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JULY 2018
THE BRIDGE School of Ocean Sciences Newsletter INCORPORATING THE DIGITAL NEWSLETTER OF THE SCHOOL OF OCEAN SCIENCES ASSOCIATION
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Bangor University awarded Gold in the TEF
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Achievements - Promotions
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Applied Marine Biology Placements: fun in the field
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Gender Equality - Athena Swan
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SOS in the Media
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Peer Reviewed Publications (so far in 2018)
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SOSA Welcome - Croeso
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Chairman’s Note
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News from the Alumni
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SOSA Membership Survey
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Bridges of the World
THE BRIDGE July 2018
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Please send items (changes in staff, admin. notices, meetings, seminars, new grants, publications in press, jobs, etc.) for inclusion in the next issue to Gareth J Williams via the email address sos-newsletter@bangor.ac.uk.
As part of the SEACAMS 2 initiative, this buoy is the first of three which will provide a live data feed on coastal processes and physical conditions at marine renewable energy development sites across North Wales. Deployed from the Prince Madog in March 2018.
2018 OPEN DAYS Saturday June 30 Saturday July 7 Sunday October 14 Sunday October 28 Saturday November 10
Bangor University awarded Gold in the TEF Bangor University has been awarded the Gold standard in the UK Government’s new Teaching Excellence Framework, and is the only University in Wales to achieve this standard. The framework assesses universities against a range of criteria and is part of the UK government’s plans for raising standards in higher education. It also gives students more information so that they can make the most informed decisions when deciding which university to attend. Based on the evidence available, the TEF Panel judged that Bangor University delivers consistently outstanding teaching, learning and outcomes for its students. It is of the highest quality found in the UK.
Universities are assessed across three main categories, Teaching Quality, Learning Environment and Student Outcomes &
Learning Gain. The Government have stated that the framework will drive up quality in the sector at the same time as improving student choice and crucially, graduate outcomes. They added that the framework will also give students clear, understandable information about where the best teaching is on offer.
Bangor University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor John G. Hughes said: “Bangor has maintained a strong commitment to the delivery of high quality student experience for many decades. Not only do we link research and teaching, but we also provide personalised pastoral care, and provide variety and experimentation in our teaching and learning. “We strongly believe that students deserve to be exposed to, and to be stretched by, the rigour and intellectual challenges of problem solving within their disciplines. “Across the University, our courses aim to provide a close association with our active research community to support students’ own learning. Through research skills courses, and ultimately an independent research project (dissertation, group project or evaluating practice), the degree courses across all our subject areas empower
students to acquire and master a range of research skills and investigative methods.” “This Gold ranking reflects Bangor University’s impressive performance and I’d like to congratulate everyone at the University for their work on behalf of our students.”
Commenting on Bangor’s success, UK Government minister and Aberconwy MP, Guto Bebb, said: “This award is welldeserved and sends a message to potential students across the world that Wales is a fantastic destination for higher education. It also demonstrates to employers and overseas businesses planning to invest in Wales that graduates from our universities are being trained to the highest standards.” The review highlighted that students from all backgrounds achieve consistently outstanding outcomes, and that retention, progression to highly skilled employment or further study, and Welsh medium provision are above benchmark. The university also has consistently outstanding levels of student satisfaction with teaching, assessment and feedback, and academic support, notably exceeding the provider’s benchmark.
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Applied Marine Biology Placements: fun in the field Reports have come in from several of the 3rd year Applied Marine Biology students of their fieldwork experiences to date.
Achievements - Promotions Promotion to Reader Our congratulations for the following achievements: •
• Dr Shelagh Malham School of Ocean Sciences She has an exceptional teaching record with her research impacting on teaching across Higher Education, resulting in her being a recipient of a highly prestigious Higher Education Academy National Teaching Fellowship. She demonstrates sustained leadership and contribution at University level as well as significant impact and reputation at a national and international level.
Dr Jon King School of Ocean Sciences His research has a wide remit and he has successfully worked and published on protein turnover, the use of stable isotopes and microchemistry to study movement patterns of fish and the causes and consequences of individual variation in behavioural and physiological performance. He is gaining an excellent reputation for himself and the School in the field of marine biology and his work is enhancing the School’s reputation as an international research centre for fish biology and ecology. He has also attracted £3.54M in research funding through a variety of grants.
Jess Silvester attended EGU General Assembly 2017 in Vienna to present her work (‘Water masses transform at mid-depths over the Antarctic Continental Slope’) as a PICO (Presenting Interactive COntent) and won the Outstanding Student Poster and PICO (OSPP) Award for Ocean Sciences and has been invited back to give a presentation on how to make PICOs as part of a course at the 2018 EGU. We did very well in the NSS: https://www.bangor.ac.uk/news/ latest/-33016. We have one programme getting a particular mention and 100% satisfaction: Marine Biology/Zoology…”compared to a year ago this is remarkable news for this programme” said David Thomas.
I began my placement with the marine division of Natural Resources Wales’ (NRW) specialist monitoring team in early June this year. The first few weeks of my placement were spent meeting the people that I’d be spending the following fifteen months working closely with. These roles include marine mammal specialists, intertidal ecologists, and subtidal seabed mappers, to name a few. During this period, I also spent time familiarizing myself with the organizations computer software and systems, and all its available resources. During this period, I also spent a lot of time in our huge marine storage shed, which is a wonder to behold for anyone fascinated by marine science. With the smell of petrol and formaldehyde lingering in the air, everywhere that you cast your eyes is a different bit of kit or technology that your eager to try out and experience using yourself: from drop-down video (DDV) sledges, to dive propulsion vehicles (DPVs), to racks of diving cylinders, and state of the art 4K underwater video cameras. I could honestly spend days hiding down in that treasure trove feeding my fascination.
Rediscovery of the mountain plate-jaw beetle at Cadair Idris: At the end of June, I went out with one of NRWs terrestrial invertebrate ecologists to help monitor a species of ground beetle at Cadair Idris. It is a relatively small ground beetle (7 - 9.5 mm) often with a blue metallic reflection to the carapace, and the legs, antennae, mandibles (jaws), and palps are always red/orange. As the name would suggest, Leistus montanus (mountain plate-jaw) is a montane ground beetle that has a markedly discontinuous distribution in Britain, having separate populations in the mountain regions of Cumbria, Scotland, and Snowdonia. Currently, L. montanus is listed as endangered/nationally rare and is extant in three Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Wales; Cadair Idris SSSI, Eryri SSSI, and the Ruabon/Llantysilio Mountains and Minera SSSI. Historically, L. montanus was last recorded on Cadair Idris in 1968. For this project, NRW commissioned the National Museum Liverpool (NML) and Cofnod (North Wales Environmental Information Service) to survey the three Welsh localities this
STUDENT: RHODRI IRRANCA-DAVIES
Rhodri on Cadair Idris
PLACEMENT: MARINE DIVISION OF NATURAL RESOURCES WALES’ (NRW)
summer to determine the beetle’s current status and distribution, and to identify any management issues. During the search, one individual was found at Cadair Idris in Snowdonia National Park on the 29th June by myself as part of a team made up of Michael Howe and Richard Gallon (from NRW), and Tony Hunter and Steve Judd (from NML). L. montanus had not been seen here since 1968 (49 years), and it was doubtful that the population still even existed in that location. This was therefore a good example of our work contributing to the Welsh Invertebrate Database, helping to manage the environment for the wildlife. Grey seal tagging at West Hoyle Sandbank: West Hoyle sandbank is an intertidal spit of sand approximately 4km offshore from Clwyd county in north-east Wales. It is only exposed for a few hours surrounding low tide, and is completely submerged at high tide, and thus is a popular haul-out for the local grey seal (Halichoerus grypus grypus) population, who use it as a rest stop whilst feeding. On a good day, up to 400 individuals can be hauled-out on the sandbank at any one time. On the 4th July, NRWs marine mammal observer and I were invited to take part in a seal tagging project at this sandbank in conjunction with the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) from St. Andrews University in Scotland. Firstly, we split into 3 groups on 3 RIB-style boats (2 propeller, 1 jet). The jet-propelled RIB approached from the rear of the sandbank and skirted around the water’s edge trailing a lead lined net, startling the seals and causing them to bolt into the water. We then sped in on the two smaller propeller
RIBs then banked, disembarked the boats, and assisted the first group in dragging the net up onto the sandbank with the captured seals inside. We then transferred the (5) seals into individual hoop-nets and secured them shut via the draw-strings. Once safely secured, the individuals were given a dose of a mild sedative to keep them calm. This allowed us to then, oneby-one, conduct the survey and acquire the required data from the individual animals. This involved transferring them from the small nets to a more secure pole reinforced net for weighing. Once the individuals were weighed, we could accurately calculate the volume of anaesthetic for the second (and final) dose of sedative. A balaclava was then put over the animals’ eyes to further reduce its stress levels and keep it calm, allowing us to acquire the following data for general health assessment:
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Length (nose to tip of tail)/ circumference (just posterior to the flippers)
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Blood samples
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Blubber samples
Faecal/urinary samples
Mucus samples
Finally, we also: Took high-quality 4K photographs for the automated photo I.D. software that recognises and reconstructs patterns and shapes in incredibly high detail Tagged the tail fins
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Gender Equality - Athena Swan
Attached robust, state of the art GPS trackers, which in addition to tracking location, also collected data on water properties, such as pressure (depth), temp., etc.
This was truly an amazing experience, as prior to this I had only ever seen seals as specs in the distance, and then before I knew what was happening I was up close and personal with these fascinating (and aggressive) animals, wrestling huge bulls exceeding 220kg. It also allowed me to appreciate that although surveying and monitoring methods can often be invasive and a little bit stressful for certain organisms, it is important to make the most of opportunities, and to retrieve as much data as possible there and then to minimise the need to repeat stressful situations in the future.
Harbour porpoise stranding: On the 28th July I received a phone call from the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) North Wales representative informing me that a harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), had washed up dead on the rocky intertidal shore of Aberffraw, Anglesey. We contacted the farmer who initially reported the sighting, and he led us to the location. The individual was approx. 1.4m in length. Based on general condition, we estimated that it had been there for no more than 12 hours, however it had lost most of its facial features to birds and other scavenging animals. We then loaded it into a handdrawn cart, and then dragged it for 3-4km across rocky shoreline, muddy fields, farmers’ fences, and steep hills to our van. Upon return to our offices, we wrapped it more securely in plastic sheeting, and put it in the industrial freezer. The Zoological Society of London plan to come up and perform a necropsy on the individual for us at a later date.
Cemlyn’s Western Lagoon survey: On the 3rd of August, a survey at Cemlyn’s Western Lagoon, located on the northern coast of Anglesey, was conducted. There was no historical data set, and the lagoon had never been surveyed before. For this
reason, I was given instruction to organise and write-up the survey myself. Focus was directed on three variables of the habitat; associated biota (infaunal), sediment size and properties, and water salinity (and other properties). The survey was conducted through systematically, sampling stations a to c from transects 1 through to 7. Using an Ekman grab sampler, two grabs were taken from each station. The first of which for a biota sample, and the second for a particle size analysis (PSA) sample. The biota samples were processed in the field using 500µm sieves to remove the fine muddy sediment from the samples, before being labelled and stored in 1 litre tubs ready to be sent off for externally contracted analysis. Whereas, the PSA samples were allowed to drain of water, before being bagged and labelled ready for internal analysis. Water samples were taken from
stations “b” at each of the transects to acquire salinity readings to assess the extent of salt intrusion into the western lagoon region from the main lagoon body across the causeway located between transects 1 and 2. The water samples were always taken before the deployment of the Ekman grab to ensure accurate readings representing characteristic water properties for the lagoon, uninfluenced by the suspended particulate matter (SPM) stirred-up by the grab sampling process. Additionally, fixed CTD data-loggers were anchored to the benthos using 1250mm steel fencing pins and cable ties at stations “b” of transects 1, 2, and 5. These are small, highly accurate, 24-bit data profiling loggers, made to measure conductivity (salinity), temperature, and pressure (depth) in-situ, over long periods of time. In this survey, they will take measurements every 30 minutes for a total of two tidal cycles (approximately 30 days).
SOS in the Media
Peer Reviewed Publications (so far in 2018)
Y BONT Linking the Past and Present with the Future
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The School of Ocean Sciences Association (SOSA) was founded in 1994 by Sinclair Buchan and George Floodgate. Its aim is to foster close links with all those who have passed through the SOS in Menai Bridge over the years. For further information: www.bangor.ac.uk/oceansciences/alumni www.facebook.com/sosbangor
SOSA Welcome - Croeso Welcome to the SOSA 2018 electronic newsletter. Its main objective is to try and publish relatively short articles and bits of information about the alumni — where they are now and what they have done since leaving Menai Bridge. I hope that you enjoy it and, hopefully, read about old friends and colleagues. Editor: Kevin Deeming kevin@kevjen.com
President/Head of SOS David Thomas d.thomas@bangor.ac.uk
Chairman
Mick Cook mick@mickcook.com
Associate/Founder Sinclair Buchan sinclairbuchan@gmail.com
Secretary
It is always refreshing to receive an e-mail with an article or some personal news. So, next time you have something to share, remember THE BRIDGE!
Paul Butler p.g.butler@bangor.ac.uk
Treasurer
David Assinder d.assinder@bangor.ac.uk
THE DIGITAL NEWSLETTER OF THE SCHOOL OF OCEAN SCIENCES ASSOCIATION
Alumni Development Bethan Perkins b.w.perkins@bangor.ac.uk
Editor
Kevin Deeming kevin@kevjen.com
THE BRIDGE is a SOSA publication, free of charge to undergraduates, graduates and staff of the School of Ocean Sciences (SOS) and available to others through registration with the Secretary. Advertisements are carefully vetted but neither Bangor University nor SOS can take responsibility for them. The articles printed here, to the best of our knowledge, were correct at the time of going to press. The opinions expressed in THE BRIDGE are those of the contributors and are not necessarily shared by Bangor University, the SOS, the SOSA committee or the Editor.
Chairman’s Note This time last year we were recovering from our very successful Alumni reunion that was planned to celebrate the replacement of Westbury Mount with the new Marine Centre Wales (MCW). When we started planning that event, we thought the building would have been completed in time for the re-union. Alas, it was not to be. Delays in completion resulted in the grand opening occurring on the 5th July 2016. Significantly, MCW was opened by HRH, Charles, The Prince of Wales - a great honour for the SOS and the university. A full story, together with photographs from the day will be published in the next edition of The Bridge. Regrettably, your Chairman was unable to attend due to a prior commitment but is assured by all that the sun shone, The Prince was extremely well briefed and engaging and the day was enjoyed by all who attended. Believe it or not, the School of Ocean Sciences Alumni Association (SOSA) is 21 years young this year and this has set your committee thinking about its role and what actions we need to take to ensure another 21 successful years. With this in mind, we recently conducted an on-line survey of SOSA members soliciting opinions using the SurveyMonkey web-site. The results of the survey are detailed on pages 10 and 11 of this newsletter. Some of the results were somewhat revealing and unexpected. I am very interested to hear your feedback on these. Please e-mail at mick@mickcook.com with any thoughts/suggestions you may have. It would be good to hear from you before our next committee meeting in September. Here in the UK and Europe we are just digesting the results of the UK In/Out European Union Referendum where the Brexit vote came as a bit of a surprise to a lot of people. It has certainly sets the tongues wagging. Rarely a day passes when I don’t have in-depth discussions about what it all means. It has certainly shaken up the political establishment. At the time of writing, we have a new Prime Minister, a possible change of leadership in the official opposition and inevitable threats from Scotland to leave the UK. This period of uncertainty coincides with a period of on-going uncertainty in the offshore energy industry; a significant employer of SOS alumni resulting in a double dose of uncertainty for some of those working in the marine science sector. A significant number of economists are forecasting imminent doom but there again they are on a par with weather forecasters in the UK when forecasting our notoriously changeable weather - and about as successful in their predictions! Life moves on... In these austere times, we have not been able to raise sufficient sponsorship to print and post this edition of The Bridge. Hence, it will only be sent to those members for which we have an e-mail address. If you suspect you know Alumni that may not have provided us with an e-mail address, can you please forward them to Bethan Perkins (b.w.perkins@bangor.ac.uk). Many thanks,
If this newsletter is sent to a wrong address or e-mail, please notify us as soon as possible by going to: www.bangor.ac.uk/oceansciences/alumni or contacting b.w.perkins@bangor.ac.uk
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News from the Alumni
SOSA Membership Survey
Road to Icthyolatry In the autumn of 1973 when I arrived at the Marine Science Labs in Menai Bridge for the M Sc in marine biology, I intended to take a thesis project on macroalgae. By Christmas all had changed and I had become ichthyolatrous. This is a calling I have followed to the present day. I had taken a BSc joint degree in Botany and Zoology at Hull, and had followed this with a year of teacher training. Although my leanings were more towards the world of plants than animals, my undergraduate studies had re-awakened a childhood interest in marine life. Taking the MSc in marine biology on offer at Bangor seemed to be an ideal way to get some extra academic ballast. I applied late and was offered a place on the course only because somebody dropped out at the last minute. As a result, I resigned from my school-teaching position after less than 6 weeks in the job much to the chagrin of the head, and set off for Bangor. How was I converted to ichthyolatry? The answer starts with the unlikely combination of a hockey stick and the Marine Labs carpark. One lunchtime, I was messing about in the carpark doing a bit of hockey practice and was seen by an eagle-eyed observer looking for recruits for the recently ormed Menai Bridge male hockey team; at the time the Marine Labs provided the backbone of the team. I made my debut for the team the following Saturday. During the obligatory post-match pint (or two) at the pub I was sitting at the same table
as Dave Grove, and thus began my conversion from plant ecologist to fish physiologist. Within weeks, I was spending quite a lot of time in the Nuffield Fish Lab. I did my MSc project, not on macroalgal ecology, but on feeding and gastrointestinal function in the dab, Limanda limanda . The work from my thesis gave me my first scientific paper (published in J Fish Biol in 1977). I was in Bangor for only one year, and then moved on to Glasgow to continue to work on fish for my doctorate. This time a different flatfish: Pleuronectes platessa.
Following on from a sojourn of just over 4 years in Glasgow, I had a chance move to Tromsø, in the north of Norway, and have been an incumbent at the university ever since. Throughout my time in Bangor I lived on Anglesey, in Dwyran, at the southeast corner of the island. I live on an island today, but one much smaller than Anglesey; a perimeter of about 20 km so the round trip takes less than an hour by bike. Various bridges provide connections to the mainland and other islands. They are modern, mundane constructions. None of them have the celebrity or charm of Telford’s or Stephenson’s Bridges. Malcolm Jobling malcolm.jobling@uit.no M.Sc. (Marine Biology) (1974)
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Bridges of the World
Š David Roberts Cwmorthin slate mine, Blaenau Ffestiniog, North Wales. Although extraction of slate from Cwmorthin began around 1810, the mine (or more correctly underground quarry) was at its peak in the late nineteenth century. Trams running on tens of miles of rail were employed to carry the useable slabs or spoil from deep underground. As the working levels were mined away, bridges were built to carry the tramway across open chambers, usually 20m (70ft) above the floor below. These generally consisted of two large, timber beams suspended on chains from the rock above. Today, those that have remained intact provide a rare insight into the engineering challenges from over a century ago.
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SOS NEWSLETTER is published by the School of Ocean Sciences
Š Bangor University. Please contact oss108@bangor.ac.uk for permission to reproduce any article. Updated School of Ocean Sciences news can be found on https://www.bangor.ac.uk/ oceansciences/news