. CC BY-SA 3.0
IGO
creativecommons.org/licenses/
by-sa/3.0/igo/
18
FURRY
ECOSYSTEM
ENGINEERS
AN OCEAN OF
SCIENCE
6 TRUST THE LOCALS:
Artisanal fishers’ knowledge
of the seabed is priceless.
8 THE SCALLOP DISCO
Shining a light on
sustainable scallop fishing.
POLICY
10 PACT FOR
OCEAN PROGRESS
The EU launches a new
ocean strategy.
11 REALITY CHECK FOR
MARINE PROTECTION
The Wildlife Trusts assess
the state of UK MPAs.
FEATURES
14 FURRY ECOSYSTEM
ENGINEERS
Sea otters get a second
chance at Monterey Bay
Aquarium, a global leader in
sea otter conservation.
18 LOOKING BACK,
LOOKING SHOREWARD
How do predictions of
impacts on rocky shores
hold up a quarter of a
century on?
6
ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE IN
MARINE BIOLOGY
22 PICTURES, PATTERNS,
AND PREDICTIONS
AI and marine
biological research.
20 SUSTAINING SMALL-
SCALE FISHERIES
Recognizing the importance
of this sector is critical to
protecting its future.
24 A MARINE SYSTEM
THAT THINKS BEFORE IT
PREDICTS THE FUTURE
Forecasting coastal
water quality.
27
The Marine Biologist is the Membership
magazine of the Marine Biological Association
@thembauk
The Marine Biological Association
The Laboratory
Citadel Hill
Plymouth
PL1 2PB
Editor
Guy Baker
editor@mba.ac.uk
+44 (0) 1752 426493
Editorial Board
Guy Baker, Eliane Bastos, Matthew Bunce, Bryony
Caswell, Olivia Elliott, Daniel Martin, Denise Ada
Okpala, Maya Plass, Kateřina Schiffnederová,
Sophie Stafford, Anna Turns, Miranda Wilson.
Membership
Alex Street
membership@mba.ac.uk
+44 (0) 1752 426493
www.mba.ac.uk/our-membership
ISSN: 2052-5273
www.mba.ac.uk/our-membership/our-magazine
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those of the Marine Biological Association.
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October 2025
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l e t t e r f r o m t h e e d i t o r 3
30
27 TAKING AI TO
THE MOVIES
How artificial intelligence is
helping us discover the ocean.
28 FROM POLYP TO PIXEL
The role of photogrammetry
in coral reef science.
30 DIVING INTO
SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY
The University of
Plymouth’s new MRes
in Scientific Diving.
31 THE LOST COMPASS
Climate change and the
vanishing waypoints of North
Pacific humpback whales.
33 MACKEREL MYTHS
AND MANAGEMENT
A brief and unusually
adventurous look at a
coastal conundrum.
THE VOICE OF
MARINE BIOLOGY
34 SCIENCE JOURNAL FOR
KIDS: MULTIPLE HUNTING
DISPLAYS IN WILD BROAD
CLUB CUTTLEFISH
38 UNLOCK YOUR
RESEARCH POTENTIAL
MBA grants and awards.
39 THE MBA’S ANNUAL
GENERAL MEETING
40 READERS’ SURVEY: WE
ASKED, YOU RESPONDED
41 MEET THE MEMBERS
REVIEWS
42
How far can
artificial
intelligence
extend our
knowledge of
marine life?
UNFOLDING
STORIES
Welcome to The Marine Biologist magazine and please
put your paws together for our cover story, which
celebrates Monterey Bay Aquarium’s sea otter
conservation programme.
Back in 2001, experimental ecologist Professor Stephen Hawkins
and colleagues drew on decades of experience to predict the
future for rocky shores. Twenty-five years later, Professor Hawkins
looks back at how those predictions unfolded and discusses the
changing pressures on rocky shores.
How far can artificial intelligence (AI) predict the future and
extend our knowledge of marine life? Dive into our special AI
section to find out. Researchers are tapping into the impressive
ability of AI to spot patterns and provide insights from mountains
of data. Its strengths include addressing gaps in biodiversity
maps, identifying different species from underwater footage, and
predicting harmful algal blooms.
Unlike many countries, the UK still has an inshore fishing fleet,
but it is in trouble. We need to value and support artisanal fishers
or risk losing generations of knowledge and the heart of many
coastal communities (page 20). Meanwhile, in the clear waters of
the eastern Aegean Sea, the local knowledge of small-scale fishers
is put to the test where protecting the right areas of the seabed is
critically important (see page 6).
Too many UK marine protected areas are failing to deliver
effective protection. That is the conclusion of The Wildlife Trusts,
whose assessment of the UK’s MPA network is summarized on
page 11.
At our recent Editorial Board meeting, I was blown away by the
new board members and the knowledge and experience that
they bring to the development of our magazine. Working with
and getting to know MBA members is very rewarding and I am
convinced that we (by which I mean the whole MBA membership)
will create a magazine that consistently exceeds expectations.
Guy Baker Mem.MBA, Editor
editor@mba.ac.uk
LISTEN IN:
The Marine Biologist podcast: Coastal predictions with
Professor Stephen Hawkins. www.mba.ac.uk/our-membership/
our-magazine
October 2025

4
i n b r i e f
PORTUGUESE MAN O’
WAR REVEALED TO BE
FOUR SEPARATE SPECIES
A
recent study published in
Current Biology overturns
the long-held notion
that the Portuguese man o’ war
(Physalia physalis), a colonial
hydrozoan, is a single, globally
distributed species. New genomic
research has confirmed that this
striking organism is, in fact, four
distinct species.
An international team of
researchers analysed the
genomes of 151 Physalia spp
specimens collected globally.
Their findings show that the
lineages are genetically distinct
and reproductively isolated,
even where their ranges overlap.
This discovery is supported
by morphological differences,
identified through the study of
thousands of citizen-science
images submitted to the
iNaturalist platform.
The four confirmed species are
Physalia physalis, P. utriculus, P.
megalista, and a newly described
species, P. minuta, recorded
near Australia and New Zealand.
Advanced ocean circulation
modelling further revealed that
each species contains genetically
distinct subpopulations
structured by regional winds
and currents. While naturalists
in the 18th and 19th centuries
had proposed multiple Physalia
species, this view was later
dismissed in favour of a single,
cosmopolitan species.
The study not only resolves
a longstanding taxonomic
debate, but also highlights
unexpected diversity in openocean
ecosystems, habitats once
considered largely homogeneous.
Recognizing these separate
species has important implications
for understanding marine
biodiversity, ecology, and the
evolutionary processes that shape
life in the pelagic realm.
The Portuguese man o’ war
(Physalia physalis). Image
courtesy of Islands in the Sea
2002, NOAA/OER., Public
domain, via Wikimedia
Commons.
Sources: oceanographicmagazine.
com/news/portuguese-man-owar-turn-out-to-be-four-separatespecies/
Church, S.H. et al. 2025.
Population genomics of a sailing
siphonophore reveals genetic
structure in the open ocean.
Current Biology, 35(15): 3556-
3569. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
cub.2025.05.066
A WHALE IN THE COURTROOM
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the major threat to whales and other cetacea came
from hunters. Blubber lit lamps, painted walls, and washed hands; bones created
corsets and garden sheds; and ambergris enhanced perfumes.
Over 200 years later, hunting is rare and extensive protective frameworks
have been in place for decades. Yet, human activities continue to heavily impact
cetaceans.
Using the 2025 UN Ocean Conference as a springboard for change, The Pacific
Whale Fund, Ocean Vision Legal, and Simmons & Simmons London have proposed
international legislation which conveys ‘legal personhood’ on cetacea, granting
them standing in the judicial system.
An ever-evolving concept, ‘legal personhood’, has been applied to corporations
and ships, and more recently to certain ecosystems across the world. Its application
to nature, however, is hotly debated. Some argue that it is fanciful symbolism which
undermines human rights principles, and that its application to migratory species
is unfeasible. Others contend that it provides protections that existing laws cannot,
and helps to hold those responsible to account.
The new bill—Te Mana o Te Tohorā, ‘the enduring power of whales’—is part
of a wider global rights for nature movement and intends to set a standard for
environmental protection and facilitate its integration into national legislation. So
far, it has been signed by indigenous leaders from six countries across the Pacific.
Sources: www.oceanrising.co/p/im-a-person-too-the-legal-revolution?r=1x6gj5&utm_
campaign=post&utm_medium=web&triedRedirect=true
ecojurisprudence.org/initiatives/he-whakaputanga-moana-declaration-for-the-ocean-treaty/
IT’S THE LAW!
HIGH SEAS TREATY
WILL COME INTO
FORCE IN 2026
On 19 September 2025, the
Biodiversity Beyond National
Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement,
or High Seas Treaty, passed
the threshold of 60 state
ratifications needed to become
binding international law and
will come into force in 2026.
The treaty has been almost
20 years in the making.
Jennifer Morris, CEO of The
Nature Conservancy said,
‘Protecting our planet hinges
on binding protections of
international waters—without
them, global 30x30 targets slip
beyond reach’.
The treaty lays the
foundations for more effective
governance and protection of
the open ocean.
October 2025
www.mba.ac.uk

i n b r i e f 5
IN THE NET
Coral reefs tip
towards catastrophic
decline
The widespread decline of
warm water corals marks the
first Global Tipping Point.
global-tipping-points.org
Dog saves whales
Dogs sniff out poo to
help orca conservation.
wildorca.org/story/howdogs-can-save-orcas
Crustacean
castration
Parasitic barnacle hijacks
mud crab’s body.
whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/
body-snatchers-parasitesare-on-the-hunt-for-mudcrabs
A DARKER OCEAN
A recent study published
in Global Change Biology
reveals that over the past
two decades, approximately
21per cent of the global
ocean has experienced a
reduction in the depth of its
photic zone, the upper layer
where sunlight penetrates
and supports most marine
life. This ‘ocean darkening’
has significant implications
for marine ecosystems.
Using satellite data and
numerical modelling to
analyse changes in the
photic zone depth between
2003 and 2022, researchers
found that nearly 10 per
cent of the ocean has
seen a decrease in photic
zone depth by over 50
metres, with some areas
experiencing reductions
exceeding 100 metres.
Notably, this darkening
is not confined to coastal
regions but extends into
vast areas of the open
ocean. The study also
identified regions where the
ocean has become lighter,
suggesting a complex
and dynamic interplay of
factors influencing light
penetration.
The main causes of
ocean darkening are
believed to be increased
nutrient and sediment
loading from agricultural
runoff and intensified
rainfall, particularly in
coastal zones. In the open
ocean, changes in algal
bloom dynamics and shifts
in sea surface temperatures
are contributing to reduced
light availability. Ocean
darkening can disrupt
marine species that rely on
sunlight for survival and
reproduction, potentially
leading to cascading
effects throughout the
marine food web.
The challenges posed
by ocean darkening are
multifaceted, and this study
underscores the necessity for
comprehensive monitoring
as well as improved land
management strategies.
Source: Davies, T.W. and Smyth,
T. 2025. Darkening of the
global ocean. Global Change
Biology, 31(5). doi:https://doi.
org/10.1111/gcb.70227.
OCEAN-SPANNING
ALGAE
Coral bleaching in
the Maldives, 2016.
© The Ocean Agency
/ Ocean Image Bank.
The Sargasso Sea is a region of
the north Atlantic famed for its
vast rafts of floating seaweed
which form a unique habitat for a wide
range of species.
The last 40 years have seen a dramatic
expansion of this mobile ecosystem which
has extended from the Gulf of Mexico to the
west coast of Africa in most years since 2011.
in May this year, the biomass of the
belt exceeded the average 7.3 million
tons usually found in the Sargasso Sea
by a record 37.5 million tons. Such vast
volumes impact fishing and tourism
through inundation of shorelines and have
even caused the emergency shutdown of a
nuclear reactor in Florida.
Focusing on changes in the elemental
composition of Sargassum spp. tissue, a
review in the journal Harmful Algae found
that nitrogen has risen sharply since 1980,
while phosphorus declined slightly. This
rise in the ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus
points to the increased importance of
wastewater discharges, runoff from
agricultural land, and coastal upwelling as
sources of nitrogen.
Satellite data has confirmed early
oceanographers’ conclusions that the algae
grow in the nutrient-laden Western Gulf
The sargassumfish Histrio histrio, a type of frogfish
that lives among Sargassum spp. seaweed.
Baldwin, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
of Mexico from where wind and currents
transport it to the oligotrophic (nutrient
poor) waters of the Sargasso Sea.
Said lead author, Brian Lapointe, ‘Our
review helps to connect the dots between
land-based nutrient pollution, ocean
circulation, and the unprecedented
expansion of Sargassum across an entire
ocean basin.’
Source: Lapointe, B.E., Webber, D.F. and
Brewton, R.A. 2025. Productivity, growth, and
biogeochemistry of pelagic Sargassum in a
changing world. Harmful Algae. 150. 10.1016/j.
hal.2025.102940
www.mba.ac.uk
October 2025

6
a n o c e a n o f s c i e n c e
Artisanal fisherman
in the Eastern
Aegean. © Konstantis
Alexopoulos /
Archipelagos
Institute of Marine
Conservation.
TRUST THE LOCALS
How does artisanal fishers’ knowledge of the seabed compare to policy-level maps? By Konstantis
Alexopoulos, Abigail McQuatters-Gollop, and Anastasia Miliou.
Coastal seabed habitats, such as seagrass beds and
coral reefs, are driving the richness and resilience of
our oceans. These ecosystems are of fundamental
importance for supporting marine biodiversity, and they
also provide essential services to our communities. They protect
shorelines from erosion by stabilizing sediments and attenuating
wave energy, they filter water, absorb carbon dioxide, and act
as nursery grounds that replenish the fish stocks our fisheries
depend on. Yet, despite their importance, we still struggle with a
fundamental question: where exactly are they?
While in recent years governments worldwide are
signing international treaties, enacting conservation laws
and committing to bold declarations to protect these vital
ecosystems, enforcement of the rules often lags behind. One
of the key reasons for this is that we still lack reliable maps
showing where many of these productive and fragile habitats
lie. And it is impossible to protect something if its exact location
remains unknown.
An overlooked source of knowledge
In spite of evolving tools and technologies to help us map—and
protect—these key habitats, we still find ourselves inching towards
the goal that was set during the 2022 One Ocean Summit: to
have fully mapped the world’s seabed by 2030; 5 years from
now. And the steep price tag of technology has created a distinct
imbalance of global mapping efforts by limiting their users
mostly to government-subsidized oceanographic centres and
academic institutions in developed nations.
Yet, the lack of official marine habitat maps should not be
mistaken for a complete absence of information about their
distribution. Beyond shiny new equipment and expensive
projects to map ‘previously unexplored’ coastal ecosystems
lies a different, older source of knowledge.
Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) refers to the observations
and insights that local communities, like fishers, gain through
daily interaction with their environment. Unlike citizen science
apps that are built on valuable observations, yet scattered
through space and time, LEK is built over decades and passed
down through generations. Despite its potential, LEK has
long been discredited, undervalued, and overlooked by both
scientists and policymakers, often due to concerns about bias
or inaccuracy. While many researchers emphasize the value of
LEK for conservation and highlight the importance of working
with local communities to achieve shared goals, others
continue to resist its integration into policy-level mapping.
This resistance often stems from technocratic distrust and a
tendency to dismiss LEK as merely anecdotal or unreliable.
Our 2025 study puts that scepticism to the test. 1 We
focused on five small Greek islands—Fourni, Arki, Patmos,
Lipsi, and Leros—where artisanal fishing has been a way of life
1
Alexopoulos, K. Grandjean, T.J., Miliou, A., Tsimpidis, T. and
McQuatters-Gollop, A. 2025. Is sparse local ecological knowledge
accurate enough for policy? A seagrass mapping case study from five
Greek islands in the Eastern Aegean Sea. Ocean & Coastal Management.
doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.107627
october 2025
www.mba.ac.uk

7
a n o c e a n o f s c i e n c e 7
A local fisherman marks the location of Posidonia oceanica
meadows on a map. © Konstantis Alexopoulos / Archipelagos
Institute of Marine Conservation.
Mesobenthic coralligenous habitats of the Fourni island
complex. © Under the Pole / Archipelagos Institute of
Marine Conservation.
for centuries, and fishermen follow the traditional practices
that have been passed on to them from previous generations.
Trust the locals
Ten knowledgeable individuals were interviewed across the
five islands. Using nothing but an A1-sized printed map, a
pencil, and their memory, each fisher drew where they knew
Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows were located around
their island—some based on more than 60 years of daily
experience on the water: more than any marine scientist in the
field. We then digitized and analysed these maps, comparing
them against satellite-derived data as well as against the
official government-issued habitat maps used for the
enforcement of marine conservation regulations in Greece.
The results were striking: the fishermen had exceeded
our expectations of what was possible, with their maps
averaging an accuracy of 78 per cent and reaching up to 92
per cent. Even more compelling was the fact that the LEKbased
maps outperformed the accuracy of government
maps, which not only scored 11 per cent lower on average,
but also systematically underestimated seagrass coverage
in more than half the cases. This means that large parts of
the seagrass-covered coastal seabed lack protection, and
even though laws for seagrass conservation are in place,
illegal human activities in those areas would go unnoticed.
These findings directly challenge the notion that LEK
is too imprecise for policy use. On the contrary, they
highlight the immense value that even a small number of
knowledgeable locals can contribute, particularly in remote
or data-deficient regions. Fishers’ knowledge proved more
detailed, more accurate, and more relevant than the maps
policymakers were relying on.
And while LEK will not replace technology, it can certainly
complement it. Pairing fishers’ maps with satellite data,
sonar readings, and even artificial intelligence can yield
the kind of rich, accurate, and localized information that
modern marine management so desperately needs. For
example, while satellites are useful for certain shallowwater
marine habitats, like seagrass, the way deeper
waters absorb light is stopping us from using them to
map anything below a certain depth (around 40 m below
the surface in seas with low primary productivity, like the
Mediterranean). In such cases, LEK can offer a key first
insight into the location of habitats by pinpointing their
locations, before more high-resolution on-site mapping
approaches are deployed.
It is this very approach to research that the Archipelagos
Institute of Marine Conservation has been implementing for
over two decades across several coastal regions of Greece,
including the Fourni island complex. Surrounded by
previously unmapped and highly productive mesobenthic
coralligenous habitats, the island’s communities are in a
constant battle against bottom trawlers operating illegally,
taking advantage of poor enforcement due to inadequate
habitat maps.
A conservation success story
In June 2025, after dozens of interviews with local artisanal
fishers, extensive mapping and monitoring using sonar, remotely
operated vehicles, and scuba dives, a new 430 km² Fisheries
Protected Area around Fourni was officially established by
the Greek government via two presidential decrees. This is a
powerful example of how integrating LEK with science leads to
meaningful, enforceable conservation outcomes.
The lesson is clear: by recognizing and respecting the
knowledge embedded in coastal communities, we unlock
not only valuable data but also local support. Fishers are
more likely to endorse and follow protection measures if they
took an active part in shaping them. They become allies in
enforcement and active contributors to ocean conservation.
In a world of complex challenges and limited resources, LEK
offers something rare: accuracy, affordability, and community
engagement all in one. It’s time we stopped seeing it as a
last resort and start valuing it for what it is: a vital piece of the
conservation puzzle. l
• Konstantis Alexopoulos 1 (k.alexopoulos@archipelago.gr), PhD candidate,
University of Cambridge.
• Abigail McQuatters-Gollop 2 , Associate Professor of Marine Conservation.
• Anastasia Miliou 1 , Scientific Director.
1
Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation.
2
University of Plymouth.
Instagram: @konstantis_a
@archipelagosimc
Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010488918861
www.mba.ac.uk
october 2025

8
a n o c e a n o f s c i e n c e
THE SCALLOP DISCO
Tom Hooper and Rob Enever shine a light on
a low-impact fishing innovation.
The discovery that scallops are attracted to lights was
an accident. In normal circumstances, fishermen very
rarely catch scallops in their pots, but when Newlyn
skipper Jon Ashworth was asked to put a light in some
of his crab pots to see if it increased catches, he didn’t notice
much difference in crab. He did, however, suddenly start
catching scallops.
This was back in 2019 and further research resulted in a
scientific paper that revealed the discovery to the world. The
decision to call pots with lights ‘scallop discos’ in the press
release really captured the public’s attention, and the discovery
marked the start of a 5-year journey to design and develop a
light and an entrance that would enable a new method of fishing
for scallops.
Fisheries scientist Dr Rob Enever has orchestrated the research
from the outset. He immediately recognized the importance
of this discovery and its potential for a new, low impact fishery,
but it has been a long process to develop effective and robust
designs that optimize catches and build our understanding of
lights in pot fisheries.
The initial research established confidence that scallop potting
could work at scale and allowed us to test some basic entrance
ramps. For the next phase, we started trials in seawater tanks
to experiment with different light wavelengths and designs—
evaluating trade-offs in light intensity and battery life. Working
with fishermen around the country enabled us to ensure that
what worked well in the laboratory also performed at sea, and
helped us to refine and improve the design based on their ideas
and feedback.
Designed to be fitted into a traditional pot, the ‘scallop eye’
entrance is made of polycarbonate and metal prongs and
October 2025
functions as a one-way system into the pot. The light hangs at the
top of the pot and has to meet an exacting set of fishing industry
criteria: it has to be robust enough to withstand life in the sea
and on deck, it needs to be invisible to operations, and it must
integrate into existing working patterns.
Scallop potting remains a niche activity, with just over 100
fishermen in the UK using pots, but pot-caught disco scallops
are selling at a premium price and market demand is far
outstripping supply.
More than designing fishing gear
Fishtek Marine is a small company that specializes in designing
and manufacturing technology for low-impact fishing, but we
are increasingly drawn into the policy debates and realities of
how we can support this growing fishery. Ninety-five per cent
of scallops in the UK are caught by dredging—a fishery that
operates across extensive areas and which can cause high
levels of collateral impact to the environment. The UK scallop
industry currently operates with very low catch per unit effort,
covering vast areas of seabed for relatively little return. This is
in stark contrast to fisheries in France and the Isle of Man where
dredging is tightly controlled, scallop densities are much higher,
and benefits are shared more widely.
There are growing
opportunities for
low-impact fishing
such as scallop potting
www.mba.ac.uk

9
a n o c e a n o f s c i e n c e 9
That lightbulb moment.
© Nina Constable.
The pattern for the last few decades (arguably for the last
few centuries) is that fishing has had to become either more
intensive in terms of gear efficiency or more extensive by
covering more ground or taking longer trips. Is our fishing
industry about maximizing efficiency and economic returns,
or should we be incentivizing and supporting activities which
have the lightest footprint, are more sustainable, and have the
greatest local value?
Recent research, led by Sarah Coulthard at the University of
Newcastle, highlighted how the small-scale fishing sector has
been declining around the UK and is struggling to compete
against large-scale operators. This is not only affecting those
fishermen, but also the coastal communities to which they are
strongly connected. Many British inshore fishermen rely on crabs
and lobsters, but that leaves them very vulnerable to declines
in those populations. A scallop-potting industry could bring
another option to the table for those fishermen and make them
more resilient in the face of a changing ocean.
MBA Senior Research Fellow Dr Bryce Stewart, a known
expert and scallop aficionado, said, ‘Inshore fishermen are often
the lifeblood of coastal communities but are facing increasing
challenges. Scallop potting has the potential to provide them
with a new low-impact and sustainable fishery that earns them
good money and helps maintain the culture and identity of the
UK’s fabulous fishing ports and towns.’
With trawling activity now restricted in many of our Marine
Protected Areas and around wind farms, there are growing
opportunities for low-impact fishing such as scallop potting. As
ever, there is some important nuance here. Our research has
demonstrated that scallop potting does not work everywhere:
clearly, there need to be viable populations on the seabed and
Lyme Bay fisherman Jon Shuker has been one of the most
successful users of the new scallop pots, benefiting from his
detailed knowledge of the ground and careful deployment of pots.
© Tom Hooper / Fishtek Marine.
reasonable water clarity. Furthermore, in some areas, the density
of pots and the scale of operations are greater than the ground
can support, and it is important that the arrival of scallop potting
does not create additional pressure.
The film Ocean with David Attenborough, released in May, has
intensified debate and division over the use of scallop dredges
and trawl nets. This debate and the wider awareness of where
our seafood comes from, how it is caught, what is exported and
imported, and how economic benefits are shared, are more
crucial than ever.
What does the future look like?
What we hope to see is management and regulation that
supports low-impact fishing and allows biodiversity and scallop
stocks to regenerate, creating an economic opportunity for
small-scale fishers to diversify their income. In short, a future in
which populations of scallops and other marine life are healthier
and the benefits are shared more equitably. l
• Tom Hooper (tom.hooper@fishtekmarine.com), Projects Manager,
Fishtek Marine.
• Rob Enever (rob.enever@fishtekmarine.com), Science and Conservation
Strategy Director, Fishtek Marine.
Instagram: fishtekmarine
Further reading
Enever, R., Doherty, P.D., Ashworth, J., Duffy, M., Kibel, P., Parker,
M., Stewart, B.D., Godley, B.J. 2022. Scallop potting with lights:
A novel, low impact method for catching European king scallop
(Pecten maximus). Fisheries Research, 252, 106334. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.fishres.2022.106334
www.mba.ac.uk
October 2025

10
p o l i c y
PACT FOR OCEAN PROGRESS
The EU launches a comprehensive
strategy for ocean, economy, and
wellbeing. By Lissa Batey
© Guy Baker.
The EU Ocean Pact, published by the European
Commission in June, provides a unified framework for
all ocean-related EU policies, with the aim of achieving
coherent ocean governance. But why now, and what
difference will it make?
Reaffirming Europe’s leadership in
ocean governance
It is widely acknowledged that we are facing twin crises
of biodiversity loss and climate change. To these, the EU
has added rising geopolitical tensions and global security,
the freedom of navigation, and maritime infrastructure as
the reasons for publishing the Pact now. They hope that
this coordinated and comprehensive approach to ocean
management will enable better protection, build a resilient
and more competitive blue economy, and support thriving
coastal communities.
While it is non-legislative—a point of significant criticism by
some—the Pact does announce the proposal for an Ocean
Act by 2027, which would build on the Maritime Spatial
Planning Directive.
Areas of action
Key Ocean Pact areas of action include: establishing a high-level
Ocean Board to support implementation of the Pact, economic
measures to strengthen the resilience of coastal communities,
The EU Ocean Pact is built around six key
priorities
1. Restoring ocean health and productivity.
2. Boosting the sustainable competitiveness of the blue economy.
3. Supporting coastal and island communities.
4. Advancing ocean research, knowledge, and innovation.
5. Enhancing maritime security and resilience.
6. Strengthening EU Ocean diplomacy and international
ocean governance.
and strategies for islands and outermost regions. Sustainable
aquaculture, blue carbon reserves, and illegal, unreported, and
unregulated fishing are also targeted for action.
To support the sustainable development of fisheries
and aquaculture in the EU, there is to be a comprehensive
evaluation and potential revision of the Common Fisheries
Policy, as well as a new vision for 2040.
The EU has already launched an ambitious Ocean
Observation Initiative, which will build on the European
Marine Observation and Data network (EMODnet) and
the Copernicus Marine Services. There are also plans
to operationalize the European Digital Twin—making
ocean knowledge readily available to all with user-driven
visualization tools.
The EU is aiming for an ambitious Global Plastics Treaty, and
will work on the designation of three new marine protected
areas in the Southern Ocean.
A roadmap to a healthy ocean by 2030?
The EU Ocean Pact presents hope for real improvement:
there is a lot of potential—and in time, a commitment
to legislative backing in the form of an Ocean Act. The
monitoring mechanisms and the integrated governance
approach provide the tools to hold institutions and Member
States accountable, pushing for more ambitious and
effective measures in the years to come.
As always, the devil will be in the detail: where will the
funding come from, what will be enforceable, and will sites
be more than paper parks? Can the political will translate
into tangible results for the marine environment? Only time
will tell. l
• Dr Lissa Batey MCIEEM, Mem.MBA (lissa@naturebureau.co.uk),
Senior Marine Ecologist, NatureBureau.
www.linkedin.com/in/lissa-batey-b2538567
IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas member.
To find out more, including the full list of areas of action,
visit: oceans-and-fisheries.ec.europa.eu/european-ocean-pact_en
October 2025
www.mba.ac.uk

p o l i c y 11
REALITY CHECK
FOR MARINE
PROTECTION
How are the UK's marine protected areas
really doing? Dani Clifford reports on The
Wildlife Trusts' assessment.
After years of work to identify and designate marine
protected areas (MPAs) in the UK, we currently
have 377 MPAs around our coasts, covering 38 per
cent of our seas. These figures are often quoted
and, indeed, the designation of many MPAs should be
celebrated. But how are these MPAs really doing? Are they
actually making a difference to the marine life they were
designated to protect and recover? These are questions we
have been asking for a long time at The Wildlife Trusts, but
until now, picking apart this information at the national level
has been difficult.
Marine Protected Areas in the UK are designated to protect
specific habitats and/or species within their boundaries
following a ‘feature-based approach’. 1 Statutory Nature
Conservation Bodies (SNCBs) report the condition of these
individual features for each MPA but getting an overall
picture of the state of the UK MPA network as a whole is
difficult: information is spread across multiple web pages
and documents and on different SNCB websites, depending
on who is responsible for their monitoring. Realizing this, we
decided to compile this information and undertake a UKwide
assessment—The Wildlife Trusts’ MPA Recovery Check
Assessment was born!
Information was gleaned from SNCB reported condition
assessments (where features are monitored and assessed
against their conservation objectives) or vulnerability
assessments (where the degree of exposure to pressures
the features are known to be sensitive to is assessed, often
used as a proxy when no specific monitoring information
on the condition of features is available). When neither
condition nor vulnerability assessments were available, the
1
Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs), Highly Protected Marine Areas
(HPMAs), Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), Species Protection Areas
(SPAs) and Nature Conservation Marine Protected Areas (NCMPAs).
Puffins in the Farne Islands, Northumberland, England. Among
other designations, the Farne Islands are a Special Protection Area
(SPA), and home to an internationally significant breeding colony
of seabirds and Atlantic grey seals. © Hansheap, CC BY-SA 4.0, via
Wikimedia Commons.
General Management Approach for the feature was used
(the advised approach to bring the feature into favourable
condition: ‘maintain’ if it is thought to be in favourable
condition already, or ‘restore’ or ‘recover’ if it is thought to
be in unfavourable condition).
The state of UK MPAs at a glance
A standardized methodology was applied to categorize each
MPA into a recovery category, with the aim of creating a colourcoded
map which quickly shows the state of UK MPAs and
can be easily interpreted by all: members of the public, MPs,
NGOs, academics, industries, and so on, with more detailed
information provided for each MPA for those who wish to take
a deeper look.
The categorization method was simple—following a one-outall-out,
precautionary rule:
If one or more of the MPA’s features were thought to be in
unfavourable, favourable declining, or destroyed condition, the
MPA was categorized as Degraded/Degrading and colourcoded
red.
If all of the MPA’s features were thought to be in favourable
condition, the MPA was categorized as Recovered/Recovering
and colour-coded green.
If no condition or vulnerability assessment or General
Management Approach information was available for all of the
MPA’s features, or some of the MPA’s features were thought to be
in favourable condition but some had not been assessed, the MPA
was categorized as Condition Unknown and colour-coded grey.
www.mba.ac.uk
October 2025

12
p o l i c y
Figure 1. The Wildlife Trusts Marine
Protected Area Recovery Check
Assessment (2025). Available at:
www.mpa-reality-check.org
October 2025
www.mba.ac.uk

p o l i c y 13
The results paint a worrying picture (Fig. 1). Fifty-six per
cent of MPAs in the UK are categorized into the Degraded/
Degrading category, just 28 per cent are in the Recovered/
Recovering category, and 16 per cent fall into the Condition
Unknown category.
Undertaking this work highlighted that there is a significant
lack of up-to-date data on the condition of UK MPAs. At the
time of writing, we estimate around 49 per cent of marine
features do not have a condition or vulnerability assessment.
A General Management Approach is available for the
majority of these, but these are often from when the MPA was
designated, making them at risk of being out of date. Of those
marine features with condition or vulnerability assessments,
around 35 per cent are over 6 years old and around 11 per
cent are over 10 years old.
Due to a significant lack of recent data, all condition
or vulnerability assessments, and General Management
Approaches were included in our assessment, no matter the
date they were determined or their reported confidence. If
this had not been done, the assessment would have been
based on very little information, categorizing most MPAs as
Condition Unknown. The assessment, therefore, is based
on the most recent available information, recognizing that
this may be considerably dated. We also recognize that
monitoring is from an affected baseline following decades
of industrial activities which impacted our seas before a
true understanding of the baseline natural condition was
understood.
The continued monitoring of MPAs is essential to ensure
the appropriate management measures are in place to enable
nature to recover. As shown by this assessment, it cannot be
assumed that marine life is protected or recovering because it
is within an MPA.
Similarly, the categorization of MPAs as Recovered/
Recovering in our assessment does not mean that continued
or additional management measures are not required. Nor
does it indicate that this condition is expected to persist in the
future, given ever-changing threats such as climate change,
invasive non-native species, and the expansion of offshore
renewable energy installations, as well as unforeseen threats.
An ageing evidence base
Increasing funding cuts to SNCBs responsible for the
monitoring of MPAs means they are struggling to undertake
this vital work and there is a significant risk of an ageing
evidence base—evidence which is essential for determining
and ensuring appropriate management measures are in place
and for measuring the success of MPAs against targets.
Accordingly, we ask: how can we support SNCBs in
undertaking this work? Can we raise the importance of such
work with the ministers responsible? Can we ensure the data
we are already collecting in the wider marine sector is being
used to help monitor MPAs? How can we come together to
help plug evidence gaps?
Questioning the feature-based approach to
MPA management
As shown by this assessment, the often-stated statistic
of 38 per cent of our seas being within MPAs is not a
suitable measure of effective management or recovery.
The majority of MPAs are not managed by a whole-site
approach. The continued application of the featurebased
approach means that MPAs are only managed and
monitored to protect the specific designated features
within their boundaries. Anything else within the site
The often-stated statistic
of 38 per cent of our seas
being within MPAs is not a
suitable measure of effective
management or recovery
is not protected and may or may not benefit from the
designation. The Wildlife Trusts have long questioned
the feature-based approach, since it fails to recognize the
crucial ecological links between the protected features and
their environment. For example, harbour porpoise Special
Areas of Conservation (SACs) cover large areas, but are
only designated to protect this one species. Similarly, the
Falmouth to St Austell Bay Special Area of Protection (SPA)
is designated to protect three seabird species, but the
significant irreplaceable maerl habitats found within the
MPA’s boundary are not protected, despite their ecological
importance in supporting the food source these birds rely
upon. As a result, trawling has been allowed to continue
within the site, with negative impacts on the maerl.
Since the available data is for features only, our MPA
Recovery Assessment can only reflect the condition of MPA
features and is therefore not an area-based assessment of
everything within the MPA. Similarly, it cannot be used to
assess against 30x30 targets.
A wake-up call for MPA management
This analysis did not look at the cause for each condition
assessment (for which readers should delve into the SNCB
advice for individual MPAs), but it is hoped that the results will
act as a wake-up call for those involved in managing MPAs.
For example, we have failed to follow the mitigation hierarchy
and avoid developing within MPAs. Seventy-three per cent of
current offshore wind farm arrays overlap with at least one MPA.
As reported by Natural England’s pilot project, which looked at
the impact of developments on a few MPAs in the North Sea,
this has resulted in some features being irreversibly damaged
by developments. Additionally, condition assessments
published by Natural Resources Wales earlier this year
highlighted the impact of nutrient pollution on coastal MPAs.
We need to do more to effectively protect and recover
MPAs in the UK. The MPA Recovery Assessment will be
updated periodically as new condition assessments are
published, and it is hoped that, with time, the MPAs on this
map will all turn green. l
• Daniele Clifford (dclifford@wildlifetrusts.org) Marine Conservation Officer,
The Wildlife Trusts.
www.linkedin.com/in/daniele-clifford
@thewildlifetrusts
The Wildlife Trusts’ MPA Recovery Check Assessment is
available as an interactive map, along with supporting
information at www.mpa-reality-check.org
The MPA Reality Check website, which includes The Wildlife
Trusts’ MPA Recovery Check Assessment, is currently a joint
initiative between the Marine Conservation Society, The
Wildlife Trusts, and Blue Marine Foundation. It is maintained
by Marine Mapping Ltd.
www.mba.ac.uk
October 2025

14 f e a t u r e
FURRY
ECOSYSTEM
ENGINEERS
A new centre for sea otter conservation at Monterey Bay
Aquarium in California aims to boost otter populations
and the health of coastal ecosystems. By Rebecca Jewell.
Leaning against the railings outside Monterey Bay
Aquarium, a distant sound catches my attention.
Between the rhythmic rush of the sea surging over rocks
beneath the viewing platform and the excited shouts
of children peering into the giant rockpool below, a distant
tap-tap-tap rings out. Through mounted binoculars, I locate
the sea otter. Lying on its back amongst the kelp forest 100
metres from me, an otter is hammering its prey against a rock
balanced on its belly.
Monterey Bay, California is one of the best places in the
world to watch southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis).
Leading sea otter rehabilitation and conservation efforts locally
is the team at Monterey Bay Aquarium. I’ve come to meet
them to learn more about their work and the new Sea Otter
Conservation Center opening at the Aquarium this autumn.
Historically, these apex marine predators were found all
around the coast of the North Pacific, from northern Japan to
Baja, Mexico. Between 16,000 and 20,000 sea otters lived in the
coastal waters of California alone. That is, until hunting for their
dense fur pelts almost wiped them out. Today, approximately
3,000 otters can be found between Half Moon Bay, south of
San Francisco, and Point Conception near Santa Barbara in
California. Within this much-reduced range, their numbers have
remained fairly stable over the last three decades.
Expanding capacity for otter conservation
Monterey Bay Aquarium has played a key role in monitoring
and studying sea otters in California and, since 1984, has
been successfully raising stranded pups. The Aquarium’s
sea otter programme has evolved over time into today’s
successful—if stretched—surrogacy programme. Resident
otters at the Aquarium raise stranded pups as their own,
helping them to develop the skills necessary to survive in the
wild. As of spring 2025, 75 surrogate-reared pups have been
successfully released. With the opening of the new Sea Otter
Conservation Center, the sea otter rehabilitation team will
have a much-increased capacity which, they anticipate, will
result in even more releases.
In her rooftop office at the Aquarium, Stranding and
Rehabilitation Manager Sandrine Hazan talks me through the
round-the-clock care required to rehabilitate ill, injured, and
stranded sea otter pups. As she talks, Sandrine keeps an eye
on the large TV monitor streaming live footage from two large
tanks, an intensive care unit, and another enclosure, all with
otter occupants. ‘This is the reality of our lives: laundry and otter
TV and responding to stranding calls at any moment’, Sandrine
tells me. Behind her, a whiteboard contains detailed records for
each otter. Clearly, the team’s work goes well beyond making
sure the otters are well-fed, groomed, and rested.
Initially, rescued pups are cared for entirely by the team,
being bottle fed, groomed, and monitored until they
A sea otter eating a purple
urchin in Monterey Bay.
© Rebecca Jewell.
Sandrine Hazan at the new Sea Otter Conservation Center at the Monterey
Bay Aquarium, California. © Rebecca Jewell.
october 2025
www.mba.ac.uk

f e a t u r e 15
Historically, between 16,000
and 20,000 sea otters lived
in the coastal waters of
California alone
are ready to be introduced to solid food and to develop
their swimming and diving skills. If the pup hits their
developmental milestones, and there’s space available for
them to be introduced to a surrogate otter, they’re paired
with a surrogate at the age of 8 to 10 weeks old, learning,
over the next 4 months, to find and deal with live prey, and
to groom themselves. At 6 months old, the pup is weaned
and will join other independent juveniles. As the juveniles
are prepared for release, the team work hard to introduce
them to the variety of prey items they will encounter in
the wild. The process doesn’t end with the otter’s release.
They are regularly monitored and, if necessary, can be
recaptured for further care before another attempt is made
to release them.
A southern sea otter pup rescued by the sea otter program at the
Monterey Bay Aquarium. © Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Thinking like an otter
‘We have to think like otters sometimes, a lot of times’,
Sandrine says, laughing. In the case of otters destined for
release, she tells me, ‘We have to take advantage of their
natural inclination to problem solve. How can we use that to
our advantage to make them more successful?’
The answer to that, in terms of teaching juvenile otters to
forage for themselves, ranges from burying prey in sand for
them to detect and dig out, to concealing prey in rock forts
that need dismantling, and using what she calls ‘car wash kelp’
www.mba.ac.uk
october 2025

16 f e a t u r e
Sea otters have slowed the
erosion of creek banks and
marsh edges in Elkhorn
Slough by up to 90 per cent
Surrogate-reared otter 696 is
released back to the wild.
© Monterey Bay Aquarium.
that has pockets the team can hide food in, helping the otters
practise canopy foraging.
All this hard work pays off. Between 2002 and 2016, 37
surrogate-reared pups were released into Elkhorn Slough, a
7-mile-long estuary that flows into Monterey Bay. Those otters
and their offspring now account for more than half of the otter
population growth in the slough over the last 15 years, and their
presence has helped to restore the once-impaired ecosystem.
A Caspian tern shrieks overhead, shrill against the hoarse
barks of California sea lions, as El Cat slips into the sheltered
waters of Elkhorn Slough. El Cat is Monterey Bay Eco Tours’
custom-built electric catamaran, perfect for touring the shallow
waters of the slough. Gusts of wind spin by-the-wind-sailors up
the estuary as brown pelicans drop into the channel ahead of us.
‘If you came here to see otters, you’re absolutely in the
right spot’, Marina Maze, the company’s Operations Manager,
Captain and Guide, tells us, after pointing out a mum and
pup. ‘Looks like they have a clam’, she adds, as the pup tries to
get at the large clam the mum is holding.
Moments later, an otter surfaces, holding what looks like
a large pink hot dog. ‘It’s called a fat innkeeper worm,’ says
Marina as the otter tucks in, sending lip-smacking noises
our way. ‘The mud in Elkhorn Slough is very productive,’
she explains, ‘and provides a lot of food sources for
invertebrates.’
Ecosystem superheroes
The slough is also home to eelgrass beds that line the channel,
swaying green beneath the surface. It’s no coincidence that
the eelgrass beds have been doing well since the number of
otters in Elkhorn Slough increased. As a keystone species, sea
otters have a disproportionately large impact on the structure
and health of the ecosystems they inhabit. Eelgrass is another
keystone species; eelgrass meadows store carbon and stabilize
sediment which improves water quality and reduces erosion.
They also provide food, shelter and habitat for many marine
species, particularly juvenile fish.
Surrounded by agricultural land, the watershed of Elkhorn
Slough receives large amounts of fertilizer, which promotes
the growth of algae in the water. This algal growth, as well as
lowering oxygen levels, can prevent eelgrass from getting the
sunlight it needs. As a result, eelgrass meadows suffer when
nutrient levels are high.
Since the recolonization of Elkhorn Slough by sea otters,
however, eelgrass meadows have dramatically expanded,
despite the increase in nutrient input. The driver of this pattern,
it transpires, is the sea otters’ voracious consumption of crabs
which consume grazers such as sea slugs. By safeguarding sea
slugs, the otters’ presence boosts their populations, allowing
them to feed on algae growing on blades of eelgrass. This
increases the meadows’ resilience to anthropogenic pressures.
The benefits of the sea otters’ crab consumption don’t end
there. By eating marsh crabs—a species that burrows into
sediment to forage on the roots of eelgrass—sea otters have
slowed the erosion of creekbanks and marsh edges in Elkhorn
Slough by up to 90 per cent. Green crabs, an invasive species
that can damage eelgrass beds and hinder their recovery,
are on the otters’ menu too. By supressing their numbers,
otters limit the damage that green crabs do, both to eelgrass
meadows and their bivalve inhabitants.
Now that Elkhorn Slough has reached the maximum number
of sea otters it can support, Sandrine and her team have been
releasing rehabilitated otters on the open coast of Monterey
Bay, where their presence is a huge boost to the health of
kelp forests. And kelp forests need help now more than ever.
Between ocean warming, sea star wasting syndrome, and a
boom in purple urchin numbers, parts of California have lost 97
per cent of their kelp forest canopy since 2014.
Social networks
Back at the Aquarium, Sandrine is telling me more about the
Sea Otter Conservation Center as we walk between its giant
tanks. ‘We’ll have a total of three tanks that can hold up to six
otters in each and we’ll have a total of four critical care troughs’,
she tells me, referring to the enclosures where young pups
are cared for when they first arrive. ‘It’ll be great for the otters,
october 2025
www.mba.ac.uk

f e a t u r e 17
Sea otters resting amongst the kelp in
Monterey Bay. © Rebecca Jewell.
A sea otter tucks into a crab in
Monterey Bay. © Rebecca Jewell.
because the more otters we have, the more social groupings
we can make, which is great for mitigating stress and also for
preparing them for release back in the wild.’
The tanks, which tower above me, have recently been filled
with water and rocks. With the finishing touches being put on
these new facilities, the excitement is palpable.
‘It’s very exciting’, Sandrine agrees. ‘It’s a culmination of all the
things that we have learned over the years when it comes to
caring for otters.’ And the Aquarium’s increased capacity won’t
just help the team rehabilitate and release more sea otters; it’ll
benefit California’s kelp forest ecosystems too.
Kayaking within sight of the Aquarium a few days later, the
same tap-tap-tap reaches me from across the water. Resting
my paddle, I drift on the edge of a patch of kelp forest, broad
amber blades all around. To my left, an otter surfaces with a
cluster of purple urchins and starts cracking them open, rolling
often to dislodge their debris. Only when the otter has finished
the last urchin, then dived for its next meal in the kelp forest
that the rehabilitated otters of the future will help to protect, do
I pick up my paddle and carry on. l
• Rebecca Jewell Mem.MBA (becci_jewell@hotmail.com)
@beccijewell.bsky.social
Instagram: @becci_jewell
See: www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/sea-otterprogram-timeline
Southern sea otter surrogate mother Selka caring for rescued otter
pup #893 in the Sea Otter exhibit. © Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Further reading
Konrad, L. et al. 2022. Southern sea otter rehabilitation: lessons
and impacts from the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Journal of
Zoological and Botanical Gardens, 3. 10.3390/jzbg3040047
Mayer, K.A. et al. 2021. Surrogate rearing a keystone species
to enhance population and ecosystem restoration. Oryx, 55(4).
10.1017/S0030605319000346
Nicholson, T.E. et al. 2024. Sea otter recovery buffers centuryscale
declines in California kelp forests. PLOS Climate, 3(1).
10.1371/journal.pclm.0000290
www.mba.ac.uk
october 2025

18 f e a t u r e
Rocky shore, South
Devon, UK. © MBA.
LOOKING BACK
LOOKING SHOREWARD
Scientists revisit turn of the century forecasts about the state of the world’s shorelines.
In discussion with The Marine Biologist, Professor Stephen
Hawkins revisits predictions of impacts on rocky shore
ecosystems that he and colleagues made a quarter
century ago.
Revisiting predictions
At the beginning of the millennium, Professor Hawkins, then
Director of the MBA, was invited to assess anthropogenic
impacts on rocky shore ecosystems and make forecasts about
their status in 25 years’ time, leading to a paper with Professors
Richard Thompson and Tasman Crowe. 1
Nearly 25 years on, Professors Hawkins and Thompson
revisited their predictions, enlisting other experts to
broaden the view to emerging topics. 2 Assessing the
original paper, the authors found that some things were
right or mostly right, some things were partially or mostly
wrong, and some were missed completely. Fortunately,
in the original paper, there was a caveat saying that the
authors wrote about subjects that they were familiar with,
including oil spills, Tributyl tin pollution, subsistence and
curio collection on shores, recreational impacts, climate
change, coastal development, and eutrophication.
It quickly became apparent that many issues had
emerged since 2001, prominent among them being
noise, light, and plastic pollution. Ocean acidification was
just being signalled as a long-term threat at the turn of
the century, but there was limited evidence of any major
impacts on rocky shores. Sections on these issues were
added in the follow-up paper.
Plastic pollution
In 2002, Richard Thompson was already aware that plastic
pollution was a problem but at that stage he didn’t have
any real data. In 2004, he published a seminal paper on
plastic pollution, which included data from Continuous
Plankton Recorder silks—and they were silk; no artificial
fibres—from trans-Atlantic tows in which he was able to pick
out the first appearance of plastic fibres in the
wider ocean. 3,4
In 2003, Professor Thompson secured funding from the
Leverhulme Trust which enabled the work on microplastic
pollution to take off. More recently, he has received a
fellowship with the Royal Society and an OBE to mark his
amazing contribution to a field of study which he created,
and has been heavily involved in efforts to develop a legally
binding United Nations Treaty to control plastic pollution.
The authors got a few things mostly right
Endocrine disruptors and oil spills
Despite pessimism about endocrine disruptors, Tributyltinbased
paint was banned by the EU in 2008 following the
International Maritime Organization ban, and many other
legislations worldwide followed suit. The ban stemmed
back to work done in the 1980s by Geoff Bryan, Peter Gibbs,
and Bill Langston at the Marine Biological Association.
Significantly, the MBA highlighted the use of dog whelks as
simple indicators of TBT pollution.
As predicted, the severity of oil spills has lessened.
1
Thompson, R.C., Crowe, T.P., and Hawkins, S.J. 2002. Rocky intertidal communities: past environmental changes, present status and predictions for
the next 25 years. Environmental Conservation 29: 168-191. doi:10.1017/s0376892902000115
2
Hawkins, S.J., O'Shaughnessy, K.A., Branch, G.M., Airoldi, L., Bray, S., Brooks, P., Burrows, M.T., Carlos Castilla, J., Crowe, T. P., Davies, T.W., Firth,
L.B., Hiscock, K., Jenkins, S.R., Knights, A.M., Langmead, O., Leung, K.M.Y., Mieszkowska, N., Moschella, P., Steyl, I., Tidau, S., Whittington, M., and
Thompson, R.C. 2025. Hindsight informs foresight: revisiting millennial forecasts of impacts and status of rocky shores in 2025. Marine Pollution Bulletin
219: 118214. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2025.118214
3
Thompson, R. et al. 2004. Lost at sea: where is all the plastic? Science 304: 838. doi: 10.1126/science.1094559
4
The then Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science, based at the MBA’s Citadel Hill laboratory,
october 2025
www.mba.ac.uk

f e a t u r e 19
Plastic red monofilament entwined in a continuous plankton recorder
silk from a sample from the Pacific Ocean. CPR Survey © MBA.
Professor
Stephen
Hawkins. © MBA.
Hardening coasts: a sea defence structure at Sea Palling, Norfolk,
England. Mat Fascione, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
probably more important than reshuffling the composition of
assemblages due to range shifts. 6
A few things were partially or mostly wrong
Hardening of coasts
At the time, the authors thought that providing more habitat—
albeit an impoverished one—in the form of coastal defence was
probably not a bad thing for rocky shore plants and animals.
Since then, research has shown that these highly simplified
artificial structures—described by Professor Hawkins as 'ersatz'
rocky shore environments—accommodate a proliferation of
non-native species and that there are many indirect effects
on sediment communities. Mitigating the impacts of coastal
urbanization has received growing attention over the past
decade, not least from Professors Hawkins and Thompson, who
have been heavily involved in eco-engineering approaches to
enhancing biodiversity on artificial structures.
Climate change
The authors were aware of climate change impacts due to the
work of Professor Alan Southward at the MBA, but the original
paper was written before many of the papers that came out
of the MarClim project in the early- to mid-2000s. 5 Since then,
the importance of extreme events has been shown, and is
Eutrophication, sediment loads, and ocean darkening
The authors were over-optimistic that progress on cleaning
up inputs of nitrogen and other nutrients in Europe would
continue and be adopted worldwide. The EU banned
disposal of sewage sludge at sea in 1998, and work has
been ongoing to reduce agricultural runoff—probably the
major contributor to eutrophication. However, untreated
sewage continues to be dumped at sea in many parts of the
world, and agricultural intensification has led to greater use
of artificial nutrients.
Sediment load also has major impacts. The switch from
pastoral to arable farming means more soil entering coastal
waters, compounded by the fact that many of the natural
filters for both nutrients and sediments have been taken out
in many developed parts of the world as estuaries have been
canalized and fringing marsh destroyed.
5
The MarClim (Marine Biodiversity and Climate Change) project is the most spatio-temporally extensive time-series for intertidal systems globally.
6
Mieszkowska, N. et al. 2022. Impacts of pervasive climate change and extreme events on rocky intertidal communities: evidence from long-term data.
Frontiers in Marine Science 8. doi:10.3389/fmars.2021.642764
www.mba.ac.uk october 2025

20 f e a t u r e
High sediment loads are damaging to coastal environments
because sediment favours algal turfs, often driving a shift from
kelp-dominated or large brown seaweed communities to
those dominated by algal turfs, which trap more sand leading
to total degradation of the ecosystem.
The combination of nutrients, sediments, agricultural, and
urban runoff has increased, leading to a reduction of light
penetrating the oceans—a phenomenon known as ocean
darkening. This is due to increased phytoplankton because of
eutrophication and to higher sediment loads.
These water quality issues underline the need to take a whole
catchment-to-coast approach and the particular importance of
managing water runoff in urban areas.
Things that have not materialized
Despite intense public concern about genetically
modified organisms at the time of the original publication,
negative impacts on the marine environment have not
materialized.
At the turn of the century there was much enthusiasm for
offshore wave energy. This was predicted to impact rocky coasts
by reducing wave energy and potentially shifting distributions and
community structure. In the event, most investment has gone into
offshore wind, and wave energy has not been developed at scale.
Lessons from foresight exercises
Revisiting predictions made 25 years ago highlights the
difficulties in foreseeing changes in complex and dynamic
systems—even when dealing with known knowns. Known
unknowns can be approached but unknown unknowns
are always likely to be out there. If the exercise were to be
repeated, no doubt there would be more surprises in store.
The main lessons would be to avoid ignored knowns—that is
to say, make sure we use existing knowledge—and to focus
on improving delivery of science to both the public and
policymakers: the traditional role of the MBA. l
Text developed in conversation with Professor Stephen J. Hawkins.
SUSTAINING SMALL-SCALE
FISHERIES
Inshore fisheries are a lifeline for coastal communities. By Sarah Coulthard on behalf of the Inshore and Small-
Scale Fisheries consortium (ISSF).
The UK fishing industry is often heralded as a national
asset and the lifeblood of coastal communities.
Evidence continues to build about the value of
fisheries to coastal regions, along with recognition of
their importance to national food security. A recent study in
Cornwall, which showed that for every fisherman at sea there
are 15 more shore-based jobs, is one great example of the
interconnectedness between fishing and thriving coastal towns.
We also have greater understanding of the high regard in
which our fishing industry is held by the British public (Box 1).
A declining fleet
Whilst we are getting better at realizing and celebrating the
wide range of benefits from well-managed and sustainable
fisheries, at the same time those benefits, and the public
accessibility to them, is under threat. That threat is often
framed in terms of continuing unsustainable fishing,
understandably the focus of many. New research, however, is
highlighting a parallel threat which has received less attention
that it deserves. That is the decline in the fishing fleet.
As anyone who has held a recent conversation with a
fisherman will know, their concern quickly turns to the decline
in numbers of fishing boats across our harbours, and the
outlook, not just for their jobs, but for the continuation of a
‘way of life’ that has always existed along the shores of our
island nation.
New evidence published in the journal Fish and Fisheries
confirms that fishermens’ concerns are justified. The entire
fleet is in decline across the whole UK. However, what is
compelling about this analysis is that it highlights that the
decline is being unevenly felt, both regionally and across
different sectors of the fleet. 'Hot spots’ of decline in Wales,
northern England and southeast England face higher rates of
loss in their fishing fleets. In England, the under 10 m sector
© Caroline Chapple. chapplecartoons.co.uk
Box1. High regard for the industry
A high-street survey conducted with 510 members of the
public in fishing towns in England found:
l 83 per cent agreed they’d be ‘very concerned if the
fishing fleet no longer existed in their area’,
l 99 per cent agreed that ‘local fishing is important to
cultural heritage and identity of the area’,
l 84 per cent felt that ‘more should be done by
government to protect the fishing industry in their area’.
october 2025
www.mba.ac.uk

f e a t u r e 21
Locals look on as fresh shellfish are landed in Norfolk. © Ian Georgeson Photography.
(small boats which make up 75 per cent of the active fleet) has
lost almost one fifth of its boats in just the last 14 years, a rate
of decline almost twice that recorded in over 10 m vessels.
A diverse fleet containing all boat sizes is important,
and larger boats often secure the viability of local fishing
infrastructure and markets. However, recognizing and
protecting small boats within that diversity is essential
because they ensure the wide distribution, accessibility,
and recognition of fishing benefits to society (Box 2).
A new collaboration of fishermen’s organizations,
government regulators, NGOs, and scientists with a focus
on securing Inshore and Small-Scale Fisheries (ISSF) is
working to understand the drivers of the decline in the
inshore fleet and how to mitigate it, highlighting the
importance of viable livelihoods as a cornerstone to
developing sustainable fisheries. Ultimately, delivering
the UK Fisheries Act objective of a ‘national benefit’ from
sustainable fisheries that is truly national in scope, and
accessible across our coastline, depends upon securing
the contributions of a viable inshore and small-scale
fishing sector. l
• Dr Sarah Coulthard (sarah.coulthard@newcastle.ac.uk) Newcastle University.
The Inshore and Small-Scale Fisheries consortium (ISSF) is an assemblage
of individuals working in sustainable fisheries science, management
and advocacy, connected through a National Innovation Centre for
Rural Enterprise (Newcastle University) partnership project, which can
be followed online: nicre.co.uk/projects/partnership-projects/coastalfisheries-cluster/
Box 2. Recognition and protection
A thriving inshore and small-scale fishing fleet:
l ensures the societal benefits that flow from fisheries are
widely distributed across the entire UK coastline, via
boats landing fish in (often rural) small harbours and
beach landings, generally unsuitable for larger boats,
l ensures benefits are accessible to the public, since in
smaller harbours people can directly experience fish
being landed by boats (many larger ports utilized by
larger vessels are multi-use and inaccessible to the
public), and
l provides wider public availability and interaction with
fisheries, which means the benefits themselves are more
visible, recognizable, and valued by the public.
Look out for a special issue of The Marine Biologist on inshore and
small-scale fisheries.
Further reading
Coulthard, S. et al. 2025. Recognising and Protecting the National Benefit of
Sustainable Fisheries in the UK. Fish and Fisheries, 26, 561-
576. doi.org/10.1111/faf.12898
www.mba.ac.uk
october 2025

22 a r t i f i c i a l i n t e l l i g e n c e i n m a r i n e b i o l o g y
PICTURES, PATTERNS,
AND PREDICTIONS
Early career scientist Matthew Faith on research at the intersection of
artificial intelligence and marine biodiversity.
Emerging applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
are becoming increasingly common across research
disciplines, from the automated detection of
malignancies in medical images to optimizing the
efficiency of food supply chains. Marine biological research
is also increasingly utilizing AI with potential benefits for how
we understand and protect marine life.
My research focuses on the relationship between marine
biodiversity—patterns and changes in the types of marine
life we find across space and time—and people. Marine
biodiversity is highly impacted by both climate change and
human activities including overfishing, pollution from sewage
and agricultural run-off, and noise disturbance from industrial
activities, all of which put at risk the benefits provided by the
ocean. Ocean benefits such as fisheries and the offsetting of
carbon emissions are closely connected to economies and
livelihoods, meaning that changes in marine biodiversity
can result in (sometimes serious) consequences for society.
Understanding biodiversity baselines and changes are
therefore vital to recognizing where we need to regulate
human activities to effectively conserve marine life.
Seventy per cent of the Earth’s surface is ocean, much
of which is unstudied. However, in areas which have been
routinely studied, decades of marine biological sampling
efforts have generated hundreds of millions of biodiversity
records. These records originate from a range of sources,
including citizen science programmes, research expeditions,
and long-term monitoring surveys, such as the Marine
Biological Association’s Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR)
Survey. Marine biodiversity records are collated in databases
such as the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS)
and provide invaluable evidence to policymakers. Recent
developments in AI are advancing our understanding of
marine biodiversity even further. Here are a few developments
which I am particularly excited about:
Monitoring
Computer vision is a branch of AI that is concerned with
extracting information from visual data. These models
are being increasingly applied in marine biodiversity
monitoring to automatically detect and quantify
occurrences of marine life from videos and images. There
are a wide range of computer vision applications emerging,
from classifying specimens of microscopic plankton in
water samples to detecting beached whales from satellite
imagery in remote or inaccessible locations. Similarly,
acoustic recordings of the ocean can be fed into AI models
which are able to classify the presence of marine life from
the sounds they produce—this is particularly valuable for
detecting the vocalizations of whales and dolphins. These
AI biodiversity monitoring technologies can then be
integrated into devices which are left at sea or deployed
on automated underwater vehicles to collect data. Further
work is required to ensure these methods are sufficiently
accurate to inform policy, but they hold great potential to
improve the availability of biodiversity data for inaccessible
or remote areas such as the deep sea, and for marine life
which would otherwise remain unseen.
Spatial modelling
In addition to generating biodiversity records, AI is being
increasingly used to analyse existing historical records. Part
Neural networks can detect
intricate patterns from large
datasets which would otherwise
go unnoticed by people
october 2025
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a r t i f i c i a l i n t e l l i g e n c e i n m a r i n e b i o l o g y 23
Matthew Faith
at the Alan
Turing Institute.
© Matthew Faith.
of my research has been exploring how neural networks
(a type of AI model) can be used to generate species
distribution maps from large biodiversity databases
such as OBIS. Certain species and locations are often
under-represented in historical biodiversity databases:
for historical marine biodiversity records, we see a
particular under-representation of the deep sea and
Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (the high seas).
Neural networks can detect intricate patterns from
large datasets which would otherwise go unnoticed by
people, allowing us to use a limited number of historical
observations for a particular species to model where it
is likely to be found. The model may learn pattens such
as the environmental preferences of a species or which
species often coexist together, increasing the accuracy
of what can be modelled from limited data.
Forecasting
Forecasting changes in biodiversity is a highly complex
task. Changes in marine biodiversity are driven by
multiple factors, from temperature and salinity to the
amount of different trace metals dissolved in the water.
However, this kind of task is not unique to marine
biology. Extensive efforts to develop time series
models, particularly for economic projections, have
yielded highly effective AI approaches to forecasting. I
recently contributed to work led by Dr Matthew Holland
at the University of Plymouth where we used a machine
learning model to predict how plankton communities
change with environmental conditions. The model
was impressively accurate at predicting changes to
plankton communities and highlighted previously
unseen patterns of how specific pressures from human
activities, such as nutrient pollution, are linked to
changes in plankton biodiversity.
Issues with AI
Despite these advances, there are many issues with AI which
are widely debated, from the reliability of AI outputs to the
environmental footprint of training models. During my PhD,
two issues have particularly caught my attention. First, the
research fields of AI and biodiversity are highly specialist and
do not always collaborate; building collaborations between
the AI and marine biodiversity research communities must
be prioritized. I am therefore very grateful for my time at the
Alan Turing Institute, which has facilitated my collaboration
with AI-biodiversity experts such as Dr Oisin Mac Aodha and
provided practical support for me to integrate AI into my
research. Secondly, the computing resources required to train
AI models are expensive, not accessible to many researchers,
and sometimes leave an environmental footprint. We
therefore have a responsibility to ensure that developments
in AI for biodiversity research are made open-source where
feasible, to avoid duplicated efforts and to maximize benefitsharing
with the wider scientific community. l
• Matthew Faith (matthew.faith@plymouth.ac.uk), PhD student at
the University of Plymouth and an Enrichment Student at The Alan
Turing Institute–the UK’s national institute for artificial intelligence
and data science.
@matthewfaith.bsky.social; @mattpfaith (Instagram)
Matt is funded by the University of Plymouth, the UK
Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
(DEFRA), and The Alan Turing Institute. His supervisors
are Professor Abigail McQuatters-Gollop (University of
Plymouth), Professor Angus Atkinson (Plymouth Marine
Laboratory), Dr Clare Ostle (the Marine Biological
Association), Professor Sian Rees (University of Plymouth),
and Dr Oisin Mac Aodha (University of Edinburgh and
Fellow of The Alan Turing Institute).
www.mba.ac.uk
october 2025

24 a r t i f i c i a l i n t e l l i g e n c e i n m a r i n e b i o l o g y
A MARINE SYSTEM
THAT THINKS BEFORE IT
PREDICTS THE FUTURE
A state-of-the-art water quality forecasting system blends traditional numerical modelling and AI. By Deep Banerjee.
Weather forecasts and extreme event alerts are
just a tap away on our mobile phones, telling
us whether to carry an umbrella or apply
sunscreen before heading out of the door.
These notifications are very common nowadays and most
of us barely pause to think about what’s happening ‘under
the hood’ to make these forecasts possible.
Now imagine if we swap the weather with the ocean and
think about forecasts, not just of tides or waves, but early
warnings about harmful algal blooms, oxygen levels, and
nutrient concentrations. In short, the very health of our
ocean. Imagine being able to say, ‘Oxygen levels are going
to drop significantly near the coast within the next 2 days:
high risk of fish mortality—action needed’, or, ‘Critically high
nutrient levels identified in the Western English Channel’,
all with the same accuracy we have for rain or sunshine.
We are not quite there yet. Even though 70 per cent
of our planet is covered by the ocean, playing a critical
role in regulating climate and supporting life both on
land and in water, our ability to provide early warnings of
harmful biogeochemical events remains challenging and
highly expensive.
Numerical models and their limitations
Operational centres like the UK Met Office rely on marine
biogeochemical forecasting models, such as the Plymouth
Marine Laboratory-led NEMO-ERSEM, which simulate the
physics, biology, and chemistry of the ocean to provide
forecasts and early warnings about marine ecosystem health.
They do an incredible job, given all the complexities involved.
But they are forced to rely on a ‘simplified’ version of natural
processes; approximations that make it possible—even on
some of the most powerful supercomputers—to simulate
complex and dynamic natural processes. As a result, model
predictions often drift, misfire, or miss critical events. This is
a problem, because what happens in the sea doesn’t stay in
the sea. It eventually hits coastlines, impacting fisheries and
marine ecosystems, and the delicate climate feedback loops
that we’ve only just begun to understand.
We might think of a traditional numerical model forecast as
a traveller without a compass: it moves forward but without
signposts to stay on course, it drifts from its destination. More
frequent signposts improve navigation but setting them up
is costly and time-consuming. Similarly, data assimilation
(DA) can guide the model closer to reality by allowing it to
‘observe’ the real world and produce more accurate forecasts.
Yet, frequent DA demands large computational resources and
dense observational datasets. What if, instead, we could train
the traveller to anticipate the path—its elevation, roughness,
and bends? What if we could rethink the entire forecasting
system so that it didn't rely on signposts, but knew the
whereabouts of the course itself? Such a system would be
smarter, adaptive, and capable of better predictions for our
marine ecosystems.
Dead and dying molluscs
impacted by a harmful algal
bloom, St Austell, Cornwall,
UK. © PML.
october 2025
www.mba.ac.uk

a r t i f i c i a l i n t e l l i g e n c e i n m a r i n e b i o l o g y 25
An algal bloom in the
Baltic Sea. © ESA.
This is where the idea of blending comes in: not just
blending observation into models but blending different
flavours of models themselves; one that relies on wellestablished
physics and biological equations with another
that is driven and trained by real world observations.
Such a hybrid model leverages both traditional equationbased
models (often called numerical models) and
Artificial Intelligence (AI) based models, each doing what
they are best at.
At the heart of the present biogeochemical forecasting
system lies a numerical model, governed by a series of
interconnected equations that mimic natural processes and
simulate energy flows, nutrient cycles, and various complex
biogeochemical processes in the ocean. Numerical models
www.mba.ac.uk
october 2025

26 a r t i f i c i a l i n t e l l i g e n c e i n m a r i n e b i o l o g y
are powerful and built on decades of rigorous scientific
research that gives us a coherent, structured, and nearlyrealistic
picture of how the ocean behaves and would
behave over time. Yet they have their limits. They rely on
various parameters, approximations, and assumptions to
provide a numerically solvable version, all while simulating
hundreds of ocean variables across millions of grid points
in a virtual ocean that only exists inside a supercomputer.
But these assumptions may not always hold true in the
real world. Errors can creep in, and, given the highly
non-linear nature of the system, they tend to grow over
time. This is an example of the butterfly effect, an idea
coined by meteorologist Edward Lorenz in the 1960s that
describes how a small change in a system can lead to large,
unpredictable differences later on.
AI models bring learning and experience
Artificial Intelligence or machine learning (ML) models work
in a completely different way. They are not constrained
by equations, and where there are no equations, there is
no need for assumptions or parameters. Metaphorically,
an AI/ML model is a little like an infant: curious and
observant. It learns about the real world by ‘observing’
and then ‘decoding’ the patterns from past observations.
Once trained, it can anticipate what is likely to happen if a
similar situation arises. If trained with the right features, it
can make surprisingly accurate predictions even without
In this ‘hybrid forecasting brain’,
physics and biogeochemistry
govern through equations,
whilst learning and experience
come through AI
knowing the underlying marine biogeochemistry and
physics. Like a juvenile brain, an AI/ML model is fast and
sharp and often good at picking up non-linear relationships
in nature. But these models also come with tantrums. They
do not understand conservation laws which state that
we cannot just create something out of nothing or lose
things into thin air. Every property in the Earth system is
conserved; it may change its state or form, much like water
turning into vapour, but the total amount remains the same.
This is where AI falls short: the models may be clever, but
they lack the guardrails that numerical models can provide.
What if we let these two systems talk to each other? A
numerical model keeps doing what it does best, simulating
the ecosystem based on physical and biological rules,
whilst the AI model, trained on real-world observations,
acts like an intelligent guide, occasionally tapping on the
shoulder of the numerical model, saying, ‘Hey, I’ve seen
this pattern before. Oxygen tends to dip here. Let’s adjust.’
This one-of-a-kind numerical-AI ecosystem model is like a
modern hybrid EV with two fundamentally different engines
running under the hood of the same vehicle. In this ‘hybrid
forecasting brain’, physics and biogeochemistry govern
through equations, whilst learning and experience come
through AI in a system that corrects itself in mid-journey,
rather than crashing and having to restart.
State-of-the-art forecasting system
We have already built a working prototype of such a
system, and while it is simulating, it has already started
showing the kind of results that only a collaboration
between two very different kinds of model can achieve.
We do not claim to have cracked the whole system yet,
but the early results are promising, and the emergence
of a state-of-the-art forecasting system is very much visible.
It is a system that ‘thinks’ and corrects itself, predicting
oxygen levels before the fish die-offs, intelligently
picking up early signals before harmful blooms of algae
such as Karenia mikimotoi, and offering insights for
changing climate policies. It also speaks directly to the
three big ocean challenges that we focus on at Plymouth
Marine Laboratory: climate change, biodiversity loss,
and pollution, and at the same time aligns with UN
Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG 13
(Climate Action), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), and SDG 15
(Life on Land).
The present hybrid system is learning, adapting, and
gradually becoming something greater than the sum of its
parts. If you’re curious about where this might lead, now is
a good time to take a closer look, ask questions, and maybe
even be part of what comes next. l
• Deep S. Banerjee (dba@pml.ac.uk), Modelling Scientist, Plymouth
Marine Laboratory. uk.linkedin.com/in/deep-s-banerjee-b390432a
With thanks to Kelly-Marie Davidson and Saskia Ruhl.
Instagram: plymouthmarinelab
october 2025
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a r t i f i c i a l i n t e l l i g e n c e i n m a r i n e b i o l o g y 27
A trained AI
model predicts
which
organisms
appear in
unannotated
video footage.
Image courtesy
of the NERC
funded Deep
Links Project,
Plymouth
University,
Oxford
University,
JNCC, BGS.
TAKING AI TO
THE MOVIES
Eleanor Cross explains how artificial intelligence
is helping us discover the ocean.
One aspect of the ocean that has always fascinated
me is how vast and mysterious it seems, filled with
undiscovered species and habitats. It is estimated
that over 80 per cent of the ocean remains
unexplored, due to its size and the difficulties that come with
researching its more inaccessible parts. Use of cameras to
survey marine habitats has become increasingly common,
thanks to the fact that they are less invasive than manual
sampling methods such as scuba dives or physical sampling
with nets, and can survey dangerous or difficult-to-reach
areas of the ocean such as the deep sea.
However, camera footage of the ocean must be analysed
by researchers like me to note where, when, and which
organisms appear in the video—a very time-consuming
process that can cause a bottleneck in the discovery and
monitoring of marine environments. A possible solution to
this problem is the use of artificial intelligence to speed up the
annotation process and make data accessible more quickly.
This is crucial as the impacts of, for example, climate change,
bottom trawling, and deep-sea mining continue to threaten
these barely researched environments.
Recognizing species in video footage
With a background in ecology but also a keen interest in
computer science, I am dedicated to trying to build models
that can automatically annotate marine organisms from
video footage. The first step is to build a large repository
of underwater images that have been annotated with the
marine organisms they contain and where they are found in
Once trained on enough
data, the model can predict
which organisms appear in
unannotated video footage.
the image. These are then used to ‘train’ the AI model: the
labelled images are fed into the model which extracts various
features from the images, like the colour and shape of the
organisms. The model then associates these features with the
labels attached to the boxes, and in this way it ‘learns’ what
each organism looks like. Once trained on enough data, the
model can predict which organisms appear in unannotated
video footage. An example of our model’s predictions is
shown above.
Artificial intelligence has seen a huge boom in popularity
in recent years, but application to marine biology has lagged
behind, due to the unique challenges that the underwater
environment poses. Poor lighting, low visibility, and motion
blur can all make AI models less accurate at identification, and
as these are common features of underwater imagery, marine
researchers have struggled to apply this technology to their
data effectively. Most models so far have been designed for
use on still images taken from video, which can make getting
accurate counts of organisms in an environment difficult.
For this reason, we’ve lately been looking into using videotracking
algorithms that can keep track of organisms they
identify throughout the video they appear in.
By harnessing advances in AI and adapting computer
science techniques, we are improving AI models for use on
underwater video footage with the ultimate goal of solving
problems in ecological research. l
• Eleanor Cross (eleanor.cross@plymouth.ac.uk), PhD student at the
University of Plymouth.
Further reading
Machine learning in marine ecology: an overview of techniques
and applications. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 80 (7): 1829-
1853. academic.oup.com/icesjms/article/80/7/1829/7236451
Cui, M., Liu, X., Liu, H. et al. 2025. Fish Tracking, Counting, and
Behaviour Analysis in Digital Aquaculture: A Comprehensive
Survey. Reviews in aquaculture, 17: e13001. doi.org/10.1111/
raq.13001
www.mba.ac.uk
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28 a r t i f i c i a l i n t e l l i g e n c e i n m a r i n e b i o l o g y
FROM POLYP TO PIXEL
Sophie Coxon looks at the role of photogrammetry in coral reef science.
Beneath the surface, sunlight falls in angelic slants
through the water column, illuminating tiny particles,
plankton, debris, like snowflakes in an empty blue sky.
The seabed shimmers below, the undulating forms of
a coral reef embellishing the seafloor with colour, movement
and life. In an otherwise bare and vast expanse of quiet blue
space and sweeping sandy floor, the reef is an oasis, a vibrant
kingdom of noise and motion.
Coral reefs are an invaluable component of the biosphere;
from supporting entire marine food webs and harbouring
unmatched levels of biodiversity, to protecting coastlines and
provisioning communities with food and livelihoods, reefs
supply fundamental services to the ocean system, impacting life
in the water and on land. Though reefs have shown impressive
resilience by holding out against climate change and rising
ocean temperatures, acidification, disease and destruction, these
mesmerising kingdoms of colour and life are being pushed
perilously close to the edge.
The accelerating loss of coral reefs, particularly those in the
tropical shallows which directly touch the lives of millions of
people, has elicited global conservation and restoration efforts.
However, many gaps in our understanding of coral reef ecology
and the complex relationships between coral restoration and
ecosystem health remain unknown. A relatively recent concept
that is becoming established is the importance of structural
complexity in reef ecosystems. The 3D structure of a reef has a
large influence on the abundance and diversity of associated
biota it can support, due to the expansion of niche space
provided by more complex and rugose reef systems. Whilst
this concept has become well established in the scientific
realm, translating this into monitoring and restoration of reef
systems is far more challenging. Both restoration and research
are notoriously limited in funding and resources, meaning that
monitoring often falls by the wayside, and the progression of
both reef degradation and restoration are relatively underdocumented
and misunderstood.
However, a new wave of technological innovations is
rapidly changing how reefs are mapped and recorded.
Photogrammetry, describing the measurement of a subject
through photo record, is augmenting the ability of scientists
to assess and evaluate large areas of coral reef for a fraction
of the money, time, and effort previously required. Using
a combination of thousands of high-quality photographs,
photogrammetry effectively visualizes the structure of a reef
system in 3D, digital form.
Boosting reef science
The process of photogrammetry is surprisingly simple: scuba
divers or drones collect a large quantity—often thousands—of
overlapping photographs of a section of reef selected for
research or monitoring. The photographs are then processed
and strung together by refined digital software to form highresolution
3D maps, which illustrate the complex structure of a
coral reef. No other reef sampling technique can recreate this
level of detail, and the ability to update the model with new
photos enables researchers to closely monitor changes in reef
structure, health and diversity over varying temporal scales.
This technology has provided a huge boost to reef science and
is currently being used across the tropics to investigate coral
growth and loss, identify areas of severe bleaching, disease,
october 2025
www.mba.ac.uk

29
and degradation, and locate regions of priority for restoration
effort. This fast and effective technique is saving thousands of
hours of manual work, as well as copious amounts of funding,
and is resulting in more precise and valuable data. In a field
where everything is limited, from boat availability to minutes
of air left in the tank, tipping the scales in the direction of
more data for less work is not only a welcome relief to reef
scientists, but also a promising leap towards more effective and
successful conservation.
A birds-eye view of a Maldivian coral reef in the Faafu atoll, showing
areas of bleaching and breakage on Acropora colonies. The use
of photogrammetry in recording reef structure contributes to
our understanding of temporal change and degradation such as
through bleaching and physical damage. © Sophie Coxon.
Large-scale mapping and accessible
marine conservation
Reef photogrammetry is currently being used throughout
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef to closely monitor rates of loss
and identify regions of invasion by species such as crown of
thorns starfish, which poses a significant threat to unbalanced
and degraded coral reefs. The technique is favourable as it
allows rapid large-scale mapping of vast areas of reef in a
non-invasive way, without disturbing elusive marine species
or damaging delicate substrate. Multiple online platforms
have since sprung up, providing open databases of modelled
reefs and both free and paywall-protected services for
conversion of photo collections into 3D models. There are also a
number of citizen science projects which invite volunteer divers
and snorkellers to contribute to larger marine conservation
projects through the submission of photos. As the field of reef
photogrammetry develops, analysis software is becoming more
refined and precise, opening up new pathways for science and
research. Given the immense size of coral reefs, and the even
greater volume of pressures and factors impacting their health,
the integration of technology into monitoring and management
is becoming a fundamental tool in reef conservation.
The future of photogrammetry is heading towards refinement
of data resolution, and even automation of the analysis process,
revolutionizing how reef data is processed and evaluated.
Machine learning can provide automatic coral species
classification, disease detection and bleaching cover analysis,
and new tools such as scalable monitoring systems are making
it easier for practitioners to model and predict best practice
approaches to restoration of specific reef sites. Whilst the
advance of technology can often be painted in a negative or
shady light, photogrammetry represents a bright and positive
jump towards more efficient, streamlined, and successful
monitoring of the world’s coral reefs. As the pressures and
challenges facing coral reef systems and associated biodiversity
continue to intensify, breakthrough developments in research
tools and methods can have huge impacts on our ability to
understand, and therefore protect, these magnificent ecosystems
which provide so much to life in the ocean and on land. l
• Sophie Coxon (sophie.borisroy@gmail.com)
@sophie.coxon @subaquaticsophie
A snorkeller photographing the reef for structural analysis.
Both divers and snorkellers can contribute to reef
photogrammetry datasets, requiring only an underwater
camera and the ability to take many thousands of overlapping
photographs of a reef section. © Sophie Coxon.
Further reading
Perry Institute for Marine Science. Coral Reef Monitoring with
Photogrammetry. www.perryinstitute.org/coral-reef-monitoringwith-photogrammetry-revolutionizing-conservation-efforts/
Great Barrier Reef Foundation. What is photogrammetry? www.
barrierreef.org/news/blog/what-is-photogrammetry-greatbarrier-reef
Guendulain-García, S.D., Lopez-Beltran, A., Banaszak, A.T. et al.
2023. Photogrammetry for coral structural complexity: What
is beyond sight? Coral Reefs 42, 635–644. doi.org/10.1007/
s00338-023-02368-6
www.mba.ac.uk
october 2025

30 f e a t u r e
TRAINING
THE NEXT
GENERATION
OF SCIENTIFIC
DIVERS
Keiron Fraser introduces the University of
Plymouth’s new MRes (Master of Research)
Scientific Diving programme.
Dr Keiron Fraser, Programme
Leader for the new MRes
Scientific Diving programme.
© Keiron Fraser.
Professional scientific diving has traditionally been a
difficult skills area in which to gain training. Many scientific
divers initially train as recreational divers before gaining
a scientific role that requires diving, and gradually learn
over the years on the job. The University of Plymouth has run an
undergraduate training programme in scientific diving, based
around the internationally recognized HSE SCUBA course, for
around 30 years, but the programme is very popular and heavily
oversubscribed. The University receives many enquiries from
non-Plymouth graduates about the availability of scientific diver
training and, historically, we have not been able to help.
However, to meet this demand, the University is now launching
an MRes Scientific Diving programme, which is thought to be the
only such programme globally. The 12-month programme will
consist of 3 months of taught content and a 9-month dissertation
module. Within the taught content will be two taught modules
and a field course module, including the HSE SCUBA course
for those students who don’t hold the qualification, or a suite of
other diving-related courses for those who do. The field course,
which is fully costed in the degree, will be run in Nusa Penida,
Bali, and will provide the opportunity for students to apply many
of the techniques they have learnt on the degree, as well as
gaining experience of diving in one of the most biodiverse coral
reef ecosystems on the planet.
The degree will have significant industry input, and students
will have the opportunity to undertake a range of research
projects based at Plymouth University’s modern, well-equipped
Marine Station, or with external partners in the UK or overseas.
The programme aims to provide students with the essential
suite of skills to allow them to gain roles that require the use
of scientific diving, as well as learning core master’s-level skills,
such as experimental design, statistical analysis, and science
communication.
I am Programme Leader for the MRes Scientific Diving,
and I am delighted that after nearly 30 years of working in roles
involving scientific diving, I have the opportunity to provide a
bespoke master’s programme to help graduates rapidly gain
the skills required, to be able to provide employers with skilled
postgraduate diving scientists.
With the global push towards protecting 30 per cent of our
oceans by 2030, scientific diving will play an increasing and
critical role in surveying, understanding, and conserving
our seas. l
• Dr Keiron Fraser (keiron.fraser@plymouth.ac.uk)
@plymouth.marine.station
@plymbiomarsci
See page 26 for further details.
Wearing AGA Divator MKII masks, scientific divers
surface after a dive near Rame Head, Cornwall, UK.
© University of Plymouth.
october 2025
www.mba.ac.uk

f e a t u r e 31
THE LOST COMPASS
Climate change and the vanishing waypoints of North
Pacific humpback whales. By Maleesha Herath.
The tail of a
humpback whale.
© Michele Roux /
Ocean Image Bank.
The ocean was once a keeper of rhythms:
predictable tides, migratory cues, and consistent
seasonal patterns. But the changing climate is
resetting the physical and chemical language that
marine life depends on and altering the choreography it
has followed for millennia.
The ocean acts as Earth’s primary heat sink and has
absorbed over 90 per cent of the excess heat from
global warming. This has led to increased sea-surface
temperature, changes in ocean circulation, and rising
sea levels due to the melting of polar ice caps and
glaciers. At the same time, increased atmospheric carbon
dioxide levels are reducing seawater pH levels and driving
ocean acidification.
Humpback whales in a changing ocean
Each winter, North Pacific humpback whales migrate
thousands of miles from cold feeding grounds in Alaska
to warm Hawaiian breeding waters. These majestic
creatures are accustomed to following ancient routes—
acoustic maps embedded deep in their minds and
passed down through the generations. But rapid shifts in
climate have started to rewrite the map of watery borders
they once knew. Their songs of navigation start to lose
the tune.
Warming oceans could put the tropical breeding grounds
of humpbacks outside their temperature tolerance, and
temperate feeding grounds are also at risk (see Box).
Usually, humpbacks follow prey consisting of krill and
small fish, but the krill population has dropped drastically
due to melting sea ice. As whales consume several tonnes
of krill a day in preparation for migration, they are forced
to venture into unfamiliar or less suitable areas to find prey,
expending more energy and potentially encountering
conflict with humans.
The burden of knowing too much
The North Pacific humpbacks’ navigational memory is both
a gift and a curse. Their memory leads them to places for
breeding and feeding that are becoming less productive or
even dangerous. Changing these ancient paths challenges
deeply rooted biological and cultural programming. This
could lead to a generational memory gap where traditions
fade. Can humpbacks navigate the tension between learned
behaviour and survival-driven change and rewrite their
migratory map?
When they alter the routes and the timing of their
journeys, whales become living indicators of the
ecological transformation of the planet. Tracking shifts in
humpback routes is one of the best ways to understand
broader patterns of ocean warming, prey movement,
and even the health of underwater ecosystems. In this way,
the whales’ lost routes reveal a map of a disrupted planet,
The 2014–2016 marine heatwave:
severe and lasting impacts
A landmark study by Cheeseman et al. (2024) documented
how the strongest marine heatwave ever recorded,
which occurred in the North Pacific from 2014 to 2016,
had severe and lasting impacts on humpback whale
populations. As a result of the heatwave, krill and small
schooling fish significantly decreased, bringing about
a decline of 20 per cent (7,000 fewer individuals) in the
North Pacific humpback whale population. Reduced calf
numbers, greater stranding rates, and more observations
of undernourished (‘skinny’) whales were all observed.
These findings were all connected to decreased food
supplies brought on by climate-driven changes in ocean
temperature and productivity.
www.mba.ac.uk
october 2025

32 f e a t u r e
and humpbacks become both witnesses and victims of
climate change.
All is not lost, but the time to act is now
Scientists and conservationists are tracking how whales are
adapting through satellite tagging and AI-based migration
modelling to gain a clear understanding of the real-time
changes in routes. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), noise
reduction initiatives, and community science efforts where
local observers help track whale behaviours also help to
protect whales while preserving the invisible maps they carry
within them.
The inherited wisdom of North Pacific humpback whales
is no longer a reliable compass. These magnificent creatures
are living libraries of routes, rituals, and relationships passed
across generations. When warming oceans erase feeding
grounds or when human-generated noise interferes with
whale songs, we are not just witnessing ecological loss, we
are watching a potential extinction of cultural heritage. To
safeguard this legacy, we have to go beyond traditional
conservation methods and demand approaches such as
empathy, innovation, and a willingness to listen to the rhythm
of a world older than the one we know. In saving their stories,
perhaps we can try to rewrite our own. l
• Maleesha Herath (maleeshaherath17@gmail.com)
Further reading
www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/
humpback-whales-face-a-major-setback-from-climate-change
Humpback whale,
Baja California Sur,
Mexico. © Michele
Roux / Ocean
Image Bank.
www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20240913-from-hawaii-to-thesalish-sea-climate-change-is-putting-the-humpback-whaleconservation-comeback-at-risk
Cheeseman, T., Barlow, J., Acebes, J. et al. 2024. Bellwethers
of change: population modelling of North Pacific humpback
whales from 2002 through 2021 reveals shift from recovery to
climate response. Royal Society Open Science. 11(2) 10.1098/
rsos.231462
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f e a t u r e 33
A grey seal: not always
the fisherman's friend.
© Guy Baker.
MACKEREL
MYTHS AND
MANAGEMENT
A brief and unusually
adventurous examination of the
claimed relationship between
seal numbers and the decline of
mackerel stocks. By Friar West.
I
recently asked a Devon fishmonger, ‘Why are there so few
mackerel now?’ The fishmonger suggested that seals could
be eating them.
I have been associated with the boatmen in Torquay,
Devon since 1970 when I worked for most of them. Sadly,
many of the older boatmen have since died. Of the younger
generation, 18-year-old James Corbet recently gained his
fishing boat licence and was interviewed about his fishing life
on the BBC show Spotlight. He exemplifies the boatmen, who
were some of the best people I have ever met.
I am also interested in conservation, and having one foot in
each camp, I have no axe to grind. However, I have been able
to observe this subject from an unusual perspective; it is this:
I build open wooden Canadian canoes and, since 1973, have
made numerous unique journeys
in them, totalling thousands of
miles on the sea.
In 1986, I made a 3-month
journey on an unexpectedly
unvisited part of the Greek coast
with continuous empty beaches up
to 80 miles long. It was alarmingly
remote, but what I did see was
a Mediterranean monk seal
(Monachus monachus) and pup,
which is one of the world’s most
endangered marine mammals.
On a return journey in 2017 in collaboration with WWF, I
did not find any more seals. This was reported worldwide,
including by The Sun who, in typical style, wrote: ‘Brit returns
without seeing any rare seals—did he blubber?’
Since then, I have been campaigning to raise awareness
of our own grey seal (Halichoerus grypus), which is rarer
than the African elephant. Around 34 per cent of the world’s
population of grey seals live on the shores of the UK, so they
don’t seem rare to us.
To return to my original question, what is the reason
for the decline in local mackerel stocks? The main reason
Friar West in a wooden Canadian canoe. © Friar West.
is overfishing by nations failing to reach quota sharing
agreements for Northeast Atlantic fish stocks—including
mackerel—that align with scientific advice. 1,2 Having
established that it’s not the fault of local fishermen or seals,
one relevant fact remains: seals damage nets.
Since the grey seal became legally protected,
I have seen the population of ‘local’ grey seals expand
dramatically. I first started working, walking, and canoeing
on the south-west coast in 1970 and I did not see a seal
until 1984. Over time, I saw them more often, and now
I see up to 20 individuals on most trips. I do not assume
they are all local: seals can come from as far away as
France and Wales.
Fishermen should not be the only ones to pay for
damage to nets. The conservation
of marine wildlife benefits us
all and we should all share the
load. I believe fishermen should
be compensated for
losses associated with seal
damage. There are numerous
comparable schemes; for
instance, ‘set aside’, where
farmers are compensated for
not growing crops in order to
benefit wildlife.
The return of seals in Southwest
England did not cause the decline of mackerel. If fisheries are
managed sustainably, we can have abundant marine life and
reliable livelihoods for fishermen. l
• Friar West
www.friar.ch
1
Pickerell, T. 2023. Businesses call time out on unsustainable fishing. The
Marine Biologist, 25, 18.
2
www.msc.org/media-centre/press-releases/press-release/governmentsurged-to-agree-quota-sharing-deal-as-new-data-shows-atlantoscandian-herring-and-mackerel-stocks-plummet
www.mba.ac.uk
october 2025

34
Methods
HOW DO CUTTLEFISH TRICK THEIR PREY?
How do cuttlefish trick
their prey?
We We observed broadclub cuttlefish on on coral reefs in in
eastern Indonesia. We We attached live crabs to to the reef for for
cuttlefish to to hunt. We We used purple mangrove crabs and
mottled crabs. The purple mangrove crab has a a harder
shell (carapace).
We We recorded 254 hunting displays by by cuttlefish from
May Researchers:
2023 to to May 2024. These displays were from 98 98
different Martin How, individuals. Matteo Santon,
We We saw four different types of of
hunting and others
displays. We We used our data to to calculate the
Associate Editors:
Miranda Wilson and
Alexandra Appleton
Results
Abstract
The four different hunting displays we we saw were:
3. 3. Branching coral: The cuttlefish had a a variety of of
1. 1. Leaf: The cuttlefish often changed to to an an olive green
camouflage colours. They stretched their arms up up and out
colour. Predators They and stretched prey their are in arms conflict out to to with the sides. each They
other.
to we to the don’t sides. know Sometimes much about they stretched how they them hunt downward.
in the wild.
then Predators approached try to prey catch slowly.
prey, while prey try to avoid
They So, we either observed attacked broadclub fast or or slow.
cuttlefish (Sepia latimanus)
2.
predators. 2. Passing-stripe: Predators The can cuttlefish blend changed
into their to
surroundings
to a a greyish-
4. on 4. Pulse: coral reefs The in cuttlefish the Indo-Pacific. turned a a We grayish-white saw four different
colour
white
and wait colour for with
prey moving
to get close. black stripes.
Or predators They stretched
can chase
with hunting dark moving displays. pulses. We also They saw pointed individual six six arms cuttlefish
forward
into a a cone shape and the two middle arms upward and
their
their arms prey. out Some to to the predators sides. They will then
even attacked sneak up prey on from
their
using multiple displays in different moments. This
out to to one side.
straight
prey before on. on.
chasing it. Camouflage can help these
information can help us better understand predator
predators be more successful.
behaviour on coral reefs.
One predator that uses camouflage is the cuttlefish. But
Which hunting display were the the
cuttlefish most likely to to use?
Least likely?
Introduction
Have you ever played tag before? If you are really fast,
you might be able to catch your friends. But what if you
could use camouflage and sneak up on them? Then you
would always be the 0.25
winner, no matter how fast you were!
Many predators use a similar strategy to hunt their prey.
Probability
Probability
of
of
Occurring
Occurring
0.5
There are two main types of predators. Camouflage can
help them be more successful. Ambush predators
00
camouflage themselves and wait until prey come close
enough to attack. In contrast, pursuit predators seek
out their prey like in a game of tag. Pursuit predators,
like sharks and cheetahs, can be faster than their prey.
They could also have more endurance than their prey.
Some pursuit predators, like wolves, even use teamwork
to hunt. Many pursuit predators try to sneak up on their
prey undetected before attacking.
Leaf Leaf
Passing-stripe
Passing-stripe
Branching Branching coral coral
One predator that does this is the cuttlefish. Cuttlefish are
cephalopods. They are related to octopuses and squids.
They have chromatophores. These are special cells that
change colour. All the cuttlefish have to do is flex muscles
in their skin. They also have papillae that change the
texture of their skin. Cuttlefish use camouflage to get near
Hunting Displays
probability that we we would see each of of the displays. Then
we we looked to to see if if this was different between male and
female cuttlefish. We We also looked to to see if if it it was different
between the two types of of crabs.
We We saw many of of the same cuttlefish multiple times. So, So,
we we also used our data to to see how many different displays
individual cuttlefish used.
prey on coral reefs. Once they are close enough, they
attack.
We wanted to know what sorts of camouflage are used by
hunting cuttlefish to get near their prey. We also wanted
to see what might influence these different displays. So,
we took a team to the Indo-Pacific region to observe
broadclub cuttlefish in the wild!
Pulse Pulse
Mixed Mixed
Figure 1: 1: Probability of of hunting
displays seen in in cuttlefish.
The cuttlefish strikes its prey.
Photo: Matteo Santon
October 2025
www.mba.ac.uk

HOW DO CUTTLEFISH TRICK THEIR PREY?
35
Methods
We observed broadclub cuttlefish on coral reefs in
eastern Indonesia. We attached live crabs to the reef for
cuttlefish to hunt. We used purple mangrove crabs and
mottled crabs. The purple mangrove crab has a harder
shell (carapace).
We recorded 254 hunting displays by cuttlefish from
May 2023 to May 2024. These displays were from 98
different individuals. We saw four different types of
hunting displays. We used our data to calculate the
probability that we would see each of the displays. Then
we looked to see if this was different between male and
female cuttlefish. We also looked to see if it was different
between the two types of crabs.
We saw many of the same cuttlefish multiple times. So,
we also used our data to see how many different displays
individual cuttlefish used.
Results
The four different hunting displays we saw were:
1. Leaf: The cuttlefish often changed to an olive green
colour. They stretched their arms out to the sides. They
then approached prey slowly.
2. Passing-stripe: The cuttlefish changed to a greyishwhite
colour with moving black stripes. They stretched
their arms out to the sides. They then attacked prey from
straight on.
3. Branching coral: The cuttlefish had a variety of
camouflage colours. They stretched their arms up and out
to the sides. Sometimes they stretched them downward.
They either attacked fast or slow.
4. Pulse: The cuttlefish turned a grayish-white colour
with dark moving pulses. They pointed six arms forward
into a cone shape and the two middle arms upward and
out to one side.
Which hunting display were the
cuttlefish most likely to use?
Least likely?
0.5
Probability of
Occurring
0.25
0
Leaf
Passing-stripe
Branching coral
Pulse
Mixed
Figure 1: Probability of hunting
displays seen in cuttlefish.
Hunting Displays
www.mba.ac.uk October 2025

36
HOW DO CUTTLEFISH TRICK THEIR PREY?
We also saw some cuttlefish switching between different
hunting displays. We called these mixed displays.
The probability that cuttlefish used leaf, passing-stripe,
and branching coral displays was 22–29%. For pulse and
mixed displays, it was 10–13% (Fig. 1).
We saw leaf displays in female cuttlefish 13% more often
than in males. We also saw cuttlefish use branching coral
displays 12% more often when hunting purple mangrove
crabs, which have a harder carapace. We saw 62 cuttlefish
more than once. Of these, 79% showed two or more of
the different hunting displays.
Discussion
We observed a wide variety of hunting behaviours in
wild cuttlefish. We think that the hunting displays may
provide different types of camouflage. In the leaf display,
cuttlefish seem to mimic a floating mangrove leaf. They
adopt the same colour and use the same drifting motion.
The branching coral display looks like the coral reef
background. Although these incredible displays stand out
vividly to us, prey animals don’t spot them! This makes it
much easier for cuttlefish to sneak up on their prey. They
may also help cuttlefish avoid their own predators.
We saw that individual cuttlefish used a combination of
hunting displays. Individual cuttlefish don’t seem to have
favourites. It also means that cuttlefish are flexible in
their behaviours. Each display may allow them to sneak
up on their prey in a different way. This could explain why
some cuttlefish used a mixed display. They may also use
different displays to keep prey from getting used to one.
Or, cuttlefish might just be indecisive!
In the future, we would like to explore why cuttlefish
choose each of the four displays. Is it related to cuttlefish
size or prey size? Is it connected to what the habitat looks
like? Or is it related to the type of prey and their behaviour?
This information will help us better understand how and
why predators behave the way they do.
Conclusion
The predatory behaviour of the cuttlefish reminds us
that appearances can be deceiving, not only in the
animal world, but in our everyday lives. What seems eyecatching
to us might be completely different to someone
else. This depends on how they see or experience the
world. Like a cuttlefish’s colourful display can fool its prey,
we should remember that others might notice things
we overlook. You can apply this in your own life too!
Keep an open mind, ask questions, and consider other
people’s perspectives before jumping to conclusions. It’s
a powerful way to build empathy and fully understand
the world.
REFERENCES
Martin J. How, Cedric van den Berg, Michael Karcz, Charlie Heatubun, and Matteo Santon (2025) Multiple hunting
displays in wild broadclub cuttlefish. Ecology.
https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecy.70021
Animal Diversity Web: Sepia latimanus
https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Sepia_latimanus/
BBC Science Focus: Everything you wanted to know about cuttlefish
https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-cuttlefish
SciTechDaily: Cuttlefish mesmerize prey with hypnotic moving stripes
https://scitechdaily.com/cuttlefish-mesmerize-prey-with-hypnotic-moving-stripes/
Acknowledgment: This article's adaptation was supported by the Marine
Biological Association, UK. To join the MBA, please visit:
www.mba.ac.uk/our-membership/
October 2025
www.mba.ac.uk

HOW DO CUTTLEFISH TRICK THEIR PREY?
37
Glossary of Key Terms
Ambush predator - a predator that waits for prey to come close enough to attack. They use various forms of
camouflage to hide from prey. They can blend in with the environment or stay motionless. Some examples of
ambush predators are frogs, polar bears, and spiders.
Camouflage - a strategy that allows animals to blend in with the environment. This makes it hard for
other animals to see them. Camouflage can include changes in colour, patterning, or texture. Chameleons,
octopuses, and stonefish are good examples of animals that use camouflage.
Carapace - the shell of a crab or other crustacean.
Cephalopod - a type of invertebrate mollusc. They have soft bodies with arms, or tentacles, with suckers on
them. They include octopuses, squid, cuttlefish, and nautiluses.
Chromatophore - a special cell in the skin that can change colour. They contain sacks of pigment that can
change shape by contracting or relaxing the muscles around them. Chromatophores allow organisms to change
colour or patterns to camouflage.
Indo-Pacific - the area of the Indian Ocean and the western and central Pacific Ocean.
Mimic - act or look like another organism or an object. Organisms may do this to avoid predators, trick prey,
or protect a habitat. For example, a kingsnake and a coral snake look similar, but only the coral snake is
venomous. Predators avoid the kingsnake because they recognize the pattern and think it might be venomous,
too.
Papillae - bumps or spikes on the skin that can be moved with muscles to create texture. This can help
animals camouflage or mimic part of their environment.
Pursuit predator - a predator that actively chases prey. They can use speed, endurance, and/or teamwork
to catch prey. Some pursuit predators, such as cheetahs or wolves, stalk their prey to get close before an
active chase.
Check your understanding
1
What is the difference between an ambush predator and a pursuit predator? Give two
examples of each.
2
We usually think of camouflage as something that helps animals hide from their predators.
How can camouflage help predators catch prey?
3
What are the four different hunting displays that we observed in this study? Pick one and
discuss how it might help the cuttlefish get close enough to its prey to attack.
4
Cuttlefish are predators in coral reef habitats and many of their prey depend on corals for
food and protection. What do you think would happen to the cuttlefish and their prey in
the short term if the coral reefs were damaged? What about long term?
5
At the end of the Discussion section, we mentioned several follow-up questions about
cuttlefish behavior. Pick one and design an experiment that researchers could do to answer
the question. Make sure to include your hypothesis, independent and dependent variables,
what variables you need to control for, and how to do the experiment.
More free science education resources at: www.ScienceJournalForKids.org
www.mba.ac.uk October 2025

38 t h e v o i c e o f m a r i n e b i o l o g y
UNLOCK YOUR
RESEARCH POTENTIAL
At the Marine Biological Association, we are proud to offer a diverse and growing portfolio of bursaries and
funding opportunities designed to advance established professionals and to support the next generation of marine
scientists. We strive to remove barriers and open doors to career development at all levels across the discipline.
New and refreshed
opportunities
We are excited to introduce several
newly launched and revitalized funding
initiatives. These include:
EARLY CAREER
The Brian Morton
Exchange Fund
Supports Early Career Researchers
for international visits. Professor
Brian Morton was a passionate advocate
of international collaboration on ocean
conservation issues and a longstanding
MBA member who, upon his death,
bequeathed a £1 million legacy gift to
the MBA to establish and run the Brian
Morton Exchange Fund.
Peter Baker Investigatorship
Provides early career researchers
(less than 10 years post-PhD)
with the opportunity to undertake
research at the MBA. The Investigatorship
was established to commemorate
the scientific life and contributions of
Professor Peter F. Baker FRS. Peter Baker
carried out much of his scientific work
at the Laboratory and was a member
of MBA Council and the Physiological
Society’s Governor of the Association.
ESTABLISHED
RESEARCHER
Ray Lankester Investigatorship
Offers established researchers (more
than 10 years post-PhD) the chance to
pursue independent marine biological
research at the MBA. The awardee will
collaborate with world-class marine
scientists and gain access to cutting-edge
facilities, long-term datasets, and diverse
local ecosystems, such as kelp forests.
This unique opportunity honours Sir
Edwin Ray Lankester FRS, a foundational
figure of the MBA.
UNDERGRADUATE
STUDENT
The Molly Spooner Studentship
Dr Molly Spooner was a botanist
OPEN for
applications
Applications
re-open in
2026
OPEN for
applications
and researcher at the MBA, appointed
a Member of the Order of the British
Empire for her pioneering work on the
effect of oil pollution on marine life.
Molly bequeathed a sum of money to
the MBA to encourage enterprising
students to experience marine biological
research at the Laboratory. The
Studentship is open to undergraduates.
Jasmin Orak, Spooner Studentship
Awardee 2025, writes about her
summer studentship (see article right).
STUDENT TRAVEL
BURSARIES
Applications
closing
31 October,
re-open
2026
Open to Student and
Postgraduate members, aiding
attendance at Conferences,
Workshops and networking events.
Since its establishment in 2011, close
to 150 students have benefited from a
bursary award.
Helen Hiley, Student Travel Bursary
Winner: ‘Attending the 25th Biennial
Conference on the Biology of Marine
Mammals in Perth, Australia, was a
powerful reminder of the value of
in-person engagement in science and
a meaningful step in my journey as a
researcher. I am immensely grateful
to the MBA for their support, which
enabled me to be part of such an
inspiring event.’
Our vision
Through these funding opportunities,
we aim to foster a vibrant, inclusive,
and forward-looking marine biology
community. Whether you’re a student
embarking on your first conference
or a senior practitioner seeking to
expand your scientific programme,
our funding opportunities are here to
support your journey.
For full details on
eligibility, application
deadlines, and how
to apply, please
visit our Grants and
Awards page. l
Jasmin
Orak.
© MBA.
MICROBIAL
ENCOUNTERS
Thanks to a Spooner Studentship,
undergraduate student Jasmin
Orak had the opportunity to work
on algal-bacterial interactions at
the MBA’s laboratory.
Interactions between microalgae
and bacteria have huge global
significance. Microalgae
contribute approximately half of
global net primary productivity,
playing a key role in the global
carbon cycle. Their survival and
growth are strongly influenced
by bacteria, in symbiotic
relationships spanning mutualism
to parasitism. Understanding
these interactions is therefore
crucial in understanding how
marine ecosystems function and
respond to environmental change,
as well as discovering novel
biotechnological applications.
October 2025
www.mba.ac.uk

t h e v o i c e o f m a r i n e b i o l o g y
39
Of particular interest is the bacterium Ponticoccus
alexandrii, known to sometimes attack and kill diatoms
under certain conditions. Previous studies have shown
that the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana, a widely
studied model species, is susceptible to growth inhibition,
whereas other diatoms such as Phaeodactylum tricornutum
appear to be resilient. So, during my time at the MBA, I
set out to ask whether the bacterium exhibits attachment
behaviour towards seemingly resilient hosts.
To investigate this question, I first grew P. alexandrii
on dead diatom media prepared from each of the algal
species, a method known to induce pathogenicity in the
bacteria, before co-culturing with living algal cultures.
In the case of P. tricornutum, results were particularly
intriguing. Although the alga’s growth was not inhibited,
P. alexandrii consistently attached to algal cells, regardless
of whether it had been pre-grown on T. pseudonana or P.
tricornutum itself (see image below).
In addition to the attachment, P. tricornutum cells
changed from spindle-shaped to oval in the co-cultures.
This shape change has previously been described as a
stress response, suggesting that even when cells aren’t
killed, P. alexandrii may still impact host physiology.
This was a rewarding project in an exciting area of
research. I gained a wide variety of skills as well as
fascinating insights into the complexity of algal-bacterial
interactions. Even when algae appear resilient, bacteria
can still have subtle effects on their biology. l
• Jasmin Orak (jasminruyaorak@outlook.com), University of Exeter.
THE 141ST ANNUAL
GENERAL MEETING
AND ANNUAL
SCIENCE TALK
TUESDAY 2
DECEMBER 2025
The Annual General Meeting is how you, as a
member, get to have your say in the running of
the Marine Biological Association.
The AGM is accompanied by our Annual
Science Talk given by a keynote speaker who
has made significant contributions in their field.
This year’s talk will be given by Professor Peter
Holland FMBA.
Look out for emailed invitations at the end
of October.
ANNUAL SCIENCE TALK TALK
A confocal microscopy image of the bacterium
Ponticoccus alexandrii attaching to cells of the alga
Phaeodactylum tricornutum. © MBA.
Why sequence every genome?
Why sequence every genome?
Professor Peter Holland FMBA FRS
Professor Peter Holland FMBA FRS
A collaborative project involving the University
of Oxford, In just a the few MBA, years, the a collaborative Wellcome Sanger project
Institute, involving and the others University has reported of Oxford, the the genome Marine
sequences Biological of Association, almost 2,000 the Wellcome Sanger
species Institute and and is sequencing
others have reported the genome
50 more sequences every of month. almost But 2,000 what species and are
can we learn from a genome
sequence? we learn What from a surprises genome
are sequence? being uncovered? What surprises And
are are we beig entering uncovered? a new And era of are
data-driven biology?
sequencing 50 more every month. But what can
we entering a new era of
data-driven biology?
www.mba.ac.uk October 2025

ISSUE 35 JULY 2025
ISSN 2052-5273
THE MAGAZINE OF THE MARINE BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITY
ISSUE 34 APRIL 2025
ISSN 2052-5273
THE MAGAZINE OF THE MARINE BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITY
VERSION 1.0
ISSUE 33 JANUARY 2025
ISSN 2052-5273
THE MAGAZINE OF THE MARINE BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITY
01_Cover-ideas_MarineBiologist33_2025-SM.indd 1 24/01/2025 16:01
40 t h e v o i c e o f m a r i n e b i o l o g y
READERS’ SURVEY RESULTS
The Marine Biological Association aims to support
members on their marine biological journeys and
we are always seeking to improve our membership
offer. In April, we invited readers of The Marine Biologist
magazine to take part in a survey, to canvass feedback on
specific questions.
You have to be in it to win it!
Four respondents were the lucky winners of fantastic
prizes. Carlo Di Natale was the winner of a £100 book
voucher, while Ruth Flynn and Amanda Kear each won
£50 book vouchers, all generously provided by Taylor
& Francis/CRC Press. Mark Davies took home Shark: The
Illustrated Biography, provided by Princeton University
Press.
Survey results
Respondents gave a range of views reflecting our diverse
membership and spread of ages.
Sections of the magazine ranked from ‘Most enjoyable’
1. An Ocean of Science
2. Features
3. In Brief
4. The Voice of Marine Biology
5. Reviews
6. Policy
7. Editorial
BLOOMING
OCTOPUS
LIFE
&DEATH
IN THE
SLOW
LANE
THE FALL OF AN
AMERICAN
ICON?
We asked what would make the magazine more satisfying
A quarter of respondents want more short articles, and a
quarter would like to see articles more heavily illustrated.
There was a desire for more careers advice and
information about training opportunities. Suggestions for
additional content included regular ‘how to’ features and a
‘day in the life’ for marine biologists.
What we’re doing to respond
We will review the survey results with the Editorial Board
(see below), putting more emphasis on science articles and
features. We will mix in shorter articles and work to improve
our use of graphics and images.
We will focus on the quality of writing to tell better stories
and trial new regular features such as lab techniques for
marine biologists and species pages.
Update: The Marine Biologist Editorial Board
We recently reviewed the magazine’s Editorial Board. 1
Following a recruitment exercise that included a call to
MBA members for applications, we have recruited a diverse
group of people with the particular skills and experience we
need. We are excited to start working with our expanded
Editorial Board to better reflect and respond to the needs
of members.
1
The magazine is produced by the MBA Engagement Team with strategic
guidance provided by our Editorial Board.
brand
style
guide
Rating content and presentation
Over 80% of
respondents rated
content as excellent
or good
88% of respondents
rated features as
good or excellent
88% of respondents
rated layout and
design as excellent
or good
82% of respondents
rated the writing as
excellent or good, 18%
rated it as average
YOUR MEMBERSHIP MATTERS
As a charity, your membership means the world to us. Together, we are tackling
the urgent challenges facing marine life today.
Your continued support helps us to:
● drive cutting-edge research into the life in our ocean
● discover science-based solutions to anchor action
● inspire and fuel the next wave of ocean minds.
VERSION 1.0
With your help, we can continue our mission to understand, protect, and
restore ocean health for generations to come.
Together, we power the science that protects our ocean.
Thank you for being part of our community!
Registered Charity No. 1155893
October 2025
www.mba.ac.uk

t h e v o i c e o f m a r i n e b i o l o g y
41
MEET THE MEMBERS
A regular opportunity to find out more about members of our community.
My role
I lead and manage complex marine ecological assessments,
coordinate with stakeholders and regulatory bodies, and
deliver detailed technical reports. My role supports sustainable
development by ensuring environmental compliance, guiding
conservation strategies, and providing expert input on marine
biodiversity, habitat protection, and coastal ecosystem
management.
My typical day
A typical day involves planning and supervising marine field
activities, ensuring all logistics and safety protocols are in place. I
analyse ecological data collected from surveys, interpret findings,
and assess potential environmental impacts. I collaborate closely
with internal teams and external stakeholders to align project
goals and maintain compliance with environmental regulations.
I also prepare and review technical reports, environmental
assessments, and management plans, ensuring they are clear,
accurate, and timely. Throughout the day, I provide expert advice
to guide decision-making, support marine conservation efforts,
and ensure that all project activities contribute to sustainable and
environmentally responsible outcomes.
Name: Steve G. Gan
MBA Membership category: Professional Member
Job title: Senior Environmental Marine Consultant
Institution: Buro Happold
Marine biology career highlight
For over a decade I led ecological assessments, field surveys,
and environmental impact studies across the Gulf region, where I
specialized in coral reef monitoring, seagrass analysis, and marine
biodiversity.
www.linkedin.com/in/steve-gan
My role
For my PhD, I study the biology and ecology of commercially
exploited sea urchins on rocky reefs in New South Wales, Australia,
focusing on growth, reproduction, and resilience to climate stress.
My research aims to support fisheries and conservation by linking
ecological understanding with management needs.
My typical day
My day-to-day activity really depends on what’s happening
at the time. Some days are spent in the lab running experiments
or processing samples, while others involve snorkelling and
surveying. There are also periods at my computer, analysing
data, writing manuscripts, or preparing for the next project.
I’m fortunate to be involved in projects across my lab group
(Marine Invertebrate Futures Group) in addition to my own
research. The variety keeps things exciting and ensures no two
weeks look the same.
Marine biology journey highlight
A major highlight of my career has been fieldwork on the Great
Barrier Reef, which has given me the opportunity to witness both
its beauty and its challenges. This work has taken me to what
I consider some of the most remarkable places in the world,
including One Tree Island and Orpheus Island.
Instagram: @moniquewebbphotography
Name: Monique Webb
MBA Membership category: Professional
Postgraduate Member
Position: PhD Candidate, Marine Biology & Ecology
Institution: University of Sydney
www.mba.ac.uk October 2025

42
r e v i e w s
REVIEWS
MBA members review the latest marine biology
books, films, and podcasts.
OCEAN: EARTH’S LAST
WILDERNESS
From Zoo Quest to Ocean, David Attenborough and his tales of the
natural world have been a constant in my life, and I suspect in the
lives of so many others on planet Earth. We have grown up enthralled
by his storytelling, and he has opened all our eyes to the wonder and
value of the world around us.
The book Ocean does not disappoint, introducing a whole
new generation to the importance of our seas, and why properly
protecting them not only matters, but is critical to all our futures.
Drawing on the reality of time passing, it describes the changes
human actions have brought upon the ocean over the generations,
viewed from the perspective of how attitudes and fortunes have
changed in relation to species such as the great whales. Packed
full of facts, descriptions, and reminiscences, we are educated and
entertained in equal measure about the variety of life that is largely
hidden from most people’s view.
Where the book diverges from the film is that it has the space to
take the reader behind the amazing visual storytelling and impacts
of the film, to understand more about the nature of the ocean: the
different ocean areas, the major ecosystem types, and the myriad
of species that inhabit it. The direct and personal connection David
Attenborough makes with the viewer of the film is equally made with
the reader of Ocean the book.
His infectious storytelling continues to inspire, and through this
book he recognizes that the more people enjoy and understand
the natural world, the greater our hope of saving both it and
ourselves becomes. But perhaps most importantly, after almost 100
years on the planet and all that he has seen in his lifetime, he now
understands that the most important place on Earth is not the land,
but the sea. This is indeed why we now have this book and the film.
From both the film and book comes a strong message, not of
despair at all we have done to damage and destroy our marine world,
but of hope, about how we need to change, to live in harmony with
our life-giving ocean. We are the generation that now understands
what we have done, but equally what we can now do, using tools like
fully protected marine areas, to allow it to bounce back and recover.
For, as he says, if we save our seas, we save our world.
• Dan Laffoley FMBA
Author: David Attenborough
ISBN: 978-1399818506
Format: Hardback, 400 pages
Published by: John Murray -
Hatchette
THE SEAWEED REVOLUTION
Author: Vincent Doumeizel
ISBN: 9781915643858
Format: Hardback, 320 pages
Published by: Legend Times
The Seaweed Revolution is a whistlestop tour
through the integration of algae throughout
human history, spanning a wide range of
topics including agriculture, aquaculture,
pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, packaging, and
blue carbon.
This book is an information-packed overview
of the plethora of uses that people have found
for seaweeds across the ages and explores the
geographical differences in the development
and culturing of algae. The taxonomic species
names are not always provided in full; however,
the text provides several examples of species
and explores their uses and applications in
different societies. A notes section at the end
of the book contains definitions and references
for further reading, and the book itself is a
useful resource that can be dipped into again
and again to source specific information.
The final chapter provides an optimistic look
to the future, highlighting several ways in which
the culturing and use of macroalgae could
help to address many of the anthropogenic
pressures that the planet will continue to
be subjected to. Whether you have studied
phycology or are just curious about the many
roles that seaweed plays in the human realm,
this book is likely to pique your interest—and
you too may share Vincent’s hope that seaweed
could help save our future.
• Nova Mieszkowska Mem.MBA
October 2025
www.mba.ac.uk

r e v i e w s 43
SHARK: THE ILLUSTRATED
BIOGRAPHY
MBA
member
discount
with this
publisher
THE OCEAN
Authors: Daniel C. Abel &
Sophie A. Maycock
ISBN: 9780691261676
Format: Hardback, 224 pages
Published by: Princeton
University Press
The subject matter of Shark:
The Illustrated Biography is
always exciting (are sharks ever
dull?) and the writing style is very
approachable. The book covers
a reasonable breadth of life
histories, physiology, evolution,
and behaviour in an appealing
manner without being complex or specialized in content.
There are many illustrations and they make pleasant
viewing. My personal feeling about the use of illustrations
alone, however, is that it can give the impression that this
is a work of fiction, especially when combined with the less
scientific prose.
While the book is eminently readable, I found that it
could feel a little disjointed. The progression of chapters
fits perfectly within the ‘narrative biography’ genre of
writing. However, from the outset, four species of sharks are
highlighted as ‘the main characters’, and while the author
clearly states that other species will be discussed, I felt that
these characters didn’t really play out much in the book, to
the point where I felt it wasn’t important enough to merit
mentioning.
As a first foray for the enthusiastic amateur, this book
would be ideal, and it is reader-friendly enough for older
children to get stuck into.
• Gareth Dowle Mem.MBA
Author: Sturla Henriksen
ISBN: 9781917163965
Format: Hardback, 302 pages
Published by: Hero Press
The scope of Sturla
Henriksen’s eye-opening
book is as big as the ocean
itself. The central message is
clear: the health of the ocean
is inseparable from the fate
of humanity—and our future
depends on understanding and
protecting it.
Organized into 10 chapters,
The Ocean is a sweeping
journey through science, history, economics, and geopolitics.
The rich narrative contains many anecdotes from Henriksen’s
long personal and professional connections to the sea. Each
chapter points to the ocean as the common denominator in
our lives: we depend on it for food, energy, and recreation;
it shapes the global climate; it is a medium of transport
for everything ranging from the tiniest organisms to giant
container ships and the virtual floating cities of aircraft carriers.
Since the industrial revolution, the ocean has absorbed
much of our greenhouse gas emissions and waste, but it has
now reached its capacity. It is warming too fast for nature to
keep pace, and it is striking back in the form of intensified
storms and sea level rise. In the last chapter, Henriksen
gives us some hope that we are not doomed. If we hold
meaningful and inclusive global dialogues, we can still take
actions that would curb the worst impacts of climate change,
but action must come now—from individuals, industries, and
governments alike.
• Anja Schulze Mem.MBA
ENTANGLED LIFE
(THE ILLUSTRATED EDITION)
Author: Merlin Sheldrake
ISBN: 9781847927736
Format: Hardback, 240 pages
Published by: Bodley Head
Entangled Life is one of the most
beautiful pieces of non-fiction I
have had the pleasure of reading.
Merlin Sheldrake explores the world
of fungi in seven chapters, each
accompanied by captivating images
and personal anecdotes that engage
all five of your senses.
Sheldrake’s curiosity about the
natural world is infectious, and his
stories prompted me to reflect
on my own journey in science
and the questions that have been
brewing in my current research. As
a microbial ecologist, I am often
confronted by difficulties in defining
organisms by their interactions with
others, which can feel futile when those
relationships change. This book made
it abundantly clear that many of our
systems of classification are just ways
for us to make sense of the world; life is
complex, and we may never have all the
answers, but that’s exciting!
Entangled Life weaves together
scientific insight and human experience,
which is incredibly fitting for a book
about fungi—organisms that blur so
many of the boundaries we have in
biology. Though Sheldrake focuses
primarily on terrestrial fungi, the
underlying messages of the book are
also applicable to marine systems. I
would recommend this book to anyone
interested in the natural world.
• Caitlin Kumiko Dye
www.mba.ac.uk October 2025

THE MAGAZINE OF THE MARINE BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITY
Join the Marine Biological Association
and receive four editions of The Marine Biologist a year
www.mba.ac.uk/our-membership