Scotland’s Marine Assessment 2020, together with recent publications from the Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership, provides a comprehensive overview of the latest evidence on the impacts of climate change in Scotland’s marine and coastal systems. However, the evidence base is continually evolving, and this workshop will seek to bring together the latest knowledge, building upon the insights shared during the preceding day’s Marine Climate Change special session.

A next stage in the workshop will involve inviting participants to define pathways for action by government, business, and researchers to inform climate change adaptation.  Following the workshop, we aim to produce a summary document for sharing with key MASTS stakeholders, including government policy makers.

This workshop will use a role play simulation board game as an experiential learning method. Attendees will take on roles as members of government, business, NGOs or community organisations involved in the planning and management of marine space. Cast instructions will be sent in advance of the workshop.

The role play will be facilitated by environmental geographer Dr Tim Stojanovic (University of St Andrews) who has a 25 year research profile in marine planning and coastal management, and is a former chair of the MASTS MPG Forum. The scenario for this simulation has been developed using imaginary geography of a large area of ocean, bordered by two coastal nations and a shared sea (see figure below). The role play also provides a useful training exercise to develop transferrable skills in analysis, communication, negotiation and team working which are important in professional practice. The simulation also enables reflection on the challenges of implementing marine planning; managing human activities and their conflicts; and achieving cooperation, integration and sustainability. It will also hopefully be fun!

Max 20 participants

This workshop will present an open-source and user-friendly machine learning tool capable of measuring surface area and species count from images. The workshop will demonstrate the tool’s key features, such as its intuitive training process, in-built metrics calculator and model-sharing capabilities. During the workshop, attendees will be guided through the installation of the tool and gain first-hand experience in training models on a practice dataset. The workshop is open to all and no previous experience with machine learning or image analysis is needed. Please bring your laptop and charger and make sure you have your institute’s permission to download software on your laptop.

By the end of the workshop, attendees will have learned how to use RootPainter to analyse still images automatically. The workshop will also help foster new collaborations between MASTS attendees on the topic of machine learning and still image analysis.

Max 20 participants

Designing experiments that measure the response of marine organisms to multiple simultaneous environmental changes requires a good understanding of how to translate questions about biotic response to multiple drivers into a tractable research question, and then how to design and analyse an experiment that actually answers the question.

This workshop is aimed at students and early career researchers new to multiple driver experiments. It is focused on the design of manipulation (laboratory or field) experiments, though many of the concepts are applicable to observational data. Participants should express interest beforehand using the form provided. Exemplar workshops can be found at https://meddle-scor149.org/teaching-resources/. The workshop is offered by the SCOR project “Changing Oceans Biological Systems” and uses the resources in the online MEDDLE resource at https://meddle-scor149.org/

Expected Outcomes/Outputs: This practical workshop will explore defining research questions, designing multiple driver experiments, and present an overview of statistical methods for analysing multiple driver experiments. Participants will work in pairs to define and design an experiment and its analysis.

Max 12 participants

This is an initial stakeholder engagement workshop for A CREW project (2022-02: The effect of shellfish, kelp and sea grass beds on flood risk and coastal erosion in Scotland).  There is great interest in biological habitats as nature-based solutions (NbS) for coastal erosion and flood prevention.  Specifically this project looks at kelp, seagrass and saltmarsh.  However, there is a lack of focal point for exchange and consolidation of information across these habitats.  The purpose of this workshop is to engage stakeholders from local authorities, government agencies, academia and others and to provide a node for input and output of information regarding the status and effectiveness of marine habitats in coastal protection.

The overall aim of this project is to inform whether shellfish (oyster and/or blue mussel beds), kelp and sea grass should be incorporated into natural flood management (NFM) in Scotland and whether (and which) existing features should be protected or restored for NFM and coastal erosion mitigation.

The workshop will aim to:-

• Outline current knowledge of the status and potential of marine habitat for coastal protection in Scotland.
• Gather unpublished data on historic and current distribution of marine habitats .
• Identify future plans to expand commercial exploitation or restoration of these habitats.
• Generate a comprehensive list of interested stakeholders, including suggestions of those to include not present in person at the Workshop.
• Agree a list of focal areas for research/information gathering.
• Disseminate project progress so far and initial results of modelling exercise.

Using a recently produced Marine Natural Capital policy brief as the basis for discussion, this workshop will consider strategic drivers (such as the Blue Economy Vision) for the implementation of marine natural capital approaches in Scotland. Barriers to the implementation of MNC will be discussed, as well as the different pathways in which marine natural capital approaches can be mainstreamed – such as through marine planning, management and monitoring and reporting mechanisms. Case studies which illustrate different methodologies and approaches as to how NC can be applied will be presented by project leaders/managers involved in delivering these projects. Workshop attendees will consider case studies and in particular how existing areas of research could contribute to mainstreaming these approaches or what are the current gaps in our knowledge which are holding back progression of MNC approaches, and which could be priorities for future research.

Expected Outcomes/Outputs:

• Increased understanding of natural capital, how it can be applied to the marine environment, its strategic implementation and methodologies and approaches for its application
• Better understanding of data requirements for various types of NC assessment or tools, which can then also highlight linkages across different fields of research
• Connect professionals working within government and government agencies who are promoting the uptake of and progressing NC approaches with those working in academia and research with relevant knowledge and skills to contribute to implementation.

Although historically limited in diversity due to an emphasis on field-based research, the interdisciplinary nature of marine science presents considerable opportunity for individuals from a wide range of backgrounds with diverse skill sets to be involved.  This workshop will provide a forum for individuals from across the MASTS community to discuss available opportunities for inclusivity and how to break down perceptions around traditional routes in gaining field experience.  It also aims to discuss how to shift perceptions of those entering the field from an emphasis on discipline-specific field-related skills to recognising the importance of a wider range of transferable skills.

This workshop aims to generate a guidance document on shifting the perception of how students can gain relevant experience within marine science, which includes:

• Identifying best approach to a ‘one-stop shop’ to help students getting experience and support, including local opportunities for field-based skills, such as citizen science projects, grants, paid initiatives
• Examples of skills frameworks targeted at support student reflection and awareness of skills developed
• Tools to enable graduates to link their experience, regardless of project or type of work, to post-university jobs and job descriptions
• Recognising the importance of interdisciplinary work in marine science and shifting the image of a marine scientist from field-based roles
• Understanding where and at what stage students become aware of resources for marine science