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!
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?
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
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?
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
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
A landmark study by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has found bottom trawling to occur in 98% of the UK’s offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Their newly released ‘Marine unProtected Areas report’ outlines the issue of this destructive fishing practice in areas of protected sea life and calls for its ban. With our oceans already … More Trawling practices hit rock-bottom
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
We are often encouraged to eat seafood because it’s good for us, but do we think about whether we eat the right kind? The oceans are teeming with variety and choice, yet when it comes to seafood consumption, we opt for a few favourites. This selectivity, at first glance nothing more than a food preference, in reality, … More Why we ought to eat ‘like a fish’
Written by Oscar Speed Anthropogenic climate change is causing global rises in both air temperatures and sea surface temperatures (SSTs) through the pumping of CO2 and other greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. This is no longer debated. Extreme Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predictions show potential SST increases of over 3°C by 2100. Though … More The kids are alright – or are they? How warming oceans affect life stages differently
When we think superheroes, we think big, powerful and majestic, right? So, in the ocean, the superheroes have to be the all-powerful orcas, stealthy sharks or sentient whales? Wrong! These apex predators constitute an integral part of the marine food web and represent the top tier within the hierarchy, but the magic begins right at … More Seagrasses: The ocean’s real superheroes
