Explore Ocean Science at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition

The UK National Oceanography Centre in partnership with Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML), the Marine Biological Association (MBA) and the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) will be bringing ocean science to the Royal Society Summer Science Festival this year, to tell the compelling story of how we are all connected to the ocean, and how … Read more

UN Senior Advisor visits the Marine Biological Association

Scientists at the Marine Biological Association (MBA) were delighted to welcome a United Nations Senior Advisor to its headquarters in Plymouth. Vincent Doumeizel, Senior Advisor on Oceans to the UN Global Compact visited marine biologists from the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) Survey to learn more about the pioneering plankton research being conducted at the MBA. … Read more

New study reveals link between climate change, oceanic circulation and dinoflagellates

Researchers from the Marine Biological Association (MBA) have led a study to discover why dinoflagellates are declining in northern regions of our ocean. Climate warming poses a significant threat to marine ecosystems worldwide, and scientists have documented considerable changes in plankton in the Northeast Atlantic. Plankton are a diverse collection of tiny organisms found in … Read more

Unlocking the Secrets of Whale Shark Feeding Habits at Ningaloo Reef

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

Small but mighty – study highlights the abundance and importance of the ocean’s tiniest inhabitants

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

Scientists assess global maritime traffic during COVID-19

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

Protecting marine wildlife: New EU project aims to reduce bycatch in fishing

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

Research collaborators from Portugal visit the MBA to analyse shark tagging data

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

Unveiling the secrets of deep-sea diving predators

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

From tracking tiger sharks to mapping coral reefs: MBA placement student starts exciting journey as a marine biologist

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