School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth

𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬! 🎉
We're proud to announce that three of our outstanding students have been recognized by leading marine organisations for their exceptional contributions to marine biology!

𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Marine Biological Association
🏆 𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞
Leila Scheltema, who completed her BSc (Hons) in Marine Biology and Oceanography, received this prestigious award for her exceptional academic achievements. Congratulations, Leila! 👏

𝐏𝐥𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲: Plymouth Marine Laboratory
🏆 𝐏𝐌𝐋 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭
Stanley Reader-Allen who completed his BSc (Hons) in Marine Biology & Coastal Ecology, was honored for his insightful research on “Competition between a hard and a soft coral induces an Anna Karenina effect in coral microbiomes.” Well done, Stanley! 🌿🐠

𝐎𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭: Ocean Conservation Trust
🏆 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐈𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
Kerry Brown who completed her BSc (Hons) in Marine Biology and Oceanography, earned this award for her vital project, “Forecasting habitat loss and range shift for the critically endangered Whitefin swell shark in response to climate change.” Hats off to you, Kerry! 🦈🌍

These awards highlight the strong connections we have with leading marine organisations and showcase the hard work, dedication, and passion our students bring to their studies! Congratulations to Leila, Stanley, and Kerry on these well-deserved awards!💙

University of Plymouth

More impact today as we again joined the local environmental services to remove invasive Gunnera in the same plot as last year. Our efforts of last year were clear to see and another large area cleared today ready for planting native and endemic species. The scenery was ok too. RAB                                                    

Fieldwork in the shadow of Fogo volcano on the field course. Measuring adaptations to salt stress on pioneer Limonium sp on bare seashore basalt. RAB                                                    

🔬 What’s the Difference Between Our Biology Courses at Plymouth? 🌱

Choosing the right course can be tough, but we’re here to help! Check out our new table to easily compare Biological Science, Conservation Biology, and Zoology!

We still have places available through Clearing—find the course that fits you best! Visit the link in our bio to explore Clearing opportunities and secure your spot today!

What is a marine heatwave? Marine heatwaves(MHWs) can be defined as periods of abnormally high sea temperatures above the seasonal average which can last days to months.

Discover how Dr Michael Collins and Dr Manuela Truebano are researching to understand how heatwaves, both marine and atmospheric, are likely to affect organisms inhabiting our shorelines.

💡 https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/discover/what-is-a-marine-heatwave

And so, just like that, a new fieldcourse season begins with Biological Sciences off the the beautiful Azores archipelago tomorrow! RAB                                                    

𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝟗 𝐏𝐌 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲! 📞👋🎉

If your results weren’t what you expected or you’ve just decided to start university this year, don’t worry—our friendly student ambassadors are ready to help you find your dream course!

𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐭 𝟎𝟑𝟑𝟑 𝟐𝟒𝟏 𝟔𝟗𝟐𝟗 and let us guide you to your perfect course. We can’t wait to welcome you to the School of Biological and Marine Sciences this September!

It’s a win win for food production and biodiversity…..read about it here
https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/news/historic-map-reveals-how-mussel-farm-is-bringing-shellfish-reefs-back-to-the-seabed

Or access the paper directly here
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969724051374?via%3Dihub


University of Plymouth

🌊 Dive into your future with Plymouth University! Our state-of-the-art Marine Station offers outstanding facilities to prepare you for your career.

Secure your place now through Clearing! Phone lines are open—call on 0333 241 6929

'𝐌𝐲 𝐦𝐮𝐦 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 ‘𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭?’ 𝐥𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬. Never in a million years did I think I’d be accepted and moving halfway across the world within a fortnight.”

🌍 Tsian Deslandes’ journey from Trinidad to Plymouth shows just how life-changing a simple call to Clearing can be. Now studying Ocean Science and Marine Conservation, she’s living her dream!

If your child has big dreams too, why not encourage them to explore Clearing? You never know where it might lead! 📞

Learn about Clearing at Plymouth: https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/study/clearing

Meet the ‘dolphin doctor’ student living her dream thanks to Clearing University of Plymouth news - Meet the ‘dolphin doctor’ student living her dream thanks to Clearing

🌊 Back from Bocas Del Toro: Coral Research with NEW Collaborators!

Matt Doherty from University of Plymouth recently returned from a research expedition in Bocas Del Toro, Panama, focused on Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD).

The research team continued their long-term coral reef monitoring, using permanent transects to assess coral health and Reef Life Survey Foundation (RLS) for fish and invertebrate communities. To deepen our understanding of coral resilience to temperature and disease, they collected tissue samples from tagged corals over multiple years to study changes in their microbiome over time. 🧬

University of Massachusetts: Dr. Sarah Gignoux-Wolsohn UMass Lowell
MarineGEO: Leah Harper Smithsonian
University of Plymouth: Matt Doherty University of Plymouth
Hosted by: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

We’re thrilled to see such collaborative research in action!

Expanding the Frog Inventory: Seven New Species Found in Madagascar. The discovery of seven new frog species highlight Madagascar’s value to understanding the world's amphibian population.

Today, our university staff lead a fun-filled bug hunt at the stunning National Trust Cotehele 🐜🦋🐞

Thank you to everyone who participated and made this a wonderful day, sharing our passion for nature in the sunshine! ☀️

Exciting times at the School of Biological & Marine Sciences!

Last week we welcomed students from the The Field Studies Council (FSC) Conservation Camp to our campus. 🎉

They got a sneak peek into our BSc Conservation Biology course, enjoyed a campus tour, and had a blast with our soil invertebrate's activity. 🌱🔍

Students learned how to identify springtails, pseudoscorpions, and mites, hearing from our master's student Christopher Tracey, who is currently conducting research on soil micro-invertebrates.

Did you know you can find 50,000 springtails in just one square meter of soil, and one species of springtail can jump 115x their body length? That would be like a human jumping over the Eiffel Tower! 🐞

Can you identify between these micro-invertebrates? Comment how many springtails, pseudoscorpians and mites are in the last photo?

VEM

The other one

Biologist love a freak (we feel kinship). Two headed and/or bodied calves, right up our street. These pictures are from Ed (who needs to follow us on Insta so I can link him - hint!) were taken on the in . Three different stages of issues in embryological development at different times! Cool! RAB                                                    

A good initiative!

Wildlife to a tee Golf clubs are often portrayed poorly when it comes to wildlife, but Steve Young's experience has been more positive. Here, he looks at what his local club is doing to boost biodiversity.

A few more graduation photos. RAB                                                    

RAB                                                    

Graduation! RAB                                                    

Two photos that really sum up the . Hydrangeas in full bloom and working in amazing scenic locations. Thanks to all involved! RAB                                                    

A good news story. You may remember that our students on the last year spent a day collecting and preparing seeds of endemic plants for cultivation. RAB just went to see the fruits of their labour. In order - Prunus lusitanicus, Leontodon rigens and Vaccineum cylindraceum (the tiny red one in the middle. Does not seem impressive but that is the first ever cultivated from seed like this in that centre!). They are very happy and so is RAB. Well done all involved and we will be doing a similar exercise on the fieldcourse this year! Really happy that we managed another positive impact from the fieldcourse.                                                   

As usual, the associated scenery of the is alright I suppose…. RAB