MASTS Annual Science Meeting 2024
2024-11-05 09:00 - 2024-11-07 17:00 (Europe/London) | Technology & Innovation Centre (TIC), 99 George Street, Glasgow, G1 1RD, United Kingdom
Marine Science In An Ocean Of Change
The Annual Science Meeting returns on Tuesday 5th – Thursday 7th November hosted once again at the Technology & Innovation Centre (TIC) at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.
The fourteenth MASTS Annual Science Meeting is a cross-disciplinary event that brings together members of the marine science community, with the aim of promoting and communicating research excellence and forging new scientific collaborations. The event will take place in-person in Glasgow, although we will also provide some limited online attendance options too.

The first two days will bring together expert plenary speakers and contributed talks, panel sessions and e-posters outlining the latest research and management practices that address key topics related to marine science and management in the face of global climate change and a biodiversity crisis. Alongside our general science sessions, the event includes special topic sessions, and plenty of opportunities to network. The third day is devoted to workshops. Find out more about what workshops are happening at the ASM on our main ASM Webpage (opens a new tab).

Also, the MASTS Ceilidh Social returns to the ASM on Wednesday 6th November! So pack your dancing shoes and join us at Sloan’s for a drinks reception and a live band. Tickets are below.

The Draft Program will be released in October. Be the first to see all the updates on our main Annual Science Meeting webpage or follow the conversation on Twitter and LinkedIn using #MASTSASM24

Photographs and/or videos will be taken throughout this event. If you have any questions or concerns about how we used these images please contact MASTS@St-Andrews.ac.uk.

MASTS Webinar "Marine environmental forensics"
2025-03-19 13:00 - 14:00
Marine environmental forensics: disentangling physiological, ecological and environmental signals in stranded cetaceans using paired bulk and biomarker signatures

Cetacean strandings have been reported in increasing numbers in coastal areas worldwide, causing pervasive scientific concern about their cause(s) with respect to environmental change and human activities. Unsettling as such trends might be, strandings can uniquely provide insights into the distribution of cryptic cetaceans and further offer opportunities to collect biological tissue samples, which then can be used to characterize aspects of behaviour and life history. Yet, the relationships shared between strandings and bioecological factors remain unclear, in large part because of difficulties constraining patterns in animals’ distribution and behaviours in the days, weeks and months prior to stranding. With this in mind, I will discuss how complementary ‘paired’ stable isotope signatures of bulk tissues (HCNS) sampled from cetaceans can be used together with coincident biomarkers (viz. amino- and fatty acids) to reveal insights about the life and times of these charismatic marine mammals and help shed light on strandings’ dynamics.

Dr Clayton Magill is an Associate Professor of Biogeochemistry in the Lyell Centre at Heriot-Watt University, where he leads the MAGPIE (Multidisciplinary Geo-energy, Paleoenvironment and Isotope Ecology) team. Dr Magill is a world leader in applied biogeochemical techniques with an emphasis on using paired bulk-molecular signatures to establish a ‘behavioural timeline’ in animals met by untimely deaths. His work has been incorporated into diverse and often surprising policies ranging from marine conservation strategies to conflict-zone revitalization.

MASTS Webinar "Harmful Algal Blooms in SE Asia"
2025-04-02 13:00 - 14:00
Prof Keith Davidson will discuss the HAB early warning system jointly developed in Scotland and Malaysia.
Dr Hoa Nguyen will introduce a modelling approach to investigate the increasing HABs along Vietnam’s coast over the past decade, considering the scarcity of in situ monitoring data and limited computing resources.

Joint MASTS-Challenger Advances in Marine Biogeochemistry Meeting (AMBIO)
2025-06-23 09:00 - 2025-06-24 16:00 | ECCI, High School Yards, Edinburgh, EH1 1LZ, United Kingdom
The MASTS Marine Biogeochemistry Forum are delighted to be partnering with the Challenger Society to host the next Advances in Marine Biogeochemistry (AMBIO) conference on Monday 23rd June (9am) – Tuesday 24th June (4pm) 2025
AMBIO provides a technical forum for students, educators, researchers and governmental and industrial partners with shared interests in marine biogeochemistry.
The meeting will be held in Edinburgh at the Edinburgh Climate Change Institute https://edinburghcentre.org/
Submission of abstracts can be made here before 2 June. There will be prizes for best ECR poster and presentation.
Registration can be made below and will close on 2 June (or sooner if spaces filled). The event is limited to 60 attendees only, so don’t delay! Registration costs will cover attendance to the conference, including lunch both days, tea and coffee and a poster drinks reception on Monday 23rd (1630-1800).
There is an option as part of the registration process, to join the conference meal which will be held on the evening of Monday 23rd June at the Tanjore Restaurant (6-8 Clerk Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9HX). We have booked the restaurant for our own exclusive use and a set meal will be offered (details on menu will be sent nearer the time). Please note it is BYOB (75p per bottle/can) and you will need to make payment to the restaurant for this and the meal by cash on the night.
