The MBA’s SimsLab team has travelled to La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico for a whale shark tagging expedition. The aim of the ERC-funded research expedition to the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) in the Gulf of California (GoC) is to attach custom-made oxygen, temperature, deep-depth, and body movement-sensing tags to adult female whale sharks of … Read more
The MBA is honoured to welcome Rod Downie as a newly appointed Fellow of the Marine Biological Association (FMBA).
We are proud to welcome Professor Thomas James Miller PhD as a Fellow of the Marine Biological Association (FMBA).
An ordinary post box on Plymouth Hoe has been transformed into an eye-catching celebration of marine life, thanks to a team of creative staff and students from the Marine Biological Association, who have handcrafted an intricately beautiful knitted and crocheted topper inspired by the sea.
Filmmaker and diver David Palfrey expected a routine dive off the Cornish coast—but instead encountered something extraordinary: octopus after octopus, gathered in open water and observing him in return. These surprising encounters inspired Bloomin’ Octopus! A Tentacular Spectacular, a new short film exploring the remarkable ‘octopus bloom’ in southwest England in 2025.
UK researchers, including from the Marine Biological Association and the University of Plymouth, have shown how the distributions of two phytoplankton groups known to produce natural toxins that can halt shellfish harvesting have changed in the North East Atlantic over the last six decades.
Communities across the UK are invited to join in with a nationwide rock pooling competition this spring, with the Big Rock Pool Challenge National BioBlitz 2026. Combining marine species discovery with competitive wildlife recording, the event brings people of all ages and backgrounds together with the common aim of exploring and recording the incredible biodiversity of our coastal shores.
A new study indicates that major components of the animal nervous system are found in marine algae and play important roles in cellular communication. Multicellular organisms have developed many mechanisms to allow communication between individual cells. In animals, the amino acid glutamate acts as a neurotransmitter, allowing the transfer of information between neurons in the … Read more
A new economic analysis has shown that sequencing the DNA of all complex life in the UK and Ireland could deliver up to almost £3 billion in benefits to the economy over the next 30 years, with wide‑ranging impacts across agriculture, conservation, and research and innovation.
The Marine Biological Association (MBA) is delighted to welcome Dr Amy Courtney as our new Anne Warner Research Fellow, strengthening the MBA’s internationally recognised programme of discovery science and its long tradition of using marine life to unlock fundamental biological insights. Amy is an evolutionary neuroscientist whose work explores one of biology’s most fascinating questions: … Read more
The Marine Biological Association
The Laboratory,
Citadel Hill Plymouth,
Devon
PL1 2PB, UK
The Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom is a registered charity in England and Wales (1155893), and is a company limited by Royal Charter (RC000865). The Marine Biological Association conducts, promotes and supports scientific research into all aspects of life in the sea.