Less time to travel

Back to the field

Kerstin Johannesson is happy to be able to do more field work.

Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Johan Wingborg

– I have spent the whole summer doing field work in northern Bohuslän. Being a biologist again has been great fun and something which, under normal circumstances, I barely have time for, says Kerstin Johannesson, Professor of Marine Ecology at Tjärnö Marine Laboratory.

THIS SPRING, Kerstin Johannesson had plans to travel several times to Stockholm, once to Kiel and once to South Africa. Due to the pandemic, none of these trips actually took place.

The physical visits have been replaced by conferences and other meetings online. – Previously, I have taken long-haul flights to attend conferences where, among other things, the climate was discussed. Of course, I have worried about that paradox, but since Tjärnö is a bit off the beaten track, I have still had to do a lot of travelling, usually by train, though. Now we have had to adapt to online activities, and for me it has been something of an eye opener to realize how well most things work. Together with my colleagues in Sheffield, I have had meetings, seminars and workshops online. Among other things, I think you hear better what the participants are saying during an online meeting and group discussions also work very well.

Physical meetings are usually seen as important, not least because you get to know colleagues during informal dinners. – It can be like that, but during a large conference with maybe a thousand participants and a packed programme, you usually almost only have time to talk to people you already know. One alternative is to arrange a combination conference where Nordic participants could meet in Stockholm, but also connect with the USA or Australia, for example.

Not having to travel also gives me time to do plenty of other things, says Kerstin Johannesson. – Admittedly you can work on the train but it is still tiring to travel. You have to plan and pack, sleep in a hotel room and get up early the next day to catch the train home. When all your energy is not taken up by travelling, you have time to think instead.

And one thing Kerstin Johannesson

When all your energy is not taken up by travelling, you have time to think instead.

KERSTIN JOHANNESSON

has had time to think about is why marine snails of the same species can look so different from one another. – It has been a long time since I had an opportunity to spend so much time in the field with doctoral students and other researchers. So for me, it has mostly been positive not being able to travel, even though I understand that it has caused problems for lots of other people.