School of Biological & Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth
Official page for the School of Biological & Marine Sciences at the University of Plymouth, UK.
- A new £3.7m project aims to provide unprecedented analysis of mesophotic #CoralReefs to assess their vulnerability to #ClimateChange - and inform ways the #reefs can be protected now and in the future 🔗 pml.ac.uk/news/3-7m-pr... Led by @plymuni.bsky.social / @plymbiomarsci.bsky.social
- Hear directly from the scientists uncovering the mystery behind the #OctopusBloom: Dr Bryce Stewart, Prof Tim Smyth & Prof Emma Sheehan explain why #octopus numbers exploded off the #UK’s #SouthWest coast in 2025 - in their new article for @uk.theconversation.com🔗 theconversation.com/octopus-numb...
- Well done to @gracebradley99.bsky.social, BSc Ocean Science & Marine Conservation student for presenting at this years #UKIRSC2026!
- Closing our first session, Grace F. Bradley (gracebradley99.bsky.social) explores how interannual climate variability influences the abundance and distribution of baleen whales in the Mid North Atlantic 🐳☀️ #UKIRSC2026
- Our second workshop is off with a bang! We are going to learn about communicating our science to a wider audience. 📝 #UKIRSC26
- That’s a wrap for #UKIRSC26! Thank you to everyone who came to Plymouth for our 20th Annual UKIRSC Conference! It was a pleasure meeting everyone and hearing all of the amazing presentations! 🦭🐬🐋
- Had a blast organising this year’s marine mammal conference in our very own Plymouth! @plymbiomarsci.bsky.social
- That’s a wrap on our School of Biological & Marine Sciences Research Conference! Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed, it’s been a fantastic event showcasing the incredible breadth and diversity of research across our school! #Conference #SoBMs #Research #PlymUni #PlymouthResearch
- Ou final session of the day: our PhD speed session! Well done to all our PhD researchers for their excellent presentations, with rapid snapshots of their research from Toby Anderson von Trampe, Yun-Tzu Huang, Wassim Seksaf, Maisy Fuller, Tilly Longstaff and William Hagan Brown. #Conference #PhD
- Our next talk comes from Dr Clare Embling, Associate Professor in Marine Ecology, who gave a keynote at #UKIRSC26 this morning and is now presenting: Is the Chagos Archipelago the last tropical refuge for #cetaceans? With some very impressive footage and audio recordings of some rare species!
- Our next talk comes from Professor Richard Thompson OBE FRS, Director of the Marine Institute, presenting Reflections on a plastic world and science into policy. A fascinating journey from his first plastics paper to the #UNPlasticPollutionTreaty
- A standout moment from the talk was a powerful reflection on the rise of plastic over Richard Thompson’s lifetime, using a childhood photograph and the same toy today to show just how long plastic lasts. #Plastics #PlymouthResearch #MarineInstitute #ScienceIntoPolicy #SoBMs
- Our next talk comes from Dr Sophie Fawsett, a guest from the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, presenting Impact of elevated CO₂ and a heat wave on the thermal physiology of Quercus robur (pendunculate oak). #ClimateChange #PlantPhysiology #ResearchTalks #CO2
- Our next talk comes from Dr Gert-Jan Jeunen, newly appointed Research Fellow, presenting Environmental DNA at the edge of the world: new methods for Antarctic marine monitoring. #eDNA #AntarcticScience #MarineMonitoring #SoBMs #PlymouthUniveristy
- Our next talk comes from Nieves Valiente, Lecturer in Marine Science, presenting SPLASH: A Deployable AI-Based Tool for Coastal Overtopping Forecasting and Climate Resilience. Really interesting to see local case studies from #Dawlish and #Penzance. 🌊 #CoastalResilience #AI #MarineScience
- Our next talk comes from Dr George Littlejohn, Associate Professor of Plant and Fungal Biology, presenting Having a Blast: plant pathology research at University of Plymouth. A fascinating insight into plant–pathogen research. 🌱🔬 #PlantBiology #PlantPathology #ResearchTalks #SoBMs #AgriTech
- Our next academic talk comes from Arya Iwantoro, Senior Research Consultant, exploring how sea level rise impacts soil carbon dynamics in mangrove forests. A fascinating insight into blue carbon and coastal change. #BlueCarbon #Mangroves #SeaLevelRise #SoBMs #PlymouthUniversity #Soil
- A huge thank you to our PhD researchers for their excellent speed sessions. Fantastic snapshots of cutting-edge research from our postgraduate students: Caitlin Dye, Kokila Wickramanayake (Wicki), Martie Stothoff, Utsa Saha, Huu Nguyen and Ari Drummond. #Conference #PlymUni #PhDResearch #SoBMs
- Our next talk comes from Kat Konstantinou, newly appointed Lecturer in #RemoteSensing, exploring what happens when satellite sensors disagree and the lessons learned from satellite shoreline detection. A fascinating insight into coastal monitoring 🌊 #CoastalMonitoring #SatelliteData #PlymUni
- Our next talk comes from Dr Sarah Gall, Lecturer in Marine Conservation, asking whether potting with natural materials offers a viable future. A really interesting talk exploring ways to reduce plastic use in fishing gear. 🦑 #PlasticPollution #SustainableFishing #Plastic #PlymUni
- Dr Keiron Fraser, Associate Professor in Marine Conservation, sharing insights from #NationalGeographic #PristineSeas and the mission to protect the ocean’s wildest places. Incredible achievements from 46 expeditions, leading to 29 marine reserves and 6.9 million km² protected! 🦑 🌍 🧪
- Our next talk comes from Tom Letessier, Lecturer in Marine Conservation, exploring how social–ecological dynamics during the COVID-19 pandemic can inform shark conservation in large protected areas.🦈🌍 #MarineConservation #SharkConservation #COVID
- Our next talk comes from Associate Prof in Marine Biology, Lucy Turner exploring why tropical species are often the first to be impacted in a warming world. A fascinating insight into the remarkable thermal tolerance of mangrove crabs in Abu Dhabi. 🦀🌍 #ClimateChange #MarineBiology #ThermalTolerance
- Inspiring keynote from Dr Clare Embling on her career journey so far 🐬🐳 From porpoises to sperm whales, PhD & postdoc tips, insights into predator–prey interactions and impacts of noise. A brilliant, honest look at building a career in marine mammal science. #UKIRSC26 @plymbiomarsci.bsky.social
- Our next talk came from Professor Mark Briffa, Associate Head of School (Teaching and Learning), exploring How to win a fight through a meta-analysis of contest vigour. A great insight into behavioural ecology. #BehaviouralEcology #MetaAnalysis #ResearchTalks #SoBMs 🧪
- Dr Anne Plessis, Lecturer in Plant Biosciences, kicked off our research talks with a fascinating presentation on meta-analysis as a tool to improve the impact of experimental research, using crop resilience as a case study. 🌱 #MetaAnalysis #CropResilience @discontinuedap.bsky.social
- Today is our annual School of Biological & Marine Sciences Research Conference! A fantastic opportunity to hear the wide range of research across our school! We’ll be sharing updates and highlights from the talks throughout the day! #Conference #SoBMs #PlymUni #UniveristyofPlymouth #Research 🦑🌊
- The University of Plymouth’s Science & Engineering Showcase highlights innovative research and hands-on activities designed to inspire future scientists and engineers. Learn more about this outreach event here: www.plymouth.ac.uk/study/outrea... #STEM #Plymouth #SouthWestEvents #ScienceOutreach
- To kick things off we have plenary speaker Nicola Quick from the University of Plymouth giving a talk on her career and fascinating beaked whale research! @plymbiomarsci.bsky.social #ukirsc26 #marinemammals
- Marine heatwaves (MHWs) are periods of unusually warm sea temperatures, recognised as one of the fastest emerging climate-related drivers of change in the ocean. #UK #MarineHeatWaves #OceanNews #NewPaper #Nature 🦑🧪🌊 www.plymouth.ac.uk/news/uk-mari...
- The full study – Jacobs et al: 40 priority questions to advance understanding of the risks and opportunities of UK marine heatwaves – is published in npj Ocean Sustainability, www.nature.com/articles/s44...
- "By contributing our research and data we are proud to support the global effort underway to map the planet." - Dr Jenny Gales Associate Prof in Hydrography and Ocean Exploration #OceanScience #SeaBED2030 #Hydrography #SeaFloor #DeepSea @seabed2030.bsky.social🦑🧪🌊 www.plymouth.ac.uk/news/univers...
- The most amazing Xmas outreach by our technical staff for a school visit @plymbiomarsci.bsky.social All the inverts had their special Christmas decorations. I was so amazed! Well done Ness and Odie!
- Prof Emma Sheehan has co-authored a Nature correspondence on safeguarding ocean conservation in the offshore wind energy era, alongside her ICES WGMPAS co-chairs. 🌊 #MPAs #OffshoreWind #RenewableEnergy #OceanConservation #Nature www.nature.com/articles/d41...
- 🎉 Congratulations to William Hagan Brown on successfully passing his PhD viva! Examined by Dr Lucy Rowland @universityofexeter.bsky.social and Paul Lunt @plymuni.bsky.social, his thesis explored climate change impacts on forest canopy temperatures. A fantastic achievement 🌍🌳
- 🌍 New research highlights the growing threats facing the world’s rainforests and the urgent need for action. These ecosystems are vital for biodiversity, climate regulation, and livelihoods worldwide. www.plymouth.ac.uk/news/rainfor... #TemperateRainforests #ClimateChange #Biodiversity #SouthWestUK
- 🌊 Our team are back from the first #RIPCORD field trip in the Caribbean! Working in the #BritishVirginIslands and #TurksandCaicos, the project supports Small Island Developing States to advance #marineconservation by building local capacity and moving beyond parachute science. 🧪🦑🌍
- Using ROVs, acoustics, moorings & multibeam mapping, the team delivered key surveys alongside school outreach across #TCI. Local partners will continue the work long after we’ve left - exactly what RIPCORD is about. More updates (and photos) soon 👀 @dr-clara-diaz.bsky.social
- 🌍🌱 Happy World Soil Day! 🌱🌍 Today we’re celebrating the thin, irreplaceable layer that sustains life on Earth - soil. Our students and researchers at the University of Plymouth have shared why soil matters more than most of us realise #CRISPSUoP @plymuni.bsky.social
- PhD opportunity! "Benefits & impacts of use of light in UK #fisheries & their wider effect on the marine environment" (aka #scallopdiscos!) Supervision by me @thembauk.bsky.social Tom Davies @plymbiomarsci.bsky.social Tim Smyth @pml.ac.uk @fishtekmarine.bsky.social www.plymouth.ac.uk/study/resear...
- PhD opportunity! "Deep-Sea Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems: Ecology, Function and Management". Do cutting edge research on the deep sea under supervision from Prof Kerry Howell @pml.ac.uk, Dr Angela Stevenson @plymbiomarsci.bsky.social & me @thembauk.bsky.social www.plymouth.ac.uk/study/resear...
- Celebrating Soil with Professor Chris Collins 🌱Ahead of World Soil Day, we’re kicking off a series highlighting soil research at the University of Plymouth - from fieldwork to lab science to global collaborations. Stay tuned! @plymuni.bsky.social #WorldSoilDay #SoilScience #CRISPSUoP
- @aries-dtp.bsky.social #PhDOpportunity! The biology & ecology of disease in seagrass: Understanding the pseudo-fungus Phytophthora gemini and its impact on common eelgrass development 🗓️Closing date: 7 Jan 2026 🗓️Start date: 1 Oct 2026 #PhD #PhDSky #PhDFunded #Seagrass #Disease #Fungus🧪🦑
- Director of Studies: Professor Michael Cunliffe @thembauk.bsky.social 2nd Supervisor: Dr George Littlejohn @plymuni.bsky.social 3rd Supervisor: Mr Andy Cameron #OceanConservationTrust
- Find out how AI technology, Open Earth Observation data and citizen science can help soil conservation and land restoration projects, in this free webinar.
- 🌱 World Soil Day webinar! Join us on 5 Dec, 15:00–16:00 CET to reply to the question: How can AI technology, Open EO data and citizen science help soil conservation and land restoration projects? 🌐 Discover the event www.eventbrite.nl/e/tickets-ho... 🔗 Register now us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
- @aries-dtp.bsky.social PhD Opportunity! Swamped: Is Crassula helmsii a significant threat to #wetland #biodiversity? Director of Studies: Professor David Bilton 2nd Supervisor: Dr Robert Puschendorf 3rd Supervisor: Dr Pete Cotton 🗓️Closing date: 7 Jan 2026 🗓️Start date: 1 Oct 2026 #PhDSky #FundedPhD🧪
- Meet Matilda Powell, First Class BSc (Hons) Marine Biology graduate from the University of Plymouth and this year’s MBA Prize for Outstanding Performance on a Marine Biology Programme. Read more - www.mba.ac.uk/university-o...
- The University of Plymouth is #recruiting a Technical Specialist (Skipper) to support teaching & research at our Marine Station Operate the 14m Falcon Spirit and small-craft fleet, ensuring safe, high-quality marine operations. hrservices.plymouth.ac.uk/tlive_webrec... #MaritimeJobs #MarineScience
- 🌊 Big news: @plymuni.bsky.social & @pml.ac.uk win £2 M to use AI to greatly accelerate mapping of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VME) such as cold-water coral reefs and sponge fields in the deep Atlantic. #MarineScience #AI #Conservation #DeepSea #Plymouth 🌍🦑🧪 www.plymouth.ac.uk/news/univers...
- We’re recruiting a Professor of Marine Technology & Autonomy at the @plymuni.bsky.social, to help drive and expand our new cross-disciplinary research centre, #CMAST, the Centre for Marine Autonomy, Maritime Cyber-Security and Technology. #AcademicJob hrservices.plymouth.ac.uk/tlive_webrec...
- New study by Dr Nathaniel Clark shows plastic nanoparticles can accumulate in the edible parts of vegetables, including roots and leaves. 🍽️ #Environment #FoodSafety #Microplastics #Agriculture #PlasticSky www.plymouth.ac.uk/news/first-e...
- The full study – Clark et al: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
- 🐟 New global review by Dr Benjamin Ciotti @plymuni.bsky.social reveals major gaps in how we monitor juvenile-fish habitats and outlines a blueprint for better conservation. #MarineScience #Fisheries #JuvenileFish #ICES #Conservation 🦑🧪 @icesmarine.bsky.social www.plymouth.ac.uk/news/global-...
- The full study – Ciotti et al: Measuring juvenile habitat quality for fishes and invertebrates – is published in Biological Reviews: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
- 🔊New paper alert 🔊 🌊Spatial and Temporal Variation in Wave Overtopping Across a Coastal Structure Based on One Year of Field Observations 🌊 by J. Brown @noc.ac.uk with @plymbiomarsci.bsky.social Network Rail and SW Coastal monitoring 🔗https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13112194 #wirewall @ukri.org
- 🦀🌱 BioBlitz Day: 10 Dec 2025! Join researchers from the @plymuni.bsky.social and the Ocean Conservation Trust at the University of Plymouth Marine Station to explore the incredible invertebrates living in Plymouth Sound’s seagrass restoration sites. FREE event. Registration essential.
- So happy to have this FISH INTEL paper published! Thank you to everyone who contributed- great to see it out there published for everyone to read and use! 🐟🎉 Read it here: doi.org/10.1002/2688... @plymbiomarsci.bsky.social @plymuni.bsky.social #AcousticTelemetry #LEK #FishIntel
- Another great session before lunch! 🪲 Sereene Ghariani @plymbiomarsci.bsky.social 🍅 Cliven Njekete @inrae-france.bsky.social 🐌 Tom Ashfield, UK Agri-tech centre @rothamsted.bsky.social 🌾 Ilma Qoonah @uonresearch.bsky.social
- Two fascinating talks from the @bas.ac.uk this Friday at @plymuni.bsky.social. Open to all staff & students! Discover how baleen whales are recovering in South Georgia and how blue carbon ecosystems are helping the Southern Ocean fight climate change🌊31 Oct🕐1-2 pm📍Devonport LT
- Staff from @plymbiomarsci.bsky.social ready for Thursday’s graduation of Zoology and Conservation Biology students. Quite a mixed set of gowns, special mention to Anne Plessis French military university outfit, complete with sword. You can work out which one she is!
- 🌊 Delighted to share that our first-ever #GirlsintoOceanScience event is now fully booked! We have 93 girls registered to join us at the @marine-station.bsky.social on Friday, 31st October. www.plymouth.ac.uk/whats-on/gir... #GiOS #MarineScience #WomenInSTEM #UoP🧪🌍🦑
- As one of the organising committee for the UK & Ireland student chapter of @marinemammalogy.bsky.social, I'm especially pleased to share that the next event will take place at my own stomping ground @plymuni.bsky.social @plymbiomarsci.bsky.social. Keen to welcome everyone here, spread the word!
- 🐬 Registration is now OPEN for the UKIRSC 2026 Marine Mammal Conference hosted @plymuni.bsky.social 🎓A FREE event bringing together students from across the UK & Ireland to share research, connect, and learn from leading marine mammal scientists. 👇Link below #UKIRSC2026 #MarineMammals
- Big news from the Indian Ocean! First sighting of the incredibly rare Omura’s whale, confirming previous acoustic recordings in the Chagos Archipelago. Project to determine cetacean 🐋 diversity by @iomarinescience.bsky.social @zslofficial.bsky.social @plymbiomarsci.bsky.social Photos by me 🧪 🌍 🧵1/5
- 🚤 Big news! Our #USV Cetus at @plymuni.bsky.social has just been granted a General Exemption under MCA MGN705 - it is now free to operate within wider UK waters. This unlocks exciting new opportunities for teaching, research, and collaboration in #MarineAutonomy here in #Plymouth 🌊
- Huge thanks to the Maritime Coastguard Agency, Autonomous Maritime Services Ltd, and Marine Station crew for all the hard work getting Cetus up to spec!
- Our Marine Science degrees kicked off their induction with a trip to Newquay, where they could choose between a coastal walk, coasteering, or surfing! ✨ The trip included students from: 🌊 Ocean Science 🗺️ Ocean Exploration & Surveying 🐬 Ocean Science & Marine Conservation
- LAST CHANCE to fill out our #octopus surveys! Fishermen & divers of the UK, have your say if you haven't already, surveys close at midnight tonight, Sunday 21st September! @thembauk.bsky.social @plymbiomarsci.bsky.social @pml.ac.uk @plymuni.bsky.social Please share 🐙
- 👀 Spotted an #octopus off the #SouthWest coast? #Fishermen & #divers, we want to hear from you! 🐙 Take part in this survey (closing Sun 21 Sept) & help us study this year’s unusual #CommonOctopus bloom: 🎣 Fishers: survey.alchemer.eu/s3/90884550/... 🤿 Divers: survey.alchemer.eu/s3/90886025/...
- 🦀 Hairy claws make hermits braver! BBC has featured a paper by PhD researcher Ari Drummond (et al.) in Proceedings B, revealing how shell traits can boost confidence in hermit crabs. #PhDLife #HermitCrabs #AnimalBehaviour #SoBMS #UniversityOfPlymouth #BBC www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
