Exeter - Exeter Marine

This episode was recorded back in early 2019. Ben talks to Lauren Henly, Emma Weschke and Tim Gordon, who are all masters by research or PhD students in Prof. Steve Simpson’s research group (you might remember Steve from an earlier episode, Coral Reef Bioacoustics Part I). The discussion focuses around the research they’re all undertaking, what got them interested in marine biology, and what they have done so far.

About our guests:

Emma Weschke

At the time of recording Emma was a masters by research student and is now undertaking a PhD with the University of Bristol focusing on coral reef fish ecology and bioacoustics.

Lauren Henly

Lauren is a PhD student with the University of Exeter and Natural England studying functional ecology and behaviour of wrasse to inform management of wrasse fisheries. She provided us with the update below:

“I’m now in the 3^rd year of my PhD. I’ve been developing lots of different methods to assess the sustainability and potential impacts of the Live Wrasse Fishery on the south coast. I’m using genetics to look at the population structure of wrasse along the south coast so we can identify the most effective management unit size, using stable isotopes to predict the ecological impacts of the fishery, and working to ensure the views of other stakeholders (including recreational anglers) are considered when developing management measures for the fishery. It’s great being able to use such a broad range of techniques to address a key issue.”

Tim Gordon

Tim is completing a PhD with the University of Exeter and the Australian Institute for Marine Science focusing on coral reef bioacoustcs, what can you learn from coral reefs by listening to them. You can find out more about Tim’s work in a previous episode – Coral Reef Bioacoustics Part II.

Topics discussed:

Sustainability of wrasse fisheries around the UK.
Ecological consequences of marine anthropogenic noise on coral reefs, both during the day and at night.
How fish use underwater soundscapes.
Using underwater sound to aid marine conservation efforts.
The impacts of the degredation of coral reef marine noise
Using underwater speakers to make reefs louder.
The bigger picture aspects of working in a research group.
What got you into marine biology?

Resources:

Episode and show notes produced by Ben Toulson and Katie Finnimore.

Check out other episodes of the podcast here.

You can subscribe on most podcast apps, if you’re feeling kind please leave us a review!

#ExeterMarine is an interdisciplinary group of marine related researchers with capabilities across the scientific, medical, engineering, humanities and social science fields. If you are interested in working with our researchers or students, contact Emily Easman or visit our website!

Scientists at Sea Podcast – Atlantic Bluefin Tuna in the UK, with Tom Horton

13th Jan, 202013th Jan, 2020 Ben Toulson Leave a comment

Show notes

In this episode we speak to Tom Horton, a current PhD student at the University of Exeter and Project Officer for ThunnusUK. Tom and Ethan discuss all things ThunnusUK and Atlantic bluefin tuna.

ThunnusUK (named after the Atlantic bluefin tuna’s latin name, Thunnus thynnus), is a collaborative study between the Univeristy of Exeter and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas). The aim is to provide a baseline understanding of ecology and global distribution of Atlantic bluefin tuna that can be found in the waters around southwest England.

You can find out more about ThunnusUK here.

Atlantic bluefin tuna have historically weighed up to 900kg and measured nearly 4m.

About our guest: Tom Horton

Tom has built up an impressive career portfolio, after graduating from a Marine Biology (MSci) at the University of Southampton he became a research assistant at the Marine Megafauna Foundation. Following this he moved to Cornwall to become the Volunteer Seaquest Southwest Co-ordinator for the Cornwall Wildlife Trust and then progressed on to work for Marine Discovery Penzance as a researcher and guide. He is now undertaking a PhD with the University of Exeter, Cefas, and Stanford University focusing the spatial ecology of marine vertebrates that are of conservation concern, Atlantic bluefin tuna being a prime example.

Topics discussed

A selection of the tags used in the research

What is Thunnus UK?
How long has Thunnus UK been around?
Atlantic bluefin tuna in UK waters, why do they come here?
How do you tag and track a bluefin tuna?
How do tuna tags work?
Tagging animals safely and responsibly
How have fishers responded to the project?
Where do Atlantic bluefin tuna travel to when they leave UK waters?

Resources

Thunnus UK website

Have you spotted a Bluefin Tuna? You Can report your sighting here

Tom Horton on Twitter

Thunnus on Twitter

Episode and show notes produced by Ben Toulson and Katie Finnimore.

Check out other episodes of the podcast here.

You can subscribe on most podcast apps, if you’re feeling kind please leave us a review!

As mentioned in the podcast, if you would like to hear what our series 1 presenters (Ethan Wrigglesworth and Molly Meadows) have been up to, check out Trail and Errors.

Scientists at Sea Podcast – Microplastics and Sharks with Kristian Parton

3rd Jan, 201910th Jan, 2019 Ben Toulson Leave a comment

Show Notes – Mircoplastics and Sharks with Kristian Parton

Of all the pollutants impacting the environment, plastics are perhaps among the most talked about and campaigned against in recent years. We’ve had members of Sail Against Plastic on the podcast before to discuss the presence of plastics in some of the most remote areas of ocean, but in this episode we take a look into how some plastics penetrate further – the invasion of food web ecology by microplastics.

Kristian Parton

As an undergraduate with the University of Exeter, Kristian developed a strong interest in

marine conservation, specifically elasmobranch (shark and ray) ecology and biology. After being involved in several shark conservation projects around the world, from Mozambique to the Philippines, Kristian went on to start his current research as a Master by Research post-graduate investigating plastic ingestion in several North-East Atlantic shark species; Tope, Dogfish, Smooth-hound, Bull huss and Spurdog. The project aims to investigate whether diet and foraging behaviour has an influence on the consumption of micro plastic, and its accumulation within the digestive tracts of these species.

Is it a dog? Is it a fish? No, it’s a shark…

Kristian’s research has a broad focus on several small to moderate shark species found in the waters of the UK and North-East Atlantic, most of which are unknown to the wider public – all too often over-shadowed by larger, more cinematic species. The most common species that Kristian works with is the Lesser Spotted Dogfish…or the Small Spotted Catshark…or some may say the Murgey (Scyliorhinus canicula). Whatever you wish to call it, this species exhibit beautiful spotted patterns on a pale body, and are a delight to see in the wild for those lucky enough to spot them among the kelp beds. Though regularly caught in numerous trawl and gill net fisheries, they are not often eaten among Cornwall, though are put to use as bait while Kristian claims a few from local fishermen for science. The exact status of their stocks is unknown though they are thought to be fairly numerous and common. Unfortunately, this is not the case for many of the other sharks that Kristian samples.

For more information on the fisheries of S. caniculla, and other shark and/or marine species click here.

Fake Plastic Seas

With so much plastic floating around, there is no surprise that it finds its way into the food webs of marine ecosystems. Our news feeds are battered by reports of stranded marine animals whose stomachs are littered with plastics, clips of animals mistaking plastic bags for their primary food sources, and new studies quantifying the presence of micro-plastics in almost all areas of nature. The problem is more than just full bellies of unnatural content, which in of itself is a great concern. Studies have shown that plastics may contain chemical traces that can disrupt systems by which organisms regulate and produce hormones, leading to further and exacerbated biological implications.

To find out more, have a listen to the episode.

If you wish to keep up to date with Kris’s research, give his ever lively twitter a follow @Kjparton

If you want to learn more about LAMAVE – the organisation with which Kristian helped with whale shark research in the Philippines – you can read more here: https://www.lamave.org

You can also view Kristian’s award-winning film here: The Southern Continent: A Journey to Antarctica

Hosted by Ethan Wrigglesworth

Episode and show notes produced by Ben Toulson and Ethan Wrigglesworth

Check out other episodes of the podcast here.

You can subscribe on most podcast apps, if you’re feeling kind please leave us a review!

#ExeterMarine is an interdisciplinary group of marine related researchers with capabilities across the scientific, medical, engineering, humanities and social science fields. If you are interested in working with our researchers or students, contact Michael Hanley or visit our website!

Scientists at Sea Podcast – Climate Change, Turtles, and Bivalves

26th Nov, 201825th Jan, 2019 Ben Toulson Leave a comment

Show Notes

In this episode Ethan and Ben discuss the latest Climate Change Report released by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), with Professor Annette Broderick and Dr. Paul Butler. As well as covering key points of the report, Annette and Paul tell us about how climate change is a significant aspect of their current research.

About our guests:

Annette Broderick – Professor of Marine Conservation

Profile

Annette’s research investigates the exploitation of marine vertebrates, with a primary focus on marine turtles. The thermal environment is particularly important for turtles, so the potential effects of climate change could have a big impact on these populations. Listen to the episode to find out more.

If you’re interested in turtle conservation, Annette runs a long-term field study in northern Cyprus which takes on volunteers each year, you can find out more here

“The most biodiverse habitats in the world that we have are on the reefs, we’re going to lost those systems undoubtedly I think by 2040/2050 we’ll be talking about corals reefs and how beautiful they were.”

Dr. Paul Butler – Honorary Senior Research Fellow

Profile

Paul’s research is in the field of sclerochronology, focusing in particular on the use of shells from long-lived bivalve molluscs to study the history of the marine environment. Essentially, these molluscs deposit annual increments in their shells (like rings on a tree stump). If a bivalve shell has a known date of death, a timeline of environmental variables can be investigated from that one shell, including seawater temperature and the origin of water masses. This can be of particular interest when studying climate change. Have a listen to the episode and take a look at Paul’s profile for more information.

Want to know more about sclerochronology and some intriguing clam facts? Sarah Holmes, PhD Researcher, wrote an excellent blog about this a few months ago, you can read it in full here.

*Arctica islandica*, one of Paul’s study species
Photo – Hans Hillewaert

“Our longest chronology, which goes for 1300 years, is for waters of the north coast of Iceland… essentially we’ve got a temperature record… over the past 1000 years it shows a declining temperature up to about 150 years ago and then it shows a rapid increase“

What is the IPCC?

The IPCC was established 30 years ago by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to provide a scientific view of climate change and its potential environmental and socio-economic impacts.

What is the IPCC Climate Change Report?

In December 2015 the Paris climate agreement was signed whereupon countries agreed that they would keep global temperatures “well below two degrees C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees C”. The UN asked the IPCC to produce a special report to assess the feasibility of keeping global temperature rises to a maximum of 1.5C.

Scientists are nominated by governments and international institutions. In this particular report there we 91 lead authors from 40 countries which reviewed 6,000 references. This work is unpaid.

Where do we stand right now?

Currently we are on track to reach 1.5C warming between 2030 and 2052, and 3C by 2100.

If we hit just 2C warming, this could have serious impacts, here are just a handful:

Almost all coral reefs will be destroyed.
The arctic will have summers with no ice at least once a decade.
Huge numbers of animals and plants will become extinct.
Low-lying coastal regions, such as Bangladesh, will suffer from sea level rise.

“One of the key messages that comes out very strongly from this report is that we are already seeing the consequences of 1°C of global warming through more extreme weather, rising sea levels and diminishing Arctic sea ice, among other changes,” said Panmao Zhai, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group I. – IPCC Press Release

There has been extensive coral bleaching already due to sea temperature rise
Photo – Acropora

Can we avoid this?

Yes, but we have just 12 years to turn it around and serious change is required. You can read more about that here.

The report finds that limiting global warming to 1.5°C would require “rapid and far-reaching” transitions in land, energy, industry, buildings, transport, and cities. Global net human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) would need to fall by about 45 percent from 2010 levels by 2030, reaching ‘net zero’ around 2050. This means that any remaining emissions would need to be balanced by removing CO2 from the air.

“Limiting warming to 1.5°C is possible within the laws of chemistry and physics but doing so would require unprecedented changes,” said Jim Skea, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group III. – IPCC Press Release

You can read the IPCC Climate Change Press Release in full here.

Hosted by Ethan Wrigglesworth

Episode and show notes produced by Ben Toulson

Scientists at Sea Podcast – The Stingray Episode: with Ethan Wrigglesworth and Molly Meadows

7th Oct, 20183rd Jan, 2019 Ben Toulson Leave a comment

In this episode, we get to know our regular presenters a little better. Ethan and Molly talk to Ben, the producer, about the work they have been doing as Masters by Research students for the past two years. Under the supervision of Dr. Lucy Hawkes, Molly and Ethan have been working closely with Dr. Owen O’Shea at the Cape Eleuthera Insitute (CEI) in the Bahamas, to study the stingrays in the local waters.

Molly and Ethan worked with two data deficient species of stingray; the Southern Stingray, and the Caribbean Whiptail Ray The main focus of the research was to investigate the rays’ diets. This involved two methods; stable isotopes analysis and stomach content analysis (you can learn more about them in the podcast).

Ray team just after having caught a southern stingray along a sandbar. (Ethan first on left, Molly, second from right).

Why does this matter?

Well, as Molly and Ethan put it:

Molly holding the tail of a Caribbean whiptail ray presenting the large venomous barb.

“To understand about the diet is actually to understand general ecology… within an ecosystem, what a predator feeds upon… has a great impact on the population sizes of the prey, and there’s a huge amount of energy moving up in that food chain”

How might such research be applied? Well, in the Bahamas there is no legislation for the protection of mangroves.

“In the Bahamas, there’s lots of these mangrove creeks, and plenty of fish use them as nursery habitats because they offer a lot of shelter within the roots… stingrays occupy these systems as well… they feed on worms, crabs and things within the sea floor, so they use the mangroves a lot to find (their) food.”

You can find out more about why mangroves are so important here.

“Beaches are very popular in terms of tourist economy, so (mangroves) get destroyed quite a lot”

While the stingrays rely on the mangroves for food, it seems they also offer plenty to the mangroves themselves. To find out exactly what they offer, take a listen to the episode.

A free diver going face to face with a large Caribbean Whiptail Ray

You can also find out about some skills you might not know existed, like stingray herding!

Highschool/Island school student Jake holding a southern stingray during sampling procedures

Getting Started with Marine Science

Molly and Ethan initially honed their marine biology skills and interests as undergraduates here at the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus, studying Zoology and Conservation Biology and Ecology respectively. In their final year they undertook a field course to Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas, this sewed the seeds of their Masters by Research. Click the links to find out more.

Here is a bonus link mentioned during the episode, enjoy! Household items reviewed for science

Videos courtesy of CEIBahamas

Hosted by Ethan Wrigglesworth and Molly Meadows

Episode and show notes produced by Ben Toulson

It’s Stressful Being a Coral! Declining Coral Cover on the Great Barrier Reef

25th Sep, 20183rd Jan, 2019 Ben Toulson Leave a comment

Author: Jennifer McWhorter

Jennifer McWhorter is pursuing her PhD in a joint program between the Universities of Exeter and Queensland. Using various climate and ecological modelling techniques, Jen hopes to improve our spatial knowledge of coral reef stressors.

The above diagram describes the process of coral bleaching followed by mortality. Source: Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA)

Similar to humans experiencing a fever, coral reefs undergo similar stress. The more frequent the fever and the longer the fever lasts, the more life threatening it becomes. Sea surface temperatures in the ocean are increasing at an alarming rate due to human inputs of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (Ekwurzel et al., 2017). In 2016/2017, the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) experienced two back-to-back severe warming events that caused widespread coral bleaching[1]. According to the Australia Institute of Marine Science, hard coral cover on the GBR has declined at a rate that has never been recorded.

Figure 2. “Large-scale spatial patterns in change in coral cover and in heat exposure on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. A, Change in coral cover between March and November 2016. b, Heat exposure, measured in DHW (in degree C-weeks) in the summer of 2016. Map template is provided by Geoscience Australia (Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia) 2018).” Source: Hughes, T. P., et al., 2018

In addition to coral bleaching, cyclones and crown-of-thorns sea star outbreaks have been the main cause of decline in coral cover on the GBR within the past four years. The northern area of the GBR is expected to have lost about half of its’ coral cover. This estimate reflects the impacts of two episodes of severe coral bleaching from 2014-2017 and two cyclones. The central reef has experienced a decline in coral cover from 22% in 2016 to 14% in 2018 due to coral bleaching and the ongoing southward spread of the crown-of-thorns sea star. Even though the southern portion of the GBR was not exposed to the 2016/2017 warming events, coral cover has dropped from 33% in 2017 to 25% in 2018. On the southern reefs, the crown-of-thorns sea star outbreaks appear to be the main cause for the most recent decline.

During my last trip to Australia, I assisted in injecting vinegar into the crown-of-thorns sea stars at Lodestone Reef on the GBR. The vinegar kills the sea star within 24 hours potentially reducing their threat to hard, or stony corals. Photo Credit: Chris Jones

“Clearly the reef is struggling with multiple impacts,” says Prof. Terry Hughes, Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies. “Without a doubt the most pressing of these is global warming. As temperatures continue to rise the corals will experience more and more of these events: 1°C of warming so far has already caused four events in the past 19 years.”

“Ultimately, we need to cut carbon emissions, and the window to do so is rapidly closing.”

—

[1] Coral bleaching – Coral bleaching occurs when the relationship between the coral host and zooxanthellae (photosynthetic algae, NOAA), which give coral much of their colour, breaks down. Without the zooxanthellae, the tissue of the coral animal appears transparent and the coral’s bright white skeleton is revealed. Corals begin to starve once they bleach. (GBRMPA)

Additional Resources:

Ekwurzel, B., Boneham, J., Dalton, M. W., Heede, R., Mera, R. J., Allen, M. R., & Frumhoff, P. C. (2017). The rise in global atmospheric CO2, surface temperature, and sea level from emissions traced to major carbon producers. Climatic Change, 144(4), 579-590.

Hughes, T.P. & Kerry, J.T. Back-to-back bleaching has now hit two-thirds of the Great Barrier Reef. The Conversation https://theconversation.com/back-to-back-bleaching-has-now-hit-two-thirds-of-the-great-barrier-reef-76092 (2017)

Hughes, T. P., Kerry, J. T., Baird, A. H., Connolly, S. R., Dietzel, A., Eakin, C. M., … & McWilliam, M. J. (2018). Global warming transforms coral reef assemblages. Nature, 556(7702), 492.

Media Release: Two Thirds of the Great Barrier Reef hit by back-to-back mass coral bleaching

Long-term Reef Monitoring Program – Annual Summary Report on coral reef condition for 2017/2018

Scientists at Sea Podcast: Sail Against Plastic

18th Sep, 20183rd Jan, 2019 Michael David Hanley Leave a comment

Show Notes

Guests – Flora Rendell and Lowenna Jones

Sail Against Plastic started as an idea to simply undertake a sailing expedition, over just a few months it developed into an Arctic mission to investigate unseen pollutants, namely microplastics and noise pollution.

“We are a collaborative expedition hoping to unveil and reveal the invisible pollutants of the arctic”

The Sail Against Plastic team. Photo credit – Ben Porter

Why the Arctic?

It is well documented that plastic debris has been circulating around our oceans via 5 ocean gyres. It is now thought there maybe a sixth gyre that carries plastic up into the Arctic circle. Recent discoveries supporting this theory have shown that plastic has been found in sea ice.

“As sea ice melts that could be opening up more microplastics that have been trapped in that sea ice… it shows that we’ve been influencing the world for a long time”

A selection of plastics found on mainland Svalbard. Photo credit – Ben Porter

A view from the Blue Clipper: Photo credit – Ben Porter

These pieces of plastic aren’t necessarily what you would expect, while there plastic bottles and bags found in these areas, there may be an even greater prevalence of microplastics, tiny pieces of plastic debris resulting from the breakdown of consumer products and industrial waste.

“It’s not these big large pieces of plastic, it’s not a floating island that we’re going to find’

At the time of recording, the team, a diverse group of scientists, artists, environmentalists, photographers and videographers, were just a few days away from setting sail on the Barents Sea from Svalbard aboard the Blue Clipper.

The team’s manta trawl, used to collect microplastics. Photo credit – Ben Porter

“I think the main thing is making issues that are so strongly linked to humans… making you feel emotive about them… through art and through film, people will feel emotive about it and will care, we hope”

“And make it relevant to people in the UK and Europe and connect communities that are halfway across the world that have similarities and can work together to find a solution to our crazy plastic addiction”