36 returned results for 'phytoplankton'

  • MRV Scotia: Survey 0116S Programme

    Duration: 5 – 20 January 2016 Fishing gear: BT 101 with tickler chains; flats and rockhopper ground gear; Sediment Sampling: Day grab and sieves; Litter sampling: Catamaran neuston trawl; Plankton net; Water sampling: Aquatracka fluorometer, Seabird 19 and sled. Objectives: To undertake water, sediment and biological sampling for the Clean Seas Environmental Monitoring Programme (CSEMP);…

    7th January 2016

  • MRV Alba na Mara: Survey 1815A Programme

    Duration: 26 November – 1 December 2015 Sampling Gear: BT 158 with 50 mm cod-end; 2 m beam trawl with 50 mm cod-end; Day grab and table; Catamaran and manta neuston net; and Bongo net. Objectives:  To undertake flatfish sampling in St Andrews Bay, and Forth estuary in support of the Clean Seas Environment Monitoring…

    18th November 2015

  • ICES Science Fund success for MSS researcher

    In our blog in May, we featured an article about the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) announcing seven awards for its 2015 ICES Science Fund Call. Pablo Leon Diaz of the Phytoplankton Ecology Group in Marine Scotland Science was one of the winners with his proposal in collaboration with the University of…

    22nd July 2015

  • Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions – the ocean’s problem

    We’ve all seen the banner headlines about CO2 concentrations increasing in the atmosphere, but did you know this increase is also impacting our seas and its inhabitants too? There is a natural exchange of CO2 between the surface layers of the ocean and the atmosphere. The chemistry of seawater is complex, an imbalance as a result of…

    22nd July 2015

  • Aberdeen Foam Event

    You may have noticed in the national press that a very unusual sea foam (or spume) event occurred this week in Aberdeen. This foam is a natural product and it is not considered a harmful event. In case you missed it, here is a news link to this extraordinary sight – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-19716141 Marine Scotland scientists…

    28th September 2012

  • Non-native Species and Biofouling

    What are Non-native Species? When species of plants and animals occur unexpectedly in areas outside their normal range they are called “non-native species”. Examples of how non-native species can be introduced to new areas are by accidentally travelling on an aeroplane or ship (e.g the black rat), or when fish or shellfish imported for the…

    11th July 2012

  • Harmful Algae in Scottish Waters

    Under certain environmental conditions, marine phytoplankton can grow very quickly and form what are called “Harmful Algal Blooms” or HABs. In some instances these natural blooms can impact the marine ecosystem by causing mortalities of animals that live on the sea bed. This may occur either directly as a result of toxins produced by the…

    18th June 2012

  • Monitoring Marine Zooplankton

     What are marine zooplankton? Zooplankton are very small animals that live in the sea. They are not strong enough to swim against tides and currents and so drift along in the water. There are tens of thousands of species of zooplankton and they range in size from being smaller than a grain of rice up…

    4th April 2012

  • Spring is coming in the water

    This week we have seen the first signs of spring in our gardens as snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils have started to shoot through the soil. In the waters surrounding our shores we are also beginning to see the first signs of spring as the phytoplankton diatom population has begun to grow too. Below are some…

    29th February 2012

  • MSS Photograph to be Displayed in Great North Museum

    During 2012 the British Phycological Society, a society that promotes the study of phytoplankton and algae in UK waters, will celebrate its Golden Jubilee. One of the events planned to mark this occasion is an exhibition of short-listed photographs from the Hilda Canter-Lund photographic competition, which will take place in the Great North Museum in…

    16th January 2012