Fair winds and following seas remotely: modifying perceptions of fieldwork as a requirement in marine science to aid in diversifying the discipline

Pursuing an academic career in marine science requires a range of skills that can be applied across different contexts, including experimental or computational proficiency, policy engagement, teaching, and seagoing fieldwork. The tendency to advertise careers in marine science with imagery of research expeditions results in the perception that it is a requirement for a career in marine science, an indicator of competitiveness in this discipline. Historically, those participating in remote fieldwork over extended periods of time were perceived as “adventurous explorers, with a strong bias towards western, able-bodied men” (Nash et al., 2019). Use of imagery reinforcing such notions for marine scientists fails to recognize that this perception can be discouraging to individuals from other backgrounds who may be excluded from the discipline by a range of real and perceived participatory barriers. Such exclusionary factors include: caring responsibilities, physical mobility, challenging social environments, isolating and physically uncomfortable working environments, mental health challenges, and access to opportunity (Giles et al., 2020). Such barriers disproportionately affect diverse, underrepresented, and marginalized groups, who may therefore struggle to identify with marine science as a potential discipline in which to pursue a successful career. Current work toward achieving net zero targets within ocean research emphasizes the use of autonomous vehicles as alternatives to ocean-going ships (Storey, 2023), and the proposed concept of digital twinning would incorporate similar remote technology coupled with simulations and shore-based decision-making. The concept of digital twinning refers to the use of responsive autonomous platforms that can both collect data and be operated in response to that data, which could provide a non-field-based approach to delivering marine science while also potentially expanding the opportunities available for individuals not able or interested in working in the field. In distinguishing digital twinning from current approaches such as data assimilating models, Kritzinger et al. (2018) note the importance of a two-way data flow between the physical environment and its virtual representation, called a “digital twin,” which, for example, may lead to changes in deployment strategy or data collection by researchers. Because these twins can be controlled and simulated anywhere with access to sufficient computing power, shore-based individuals can interact with a virtual version of the physical environment without being physically present at sea. The technology to support a fully realized digital twin of the ocean is still under development, but its use would require a broader range of skills and roles in the discipline, many of which are not accurately conveyed by the prevailing marketing of field-based disciplines (see Mol and Atchinson, 2019, regarding geosciences). In order to fully integrate this new approach into marine science, employment of individuals with experience and training across a wide range of disciplines from software engineering to traditional field sampling is essential while also presenting the potential for making marine science more inclusive. Individuals for whom working at sea is not possible and/or desirable would be able to make equally valid contributions to such research projects via digital routes, without facing the many barriers fieldwork may present. This study explores the expectations of marine scientists, from both early and more established career stages, around the importance of field experience as a precursor or requirement for a successful marine science career, and also examines the advantages and disadvantages of using digital twinning as a complement to traditional field-based marine science

Challenger Society for Marine Science: Increasing opportunity through an equity, diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility working group

The Challenger Society for Marine Science (CSMS) is the learned society for marine scientists based in the United Kingdom, with a membership of over 470 people from >100 institutions, across all academic career stages. Members of the CSMS have been interested in improving the representation of a diverse range of identities in UK marine science, largely driven by their own experiences of inequity in the discipline, such as the challenges faced by women (Hendry et al., 2020). The structural exclusion of individuals by race, sex, ethnicity, social class, disability, sexuality, and the compound sum of these factors can result in a lack of diversity during recruitment and poor retention. Since 2021, CSMS has formed the first UK-wide equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (EDIA) working group for marine scientists, with the aim of coordinating action to address the causes of exclusion and to improve representation across the discipline. The group of 25 volunteers meets each month to discuss a topical agenda, and the chair of the working group sits on the council of CSMS, providing EDIA input from the working group on society-wide strategic decisions

Facilitating Feedback on Filter-feeders: Integrating Technology to Improve Individual Feedback on Dichotomous Identification Keys

No abstract available

The cost of locomotion in North Atlantic right whales (<italic>Eubalaena glacialis</italic>)

<p>Locomotion in any environment requires the use of energy to overcome the physical</p><p>forces inherent in the environment. Most large marine vertebrates have evolved</p><p>streamlined fusiform body shapes to minimize the resistive force of drag when in</p><p>a neutral position, but nearly all behaviors result in some increase in that force.</p><p>Too much energy devoted to locomotion may reduce the available surplus necessary</p><p>for population-level factors such as reproduction. The population of North Atlantic</p><p>right whales has not recovered following legal protection due to decreased fecundity,</p><p>including an increase in the intercalf interval, an increase in the years to first calf and</p><p>an increase in the number of nulliparous females in the population. This reproductive</p><p>impairment appears to be related to deficiencies in storing enough energy to meet the</p><p>costs of reproduction. The goal of this study was to determine whether increases in</p><p>moving between prey patches at the cost of decreased foraging opportunities could</p><p>shift these whales into a situation of negative energy gain. The first step is to</p><p>understand the locomotor costs for this species for the key behaviors of traveling and</p><p>foraging.</p><p>This study investigated the cost of locomotion in right whales by recording the</p><p>submerged diving behaviors of free-ranging individuals in both their foraging habitat</p><p>in the Bay of Fundy and their calving grounds in the South Atlantic Bight with a</p><p>suction-cupped archival tag. The data from the tags were used to quantify the oc-</p><p>currence of different behaviors and their associated swimming behaviors and explore</p><p>three behavioral strategies that reduce locomotor costs. First, the influence that</p><p>changes in blubber thickness has on the buoyancy of these whales was investigated</p><p>by comparing the descent and ascent glide durations of individual whales with differ-</p><p>ent blubber thicknesses. Next, the depth of surface dives made by animals of different</p><p>sizes was related to the depth where additional wave drag is generated. Finally, the</p><p>use of intermittent locomotion during foraging was investigated to understand how</p><p>much energy is saved by using this gait. The final piece in this study was to deter-</p><p>mine the drag related to traveling and foraging behaviors from glides recorded by</p><p>the tags and from two different numerical simulations of flow around whales. One, a</p><p>custom developed algorithm for multiphase flow, was used to determine the relative</p><p>drag, while a second commercial package was used to determine the absolute mag-</p><p>nitude of the drag force on the simplest model, the traveling animal. The resulting</p><p>drag estimates were then used in a series of theoretical models that estimated the</p><p>energetic profit remaining after shifts in the occurrence of traveling and searching</p><p>behaviors.</p><p>The diving behavior of right whales can be classified into three stereotyped be-</p><p>haviors that are characterized by differences in the time spent in different parts of the</p><p>water column. The time budgets and swimming movements during these behaviors</p><p>matched those in other species, enabling the dive shapes to be classified as foraging,</p><p>searching and traveling behaviors. Right whales with thicker blubber layers were</p><p>found to perform longer ascent glides and shorter descent glides than those with</p><p>thinner blubber layers, consistent with the hypothesis that positive buoyancy does</p><p>influence their vertical diving behavior. During horizontal traveling, whales made</p><p>shallow dives to depths that were slightly deeper than those that would cause ad-</p><p>ditional costs due to wave drag. These dives appear to allow whales to both avoid</p><p>the costs of diving as well as the costs of swimming near the surface. Next, whales</p><p>were found to glide for 12% of the bottom phases of their foraging dives, and the</p><p>use of `stroke-glide' swimming did not prolong foraging duration from that used by</p><p>continuous swimmers. Drag coefficients estimated from these glides had an average</p><p>of 0.014 during foraging dives and 0.0052 during traveling, values which fall in the</p><p>range of those reported for other marine mammals. One numerical simulation deter-</p><p>mined drag forces to be comparable, while the other drastically underestimated the</p><p>drag of all behaviors. Finally, alterations to the behavioral budgets of these animals</p><p>demonstrated their cost of locomotion constitutes a small portion (8-12%) of the</p><p>total energy consumed and only extreme increases in traveling time could result in a</p><p>negative energy balance. In summary, these results show that locomotor costs are no</p><p>more expensive in this species than those of other cetaceans and that when removed</p><p>from all the other stressors on this population, these whales are not on an energetic</p><p>`knife edge'.</p>Dissertatio

The Effects of Recreational Boating on the Underwater Soundscape of Loch Lomond, Scotland

No abstract available

Does noise from shipping and boat traffic affect predator vigilance in the European common hermit crab?

The effect of noise on predator vigilance in Pagurus bernhardus was explored in this study. Latency of the first response, emergence time, and response type were measured from hermit crabs during continuous and variable vessel noise and two controls. The mean (±SE) response latency was longer for the noise treatments (continuous, 18.19 ± 2.78 s; variable, 11.39 ± 1.48 s) than for the controls (ambient, 7.21 ± 0.82 s; silent, 6.66 ± 0.95 s). Response type and emergence time were not significantly affected but were more variable during the noise treatments than during the controls. Noisy conditions may increase predation risk, suggesting potential fitness consequences for invertebrates

Embedding 21st century employability into assessment and feedback practice through a student-staff partnership

Although commonly thought to be only a measure of academic performance, assessments can also provide students with an opportunity to apply skills and knowledge acquired at university into written literacies that prepare them for the transition into prospective careers. Within a Level 2 School of Life Sciences course, students struggled to engage with standalone timetabled careers-related sessions, yet they showed enthusiasm when employability was embedded into assessments. A staff-student partnership project has been initiated to explore these issues, with the overall aim of understanding how to effectively embed employability skills into assessment and feedback, which supports the theme of supporting students to position themselves for the future. Through student-run focus groups, this project investigated the reasons for low student engagement with the timetabled employability session and used student views to develop digital initiatives that could be applied to assessment and feedback practice with an emphasis on developing 21st-century competencies. These initiatives were then implemented as pre-session self-directed activities, which helped students link course feedback with employment skills and future career planning, followed by a newly developed in-class reflective feedback session that allowed students time to consider what skills they have developed and make links with future careers. Project evaluation was conducted using a repeated-measures quantitative survey of students involved. Embedding employability skills into the curriculum is a challenge across HE. This project highlights one approach, working with students and staff as collaborators (another conference theme), that demonstrates good practice around embedding these skills into assessment and feedback. This, in turn, would make feedback more meaningful and valued by students to a greater extent. In addition, because the questions and approaches were designed in partnership with former students from the course, this project possesses the unique ability to deliver a genuine student voice both on employability concerns and the role of assessment

Computational fluid dynamics of flow regime and hydrodynamic forces generated by a gliding North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis)

Accurate estimates of drag on marine animals are required to investigate the locomotive cost, propulsive efficiency, and the impacts of entanglement if the animal is carrying fishing gear. In this study, we performed computational fluid dynamics analysis of a 10 m (length over all) right whale to obtain baseline measurements of drag on the animal. Swimming speeds covering known right whale speed range (0.125 m/s to 8 m/s) were tested. We found a weak dependence between drag coefficient and Reynolds number. At a swimming speed of 2 m/s, we analyzed the boundary layer thicknesses, the flow regimes, and drag components. We found the thickest boundary layer at the lateral sides of the peduncle, whereas the boundary layer thickness over the outer part of the flukes was less than 1.7 cm. Laminar flow occurred over the anterior ~0.6 LoA and turbulent flow from ~0.8 LoA to the fluke notch. On the surfaces of the flukes outside of the body wake region, flow was laminar. Our most significant finding is that the drag coefficient (0.0071–0.0059) of a right whale for swimming speeds ranging from 0.25 m/s to 2 m/s is approximately twice that of many previous estimates for cetaceans

Embedding 21st century employability into assessment and feedback practice through a student-staff partnership

In-course assessments are an essential part of any coursework because they represent both a physical output of the skills and knowledge acquired at university, but also have the role of supporting student transitions into prospective careers. Therefore, assessments could be used as a conduit to encourage student awareness of the skills needed for the workplace and verify their attainment of these skills, particularly at foundation levels within a degree. Within a second-year Microbiology and Immunology course, students struggled to engage with standalone timetabled careers-related sessions, yet they showed enthusiasm when employability was embedded into assessments. A staff–student partnership project explored these issues, with the overall aim of understanding how to effectively embed employability skills into assessment and feedback and support students positioning themselves for the future. Through a focus group, this project investigated the reasons for low student engagement with timetabled employability sessions and used student views to develop digital initiatives and 21st-century competencies that could be applied more widely within assessment and feedback practice. These initiatives were then implemented as pre-session self-directed activities, with the objective of helping students to link course feedback with employment skills and future career planning, followed by a newly developed in-class reflective feedback session that allowed students time to consider what skills they have developed and make links with future careers. Project evaluation was conducted using a quantitative survey of the students involved

Extending Constructive Alignment To Work-Based Learning To Ease Transitions: Do students Perceive the Use of Assessment as an Effective Method of Preparing for their Careers?

No abstract available