Author: Zuzia Dusza

Hello! My name is Zuzanna Dusza, and I'm currently a Master's marine biology student at the University of Exeter, Cornwall campus. I'm passionate about the oceans and all organisms which inhabit this realm, and during my studies, I have also developed an interest in science communication and photography. Given the chance, I would love to combine these two interests - writing and photography - to convey compelling stories. I strongly believe that the time for research to be circulated solely among scientists is well and truly over and in the power of translating scientific jargon into a digestible dialogue; communicating facts to the wider public. It's a great pleasure to contribute to a blog achieving exactly that and hopefully getting people excited about the marine environment!

Penguin Problems: Are human-induced food shortages driving population declines?

17th Jan 2022

We all love penguins. Clumsy and awkward on land, stealthy and precise underwater- these charismatic creatures have captured our hearts ever since the release of March of the Penguins. Unfortunately, penguin populations across the globe (especially in South Africa and Antarctica) are facing hardship. Researchers have recently concluded that African penguin populations, as well as other … More Penguin Problems: Are human-induced food shortages driving population declines?

Farming Fiasco: The world’s first commercial octopus breeding programme

4th Jan 2022

It seems ironic that shortly after an amendment to the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill stating octopuses to be ‘sentient beings’ capable of a range of human-like emotions such as joy, pleasure, excitement, as well as pain, distress, and harm, plans of the word’s first commercial octopus farm arose. Yet that is exactly what happened with … More Farming Fiasco: The world’s first commercial octopus breeding programme

Book Club: ‘The Island of Sea Women’ by Lisa See

1st Sep 2021

Little is known about Jeju- a Korean island- occupied by brutal Japanese troops in the 1930s and ’40s, later liberated by US forces and turned over to the even more barbarous Korean regime whose wrongdoings were overlooked by both American and U.N. occupiers. Lisa See travels back 75 years to these horrifying events and weaves … More Book Club: ‘The Island of Sea Women’ by Lisa See

Culture Club: Time to let the cetaceans in?

29th Jul 2021

Up until recently, culture has been thought of as a primarily human characteristic. However, recent studies shine a light on the fact that non-human animals including Cetaceans (dolphins and whales), may also possess it. They live in tightly-knit social communities, exhibit complex social behaviours, talk to one another and even have pod-specific dialects! A lot … More Culture Club: Time to let the cetaceans in?

Book club: ‘Being Salmon Being Human’ by Martin Lee Mueller

1st Jun 2021

Encountering the Wild in Us and Us in the Wild Norwegian and Pacific Northwest salmon industries remain largely overlooked and Martin Lee Mueller cleverly weaves the stories of artificially inseminated and reared salmon to highlight the long-standing notion of human exceptionalism and creates a critique of the widespread idea that non-human animals are little more … More Book club: ‘Being Salmon Being Human’ by Martin Lee Mueller

Pacific salmon hatcheries: More greed than a good deed?

30th Apr 2021

In the American Northwest, one of the main strategies to supposedly save endangered wild salmon has been the creation of hatcheries. While initially, this seemed to boost wild stocks and increase total biomass, the release of hatchery-reared salmon is now seen as more of a problem in itself than a ‘solution to’.  While a landmark … More Pacific salmon hatcheries: More greed than a good deed?

Baby it’s cold outside: Freezing in marine animals

14th Apr 2021

Written by Rebecca Greatorex Freezing of animals is probably a concept you haven’t given much thought to. As humans, we can put on a hat and coat and survive out in the snow for hours on end. This is because we are endothermic, which means we produce our own heat. Some arctic animals like whales … More Baby it’s cold outside: Freezing in marine animals

Catch me if you can! Cephalopod defences & predator avoidance

6th Apr 2021

Written by Rhodri Irranca “An old trick well done is far better than a new trick with no effect.”– Harry Houdini. Gargantuan ocean-dwelling beasts have been depicted globally in folklore since the dawn of human existence, such as the kraken described by Pontoppidan in his mid-18th century work “The Natural History of Norway”. Subsequent works … More Catch me if you can! Cephalopod defences & predator avoidance

The Antarctic: Ecosystem Services and Future Threats

15th Mar 2021

Written by Rebecca Greatorex The Antarctic, as one of the most pristine environments on earth, is under the protection of a treaty agreed to by many countries to protect and preserve it. The Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) protects everything south of 60oS which includes the entirety of the Antarctic Continent. It was implemented to highlight … More The Antarctic: Ecosystem Services and Future Threats