Environmental Science Archives

Success at Family Science Festival, Dorchester

19/03/201926/03/2019Jack Dazley

On Sunday 17th March, academics and students (both undergraduate and postgraduate) took part in Dorchester’s family science festival, inviting members of the public to learn about all aspects of science and research in the department for life and environmental sciences, from African elephant conservation to microbes living in the local environment. Many other local organisations also came along to take part, including Biotrack, the Jurassic Coast Trust, the Institute of Physics and many more.

The event was sponsored by EU-Interreg project SAMARCH (through Genoveva Esteban), the Royal Society of Biology (grant to G. Esteban and D. Franklin), Dorchester Town Council and BU. We are also grateful to the Science IRL Project developed by the Indian River Lagoon Science Festival SAMA (Florida, USA) for sharing the “This is what a scientist looks like.” T-shirt idea with us.

Bournemouth University staff and students were involved in several different activities:

The world of microbes – Prof. Genoveva Esteban (professor of microbial aquatic ecology), Dr Daniel Franklin (lecturer in microbial ecology and biological oceanography) and Hai Luu (PhD student) – visitors were able to observe a variety of live single celled microbes using microscopes, and learn about the importance of these tiny organisms in the natural environment.
Fish conservation and the Samarch project – Ossi Turunen (Undergraduate student) and Oskari Heimonen (Undergraduate student) – visitors were able to colour in their own salmon, and learn to tell the age of a fish using their bones! Oskari and Ossi are both heavily affiliated with the Samarch project and visitors could learn more about the project too.

Insects to elephants: African biodiversity and wildlife conservation – Katie Thompson (Research associate and PhD student) and Jack Dazley (Research assistant and MRes student) – visitors were able to look at preserved insect specimens and learn about their diversity, and also play a game matching 10 African insect species to their habitat. Also Katie and Jack showed people how elephant populations have declined, what threats they face and how conservation biologists are tackling these problems, with a map of African elephant distribution in the past vs today.

The event was a huge success and attracted many visitors of all ages from the local area, engaging them with research and hopefully inspiring new young scientists! We are very thankful to everybody who came on the day!

For more information please contact Genoveva Esteban (gesteban@bournemouth.ac.uk), Jack Dazley (jdazley@bournemouth.ac.uk) or Katie Thompson (thompsonk@bournemouth.ac.uk)

BU PhD student goes viral with Instagram account by sharing amazing images of microscopic creatures

20/02/201920/02/2019Katie Thompson

A PhD student has amassed over 55,000 followers and millions of views on Instagram after sharing incredible images and videos of microscopic creatures magnified 40 to 1000 times.

Image of a tardigrade on @microbialecology

Hunter N. Hines posts photos and footage of the organisms he studies during his PhD research under his microscope, including single-celled organisms like ciliates and micro-animals like worms and tardigrades (known as water bears).

He was also first author on a piece recently published in Nature, highlighting the importance of using social media in science outreach.

Hunter said: “The videos and photos on my Instagram show these awesome creatures in their natural state as they are behave and move, rather than just drawings from a textbook.”

Hunter is currently studying for his PhD at Bournemouth University, conducting research in Florida on single-celled organisms called ciliates, looking at their biodiversity and biogeography in freshwater ecosystems.

Alongside ciliates, his Instagram account @microbialecology shows microscopic creatures including worms, larvae and micro crustaceans doing everything from laying eggs to eating each other.

At one point the account received over 1.4 million views in a single week.

Hunter said: “These are organisms at the foundation of foodwebs and important for ecosystem health. I collect them from freshwater habitats, such as ponds, in Florida, and some are from soil.

“For many viewers this is the first time they are seeing these creatures from the micro world as living things.

“I hope that my posts can reach a global audience, and show microbiology in a positive light, while inspiring interest in science to anyone with internet access.”

For more, visit the @microbialecology Instagram account.

Author: Genoveva Esteban

LES undergraduate receives grant for the restoration of marine protected area in Bali

15/01/201815/01/2018Katie Thompson

A second year Environmental Science student at Bournemouth University has received funding from the prestigious Society of Conservation Biology to continue his placement work into the restoration and protection of the marine environment on the Indonesian Island of Bali.

Zach Boakes has successfully co-founded an NGO with Balinese locals and established a marine protected area, designed to help with the problems of pollution and overfishing. Some of this work has involved the construction of artificial sections of reef (pictured), designed to restore structural complexity and encourage recruitment of coral, fish and other marine organisms.

The funding will allow us to create 50 more artificial reef sections and to help restore the area to how it was before it became so damaged. The project is ongoing and volunteers continue to monitor the reef and contributing to the education of the local community.