A team of marine scientists from Australia and the UK embarked on a multi-disciplinary mission to decipher the mysteries of whale shark movement in relation to prey distribution at Ningaloo Reef. Ningaloo Reef, located in Western Australia, is a renowned coastal ‘hotspot’ for the world’s largest shark, the filter-feeding whale shark. Every year, these magnificent … Read more
New research sheds light on tiny plankton, which can make up more than 70% of the plankton biomass found in the ocean. Tiny plankton – measuring less than 20µm (or 0.02mm) in diameter – make up the majority of plankton in the ocean and play a critical role in the planet’s health, according to new … Read more
New research sheds light on previously unreported complexity in maritime traffic during the first year of COVID-19. The study, led by researchers at the Marine Biological Association and the COVID-19 Bio-Logging Initiative, assessed changes to global shipping and fishing activity, revealing in unprecedented detail how the rapid implementation of restrictions and lockdowns affected human mobility … Read more
Every year, around 70,000 turtles and 200,000 seabirds die as a result of being caught as bycatch in EU fishing fleets. Bycatch is when other marine species are unintentionally trapped by commercial fishing gear. This can account for up to 40% of total fishing catches, globally reaching as much as 38 million tonnes discarded per … Read more
The Marine Biological Association (MBA) welcomed scientists from Universidade do Porto in Portugal to meet with the Sims Lab team and discuss the results of a recent shark tagging expedition. Dr Nuno Queiroz, Head of Movement Ecology Group at CIBIO (Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos) and Tiago Cidade, PhD Student, CIBIO, visited … Read more
The deep ocean provides a wide range of valuable ecosystem services to the planet; but it remains largely unexplored due to its size and inaccessibility. Marine biologists have long known that many marine predators dive vertically into the deep ocean, but the reasons behind this behaviour were largely a mystery. Many predator species have been … Read more
Today we are celebrating Marine Biology MRes graduate Max Kimble! During his placement at the Marine Biological Association (MBA) Max worked in the Sims lab, creating a species distribution model for the tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) in the North Atlantic. Max looked at over 121 shark movement tracks, combined with satellite data, to reveal the … Read more
We recently had the pleasure of welcoming Cefas Chief Executive Neil Hornby and Cefas Chief Scientist, Professor Grant Stentiford to the Marine Biological Association. They were welcomed to our laboratory in Plymouth by Chief Executive, Professor Willie Wilson. They were given a tour around our facilities to see our cutting-edge science laboratories and meet our … Read more
Since 2018, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) provided £2.5M to the Marine Business Technology Centre (MBTC) in Devon. This has accelerated the development of marine innovation. It was originally introduced to provide support for businesses in Devon and Plymouth to develop and test new marine technology and thereby support long-term innovation and growth in … Read more
Large marine animals such as sharks and whales have huge ecological, social, economic, and cultural importance, but are under great threat from collisions with ships. Copyright: Jeremy Stafford-Deitsch In a recent article published in the journal Nature, experts from the Marine Biological Association (MBA) and University of Southampton (UoS) warn that coordinated action is needed … Read more
The Marine Biological Association
The Laboratory,
Citadel Hill Plymouth,
Devon
PL1 2PB, UK
The Marine Biological Association conducts, promotes and supports scientific research into all aspects of life in the sea. We're working with our ever-growing membership to provide a clear and independent voice on behalf of the marine biological community