Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/N000900/1
Taxonomic skills and field techniques for rocky intertidal ecology
Training Grant Award
- Lead Supervisor:
- Dr N Mieszkowska, Marine Biological Association, Marine Biology
- Grant held at:
- Marine Biological Association, Marine Biology
- Science Area:
- Marine
- Overall Classification:
- Marine
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Global Change
- Science Topics:
- Climate & Climate Change
- Community Ecology
- Benthic communities
- Biodiversity
- Invasive species
- Marine communities
- Systematics & Taxonomy
- Species richness
- Ecosystem Scale Processes
- Biodiversity
- Coastal ecosystems
- Survey & Monitoring
- Marine habitats
- Abstract:
- A five day residential field course based at The Marine Biological Association of the UK's research laboratory in Plymouth will introduce participants to the dynamic rocky shore environment that forms a border between the land and the seas surrounding the UK. The Marine Biological Association has a rich history of research on rocky intertidal taxonomy - the identification of species, and maintains the longest time-series of surveys on rocky shore organisms in the world, dating back to the 1930s. A team of expert scientists and educators will use a combination of lectures, visits to rocky shores and laboratory-based practical sessions to teach participants about how rocky shore ecosystems are structured and provide hands-on training to teach participants how to identify the huge range of seaweeds and animals living on rocky shores around the UK. The course will focus on: The techniques and guides by which any animal or seaweed species can be identified by eye in the field, or by looking at their features under a microscope. How to preserve animal and seaweed specimens as a permanent record of what was found at a particular location, and how to catalogue records of animal and seaweed species sightings in a digital and internet-friendly format. How to design experiments and surveys for gaining further information on the abundance and distribution of species on rocky shores, and how these may alter with climate change and the arrival of invasive species. An introduction to the general ecology of rocky shores around the UK, including how communities are established and function, why species are found at different heights and in specific habitats such as rockpools, and why the geographic spread of specific seaweed and animal species differs around the UK coastline. The course will include visits to seashores to find, taxonomically identify and record species, as well as practical sessions in the MBA laboratory, with state-of-the-art microscope facilities and a world-renowned aquarium system for keeping live specimens in healthy condition for further study. The laboratory also hosts the National Marine Biological Library, where participants can find a wealth of information on the species they are studying, as well as trace the history of researchers who have undertaken similar studies since the Victorian era at the Plymouth laboratory. The MBA has a pressed seaweed collection in the herbarium for referencing finds on the course, and a wealth of digital images of samples and rocky shore ecosystems for wider reference. In addition, the participants will become part of the laboratory working environment, experiencing the day to day life of researchers and meeting scientists working in areas of interest to them. This active scientific research environment, coupled with extensive training on a range of rocky shores with international experts provides a unique opportunity to learn taxonomic species identification skills and how to apply them in a real-world context to study the rich variety of marine intertidal life around the UK. Such skills are in decline due to the modern, digital environment in which scientists work, but are essential to the understanding of life, ecosystems and the services they provide to society. This course will train and inspire the next generation of marine biologists to address the issues facing marine ecosystems and equip them with the necessary skills to succeed.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/N000900/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Doctoral Training
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Advanced Training
This training grant award has a total value of £22,215
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - Other Costs |
|---|
| £22,215 |
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