How I became a marine biologist

Charlotte Bolton, our Seasearch Co-ordinator, shares her journey to becoming a marine biologist...or, her "long and winding path to becoming an amateur squidge geek!" 

My early life in the depths of the East Midlands, about as far from the sea as you can get, wasn’t auspicious in terms of signalling where I was eventually to end up, but did instil in me a deep love of nature and collecting ‘treasures’ in matchboxes. I grew up on a farm in South Leicestershire and spent my days out and about enjoying the freedom of the countryside. We had traditional family holidays at the seaside and I clearly remember my fear of the lurking worms in the casts at Lepe on the Solent (some things haven’t changed; I’m still not at all keen on worms, eels and snakes and am guaranteed to use up my air very quickly diving a wreck with lurking congers…)

School wasn’t particularly high on my list of favourite things but I was a quietly rebellious bookish nerd even at a young age and found the arcane rules and regulations of lessons restrictive and boring. Fast-forward to secondary school, now slightly further south in Northamptonshire and the same applied – I can’t do three science ‘O’ levels? Really?! How ridiculous is that? Fortunately I had a supportive biology teacher who gave me the material to work on at home, though eventually I chose to read chemistry at university – it all came very easily to me, apart from the lab work which mostly resulted in a lot of broken test tubes! I simply couldn’t translate the clean and tidy world of the theory into the mess that were my experiments… King’s College London came to my rescue in offering a degree in Theoretical and Computational Chemistry – perfect! My final year undergrad project “Application of Lie Groups and Clifford Algebras to the Valence Bond Method” (no, it makes less sense to me now too!) led on to a PhD in radiation chemistry, looking at the theory of spin effects and lots of quantum mechanics – Professor Brian Cox without the stars, if you like. But it gave me the opportunity to travel and work in the United States and I spent two summers at the Radiation Laboratory of the University of Notre Dame, home of the famous Fighting Irish college football team.

I still wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do as a career but enjoyed exercising my brain (and people seemed prepared to pay me to do so…) and continued in research at the Medical Research Council Harwell Lab near Oxford, modelling the effects of radiation on biomolecules such as DNA. Three years later and I was forced to conclude that I was not really cut out for a research career so took a sideways move into IT support 100 miles further east in the Fens – the Unilever Centre for Molecular Science Informatics at the University of Cambridge to be precise. Here I was responsible for all aspects of IT in this newly-built research centre – well-remunerated but very stressful… Fortunately around this time I decided that I needed more water in my life, and learned to dive with Gozo Aqua Sports in Marsalforn, Gozo in 2002. Hindsight is wonderful – how I wished I’d done this years ago…! Diving and Gozo have been central to my life ever since.

A summer sabbatical of sailing in the north-east US hit another chord, but was ultimately a break from the reality of my parents both passing in quick succession and prompting a radical re-think on life…and a move to Southampton to indulge my love of the sea at last with a Masters in Ocean Sciences. All the jobs I had looked at either wanted a year of unpaid work in lieu of experience, or a Masters degree – no contest!

And so began a return to studenthood – a fabulous period not only for being based in the wonderful National Oceanography Centre but all the extra-curricular activities that took over all my spare time and more. A project based on habitat mapping in the West Solent introduced me to the ‘joys’ of GIS and the marine habitat classification, EUNIS biotope codes and broad-scale habitats, but even more importantly I was so fortunate to meet the people who have mentored me in my current incarnation as squidge geek, and continue as friends to this day – Ken Collins and Jenny Mallinson from the NOC, Lin Baldock (professional marine biologist and now Dorset/Hampshire Seasearch co-ordinator) and Mike Markey (now retired but then owner of the dive boat ‘Peveril Myth’ on which so many adventures took place). I think the finest hour of dedicated survey effort for Jenny and I was measuring Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) at Weston Point in the snow one December…

My overseas diving was somewhat curtailed by no longer being employed so I quickly learned to use a drysuit and got used to the cooler greener waters of home. I now do most of my diving in the UK and Seasearch has been an integral part of that transition. I can’t remember exactly where or when I first heard about the program (probably at the Dive Show in Birmingham?) What a brilliant idea! As the one buried in the ID books at the dive centre straight after every dive, this was just what I was looking for! Nice slow bimbles followed by geeky discussions about what you’d seen on the dive… This is the thing I really love about Seasearch trips (though I admit we do sometimes come across as being a bit anorak-y…perhaps it’s the bags of collected seaweed or pots of unidentified ‘turf’?!)

An advert for Data and Survey Officer at Dorset Wildlife Trust, with part of the job being to co-ordinate Dorset Seasearch activities, convinced me to make the move from Cambridge in 2012. Sometimes you just have to up sticks and make the leap of faith.

Now I live 30m from the sea and even the storms of February 2014 weren’t a deterrent – it’s fascinating watching the beach change shape with every tide and listening to the waves crash onto the shingle. We used to holiday at Chesil Cove in the 1980s, and in many ways Portland hasn’t changed very much at all.

And so to the present… I took over from Chris Wood as National Seasearch Co-ordinator in 2016 and now spend too much time with budget spreadsheets and grant proposals, but with the added bonus of travelling round to meet all the co-ordinators and find out what’s going on in their patch. The high points of the job are generally when I am either involved in Seasearch survey dives as a volunteer, with other equally keen/mad (depending on the conditions) volunteers, or delivering talks and training courses to enthuse new people about coming and joining us. I am proof that you don’t need to be a professional marine biologist, you just need enthusiasm for marine life, be keen to want to learn more about it and willing to give up your spare time to do so. The rewards come in the form of concrete, real-life conservation successes such as Marine Protected Areas or fishery byelaws based on your efforts (oh yeah, and the cake…!)

In 2018 we celebrated 30 years of Seasearch surveys under that name, which is a magnificent achievement and grand testimony to the dedication of all the people who’ve been involved in the program since then (and earlier – back to the 1970s and the Year of Underwater Conservation). I am exceedingly proud to be part of the ongoing Seasearch story…

If you want to find out more about Seasearch, please visit:- www.seasearch.org.uk/

Sea Champions from Plymouth University SCUBA Society complete the Seasearch Observer Course

Sea Champion Georgie talks about organising a Seasearch Observer Course for the SCUBA Society at Plymouth University. 

"Seasearch is a project for volunteer scuba divers and snorkellers who have an interest in what they're seeing underwater, want to learn more and want to help protect the marine environment around the coasts of Britain and Ireland. The main aim is to map out the various types of sea bed found in the near-shore zone around the whole of Britain and Ireland. In addition, we are recording what lives in each area, establishing the richest sites for marine life, the sites where there are problems and the sites which need protection." Seasearch

Two Sea Champion students at Plymouth University, along with five other members of the UPSU SCUBA Society completed the Seasearch Observer Course last month. The course comprised of a theory session hosted on campus on Saturday 16th November followed by two survey dives the next day on West Hoe Waterfront.

Sea Champion and SCUBA Society Chair, Georgie, wanted to organise an observer training course to provide an opportunity for members to develop their scientific diving skills. Becoming a Seasearch observer is the perfect way for divers to build up their marine identification, underwater photography, and surveying skills. Arguably the best part about the course is that it is open to recreational and commercial divers, which allows greater participation across programmes and experience levels. The course not only teaches students how to carry out survey work but also raises awareness about Seasearch’s impact on marine management.


Sea Champion Sally said:

“I found the Seasearch Observer course really useful for solidifying my knowledge of local identification of species. It was run professionally and organised amazingly well by the SCUBA committee. The teacher, Chris Webb, was wonderful and engaging throughout the whole theory day, and excellent at developing our written survey skills after our dives the following day. It was brilliant also having experienced Seasearch diver Chris Wood on the scene for the diving, making sure our ID and biotopes were correct. Lovely people to work with and I can't wait to get some more survey dives under my (weight) belt!”

Dan said:

“I thought it was beneficial in adding a more practical, marine conservation element to our diving as it was really well related to our course. It gives you more initiative to go diving and discover different sites around Plymouth, and feels rewarding that you're adding to conservation data set."

Mason said:

“Before the course, I dived for fun but now I have a new perspective of what I see when I dive.”

Greg said:

“I loved the course. I personally thought it was really helpful as I’m an ocean ex/surveying student so my species ID isn’t the best, but it improved it a lot.”


Georgie, Sea Champion and current SCUBA Society Chair

“It was a pleasure arranging the course for our members, many of which are keen to continue their journey as an observer and fill out forms on club dives. I’d like to thank Chris for all of her efforts and for making the course so enjoyable.”

After completing the observer course, students are required to complete three observer forms to become a qualified observer. Students at the University are now using club dives to complete their qualification. If you’d like to become an observer, Seasearch Devon Co-ordinator Chris Webb is running a course on the 2nd and 3rd of May 2020 at Fort Bovisand, Plymouth. Other course dates and locations are available and can be viewed at www.seasearch.org.uk/training.html. Observers are also
encouraged to join Seasearch dives, where they can fill out forms with local expert observers and co-ordinators. Seasearch also offers special interest courses and the Surveyor courses for observers keen to better their skills.

Georgie has since delivered a successful talk at The Waterfront, Plymouth, which was kindly hosted by Plymouth Sound Divers (BSAC Club). The talk was open to all and detailed the background of Seasearch, what is expected of volunteers, how the data provided by volunteers is used and finished off with the importance of recording at depths below 30m. She received positive feedback from those in the club who regularly dive below 30m, some of which were keen to become observers. She also introduced the ReMEDIES project to the club and told them about the Plymouth SAC and its seagrass habitats. No doubt she will keep them up-to-date with any dives happening in that area! Fantastic work Georgie!

Seashore citizen science for Duke of Edinburgh award

At MCS, we value all the contributions that volunteers give to our work. Citizen science projects are a great way to support the conservation of the marine environment and they help us to understand some of the impacts of climate change. Anneliese, one of our Sea Champions, has been taking part in three citizen science projects as part of her Duke of Edinburgh award. She tells us more about what she has been getting up to on our coastlines...

I am a second year Environmental Science student studying at The University of Plymouth. I am currently undertaking my Gold Duke of Edinburgh award and a requirement for this is to complete 18 months of volunteering for a minimum of an hour a week. My university was offering a volunteering fair where I met Jules Agate (Sea Champions Volunteer and Community Engagement Manager). Jules explained to me what volunteering positions were available for me to help with on a long-term scale. That’s when I heard about citizen science projects ‘The Big Seaweed Search’, ‘Marine Invaders’ and ‘CrabWatch’. The Big Seaweed Search involves undertaking shore surveys to record different types of seaweeds to help scientific research. These seaweeds range from species such as Serrated Wrack, Channelled Wrack and Coral Weed (just a few examples). 

 

Coral Weed found at Wembury Bay

Edible Crab found at Jennycliff

Serrated Wrack found at Mousehole Harbour

Channelled Wrack found in the Yealm

Identification guides for all species, as well as recording forms are all available online at http://bigseaweedsearch.org/. You also input your collected data and photos into an online database via the link too. Its super-simple once you know what you’re doing and a great excuse to get outside! There are some days of course when its unsafe to venture too close to the sea, meaning a lay day or two may be required, if there are health and safety risks. Obviously, tides can also affect the timings of your searches if your destination involves a rocky shore. That’s where the Marine Biological Association project, ‘CrabWatch’ comes in!

CrabWatch is a hunt for different species of crabs that can be surveyed at a rocky shore, off a jetty etc. This means that when the tide is too high to survey a rocky shore, CrabWatch can be adapted when the tide is high by crabbing from a pier or a harbour wall. Again, all ID guides and recording sheets are available here: www.mba.ac.uk/crabwatch/.

Additionally, ‘Marine Invaders’ is another scheme developed through the Capturing Our Coast partnership involving the Marine Conservation Society and Marine Biological Association, amongst others. Non-native species are searched for and assessed such as the Pacific Oyster compared to the European Oyster. The same method is used where-by you visit the rocky shore or sea wall etc with your ID guide and look out for the species on the recording form: www.mba.ac.uk/marineinvaders/.

All three of the above are super exciting and fun to get involved in. Not only do you help out a great cause by being a citizen scientist, but you also get to develop an array of skills ranging from species identification through to even noticing trends from shore to shore yourself (once you’ve had a go a few times). I would definitely recommend getting in touch with the Marine Conservation Society (who are super friendly and helpful) to get all the advice you need to become an MCS Sea Champion and citizen scientist on the shore!