MASTS is made by and for its members
Join each each month for the MASTS 2025 webinar series as we take a deep dive into the research and expertise from our members and wider marine science community. Want to get involved? Contact us by email with your webinar suggestion at MASTS@St-Andrews.ac.uk.
Wednesday 22 January at 1.00 pm-2.00 pm
Approximately 40% of the world’s population resides within 100 km of coastlines, with over 10% living in low-lying coastal areas less than 10 meters above sea level. These regions face increasing vulnerability to the intensifying impacts of climate change, including flooding, erosion, and the loss of land and vital ecosystems. These challenges are driven by sea level rise (SLR), more frequent and severe extreme events (storms, hurricanes, typhoons), and shifts in meteorological conditions that alter ocean dynamics. The rapid expansion of ocean renewable energy technologies, particularly offshore wind and wave energy farms, introduces additional complexities, with both potential benefits and challenges for coastal protection and stability. This presentation will explore the multifaceted impacts of climate change on ocean dynamics and coastal disasters. It will also highlight innovative approaches to coastal protection, including nature-based solutions and adaptive strategies, aimed at mitigating the risks and enhancing the resilience of coastal regions in a changing climate.
Full title: Exploring historical distributions of native oyster Ostrea edulis through an analysis of Scottish place-names- eisirean, maoraich agus oitirean
Wednesday 5 February at 1.00 pm-2.00 pm
Once widespread and constituting an important food source for local communities, native oysters Ostrea edulis are now almost entirely absent from Scottish waters. Because of their many benefits to ecosystem services, the re-establishment of self-sustaining native oyster populations is important in promoting healthy, productive and resilient coastal habitats and associated benefits to human communities. This project combined approaches across three disciplines to explore where appropriate locations for oyster restoration work might be best situated. We conducted a toponymic analysis based on Scottish place-names across relevant languages to identify broad-scale locations of oyster habitat along the west coast of Scotland. We then analysed historical records and geological maps to identify areas of potentially suitable oyster habitat, also gathering historical accounts and sayings and songs highlighting the importance of shellfish to coastal Scottish communities. This work generated a list of eight place-names related to oysters, shellfish or likely habitat in the area from the Solway Firth to Skye, which were then found in 62 individual locations. These locations can then be further investigated for the amount of appropriate habitat and presence of oyster eDNA in the water. Overall this work has demonstrated the potential for applying a novel, interdisciplinary and evidence-informed approach that connects historical place-based knowledge to future potential restoration efforts and demonstrates the inherent links between indigenous Gaelic culture and nature.
Wednesday 5 March at 1.00 pm-2.00 pm
Marine structures are subjected to harsh marine environment which can cause various damage types including fatigue and corrosion. Prediction of fracture and failure is a challenging research area. There are various methods available for this purpose including well-known finite element (FE) method. FE method is a powerful technique for deformation and stress analysis of structures. However, it has various disadvantages in predicting failure due to its mathematical structure. In order to overcome this problem, a new computational technique peridynamics was introduced. Peridynamics is a meshless method and it is very suitable for predicting crack initiation and propagation in structures subjected to different types of loading and environmental conditions. Peridynamics is also suitable for multiphysics analysis so that influence of different physical fields on each other can be accurately represented with damage prediction capability. In this webinar, various applications of peridynamics for marine structures will be demonstrated including stress corrosion cracking, pit-to-crack transition, underwater shock response of composite structures, fatigue damage prediction in metals, ice-structure interactions and fracture in marine lithium-ion batteries. While Peridynamics is a useful technique for damage prediction in a structure, it is also important to continuously monitor the health of marine structures by using sensors located at different parts of structures by establishing their “digital twin”, so that necessary actions can be taken before catastrophic consequences occur. There are various structural health monitoring approaches available for this purpose. In this webinar, a new methodology, known as inverse Finite Element Method (iFEM), will also be presented. iFEM has various advantages for being fast and robust which makes it suitable for real-time monitoring. Moreover, it is not necessary to measure loading acting on the structure which may not be an easy task under operational conditions.
Selda Oterkus is a Professor in the department of naval architecture, ocean and marine engineering at University of Strathclyde. She is also the co-director of PeriDynamics Research Centre. Her research mainly focuses on multi-physics modelling of materials and structures including damage prediction due to various loading and environmental conditions.
Full title: Marine environmental forensics: disentangling physiological, ecological and environmental signals in stranded cetaceans using paired bulk and biomarker signatures
Wednesday 19 March, 1.00 pm-2.00 pm
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.
Wednesday 2 April, 1.00 pm-2.00 pm.
Prof Keith Davidson will discuss the HAB early warning system jointly developed in Scotland and Malaysia.
Keith Davidson is a marine biogeochemist based at SAMS, with a specific interested in phytoplankton. He leads the Food Standards Scotland regulatory monitoring programme for biotoxin producing phytoplankton in Scottish waters. Recent research has concentrated on the factors that govern the appearance of harmful algal blooms and the development of early warning and mitigation systems to minimise the impact of these events aquaculture businesses and the consumers of seafood products.
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.
Hoa Nguyen is a mathematical marine biologist and a former MASTS PhD student. She is now a postdoctoral researcher at Helmholtz Zentrum Hereon, Germany and also holds a research position at the Vietnam National University’s Institute for Environment and Resources. She has a particular interest in modelling approaches to understand the links between marine ecosystem components, and from that to evaluate changes in marine ecosystems in response to environmental variations driven by natural and/or anthropogenic factors. At Hereon, she works on developing parameterisation methods and integrating models such as NEMO, ECOSMO E2E, and OSMOSE to simulate marine ecosystems from plankton to fish. Beyond her postdoctoral work, she is also passionate about developing international collaborative projects to study Vietnam’s marine ecosystem.
MASTS previous webinars are all available on our YouTube channel. Catch up on the latest breakthroughs, new technologies, and ground breaking research from a broad range of marine science fields.
Many of the speakers were from MASTS partner institutes, however, MASTS also supported researchers from around the world with presenting their work to new audiences. Viewers joined from both within and outside the UK to listen to different speakers each week, and many would catch-up on our YouTube Channel.
All talks were recorded along with their Q&A. Please check out the below lists to see who was featured and to access the webinar playlists.
Watch all episodes of the MASTS 2024 Webinar series on this YouTube Playlist.
Episode 1: Professor Frans de Vries (University of Aberdeen) – The Economics of Marine Plastic Pollution: What are the benefits of International cooperation?
Since the 1950s, the exponential increase in plastic production has triggered a global phenomenon with profound environmental and economic impacts. In this enlightening session, Professor de Vries sheds light on the potential economic benefits of cooperative management efforts in the North Atlantic Ocean. Discover how these insights can inform ongoing international negotiations in the context of the global plastic treaty. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights and engage in thought-provoking discussions on one of the most pressing issues facing our oceans today. Key Topics:
Episode 2: Angus Taylor (Scottish Association for Marine Science) – Shaving Private Ryan: A sea urchin’s war against ocean acidification.
Anthropogenic CO2 emissions are escalating rapidly, underscoring the urgency of understanding how these stressors affect marine organisms. While single-stressor effects have traditionally been studied in isolation, there is a growing recognition of the need to investigate interactive stressor impacts. Sea urchins, known for their remarkable calcification and tissue regeneration abilities, serve as an ideal model for studying these effects. In this webinar, we will explore how climate change stressors impact the regeneration and calcification processes in the coastal sea urchin Psammechinus miliaris. Using advanced phenotypic assays and histological techniques, our study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of sea urchin regeneration and calcification mechanisms. By unraveling these processes, we hope to gain valuable insights into the potential impacts of climate change on marine biodiversity and ecosystem health.
Episode 3: Dr Carmen McDougall (University of St Andrews) – From Pearl Formation to Shellfish Reefs.
Unravel the secrets hidden within mollusk shells and discover how cutting-edge molecular tools are revolutionizing our understanding of malacological questions. From enhancing pearl quality to managing gonad maturation in tropical abalone, our esteemed speaker, Dr. Carmen McDougall, takes us on a journey through the intricate genetic mechanisms that drive sustainable aquaculture and marine conservation efforts.
Episode 4: Dr Sofie Spatharis (University of Glasgow) – The Potential of Environmental DNA as a Plankton monitoring tool of Coastal waters and Aquaculture.
Dive into the cutting-edge world of environmental DNA (eDNA) with our latest webinar! Join us as we explore the revolutionary role of eDNA in transforming aquaculture practices and marine science research. From detecting pathogens in aquaculture environments to unraveling the mysteries of marine biodiversity, eDNA is reshaping how we understand and manage our oceans. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from leading experts and discover the potential of eDNA in shaping the future of marine conservation and sustainable aquaculture. Tune in now and delve into the depths of eDNA exploration.
Episode 5: Dr Linwood Pendleton (Ocean Knowledge Action Network) – Building a bottom-up, Global network to share sustainable practices in the co-design of ocean science?
In this talk, we explore the challenges and solutions in creating a global, bottom-up network that includes people from diverse cultures, sectors, disciplines, and time zones. How do you build trust among people who have never met? How do you empower individuals to lead the organization? How do you navigate different languages, work styles, and meeting cultures? Join us as we introduce the Ocean Knowledge Action Network—a self-organizing group of ocean scientists and non-science professionals dedicated to co-designing ocean science for sustainable development. Discover how this innovative network fosters collaboration and drives impactful change in marine conservation and sustainability.
15 February – Nick Jones (University of Bayreuth / University of St Andrews): Exploring the interacting effects of thermal fluctuations and habitat complexity on stickleback behavioural adaptation. [not recorded due to publications]
1 March – Magnus Janson (Edinburgh Napier University): Investigating the biodiversity and ecological status of natural European flat oyster beds in Sweden, using soundscape analysis and visual surveys. [not recorded]
15 March – Irma Cascao (University of the Azores): Estimation of biomass and distribution of mesopelagic organisms around the Azores. WATCH HERE
29 March – Alejandra Cabanillas (University of Strathclyde): Modelling productivity and sustainability of future macroalgae farming in the north Atlantic under various climate change scenarios. WATCH HERE
12 April – Charlotte Lee (University of Stirling): Comparative Metaproteomics of the Plastispheres isolated from transparent and coloured plastic debris obtained from joint sampling programmes. WATCH HERE
26 April – Sebastien Leveque (University of Glasgow): Genetic mechanisms for acclimation and adaption to coral bleaching. WATCH HERE
10 May – Alexandra Pounds (University of Stirling): Linking voices to dietary intake: An interdisciplinary approach to understanding the role of fish in food security in a fishing community in Lake Victoria, Kenya. WATCH HERE
24 May – Emily Hague (Heriot-Watt University): The Scottish Vessel Project: Collaboration to improve understanding of coastal vessel activity, and overlap with marine mammals. WATCH HERE
7 June – Dr Alex Thomson (SAMS-UHI): Capturing the community – approaches to community characterisation in snow and ice algae, and Ximena Vega (University of Stirling): Organic Carbon in polar and subpolar glaciomarine systems. WATCH HERE
21 June – Emma O’Halloran (University of the West of Scotland): Developing techniques to study Neoparamoeba species isolated from sea urchins. WATCH HERE
5 July – Encarni Medina Lopez (Edinburgh University): From the North Sea to the Strait of Gibraltar: remote sensing applications for high-resolution coastal science solutions. [cancelled]
19 July – Chloe Cargill (University of Aberdeen): A collaboration towards understanding movements of black-legged kittiwakes across the North Sea. WATCH HERE
26 July – Ángel Muñiz Piniella (European Marine Board): What can I do for you? Benefiting from MASTS membership to the European Marine Board. WATCH HERE
29/6/22 Texa Sim (UHI-SAMS) How do harbour porpoises interact with salmon farms on the west coast of Scotland? WATCH HERE
25/5/22 – David Bailey (University of Glasgow): A seascape approach to the protection of essential fish habitat WATCH HERE
27/4/22 – Max Holloway (SAMS-UHI) Modelling Of Aquaculture Impacts And The Move To More Exposed Locations: What Scales Do We Need To Resolve? WATCH HERE
30/3/22 – Prof David Paterson & Dr Emma Defew (MASTS Directorate) MASTS – past, present & future. WATCH HERE
23/2/22 – Murray Roberts (University of Edinburgh) and Kevin Scott (St Abbs Marine Station) Open to all – a new strategic partnership between St Abbs Marine Station and the University of Edinburgh WATCH HERE
10/2/21 – Zoe Hutchison (Uni. of St Andrews): Subsea power cable electromagnetic fields and effects on marine species
17/2/21 – Mark Dickey Collas (ICES): ICES: ensuring appropriate knowledge for decision making
24/2/21 Brian Quinn (Uni. of West of Scotland): Developing rapid diagnostics to assess fish health for aquaculture
3/3/21 – Tom Eaves (Uni. of Dundee): Understanding and categorising ocean mixing
10/3/21 – Bryan Wilson (Uni. of Oxford): The Chagos Archipelago: A Tantalising Glimpse into the Coral Reefs of Yore
17/3/21 – Lydia McGill (Uni. of Highlands and Islands): Infaunal analyses and population connectivity of flame shell beds for monitoring and management of marine protected areas in Scotland
31/3/21 – Dan Smale (Marine Biological Association): Climate-driven shifts in kelp forest structure: implications for productivity, biodiversity and resilience
14/4/21 – Heather Stewart (BGS): Exploring the Underworld: The geomorphology and sediments of subduction trenches
21/4/21 – Dan Goldberg (Uni. of Edinburgh): Interactions between ocean and ice shelves in west Antarctica, and implications for ice-sheet stability and coastal productivity
28/4/21 – Richard Lilley (Project Seagrass): Seagrass Restoration in Scotland: Challenges and Opportunities?
5/5/21 – Kristina Barclay (Ocean Acidification Community of Practice, Canada): MEOPAR Ocean Acidification Community of Practice
12/5/21 – Marilena Oltmanns (NOC): How does the Artic Affect our Weather?
26/5/21 – Daniela Diz (Heriot-Watt Uni): The Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and its Implications to International Ocean Governance
2/6/21 – Kim Praebels (UiT The Arctic University of Norway): Marine Environmental DNA in the Athropocene
9/6/21 – Helene Langehaug (NERSC, Norway): Propagation of Thermohaline Anomalies and their predictive potential in the Northern North Atlantic
16/6/21 Douglas Speirs (Uni. of Strathclyde): Modelling zooplankton and fish in space and time, and under climate change
23/6/21 – Luigia Santella (Stazione Zolligcal Anton Dhorn): What Happens when Sperm Meets Egg: A Revisitation of the Process
30/6/21 – Tamara Galloway (Uni. of Exeter): Assessing the Impacts of Plastics
1/7/21 – Marie Russel (Marine Scotland Science): Where are the floating microplastics in Scotland’s Seas?
26/08/2020 – Dr Carlos Loureiro (University of Stirling) – Stormy seas on sandy coasts: morphological impacts of exceptional storms on beaches and barriers
19/08/2020 – Nick Bibby ( Scottish Policy and Research Exchange), Mark James (MASTS) & Janelle Braithwaite (Marine Scotland) – Building relationships with policy professionals in Scotland: strategies for MASTS researchers
12/08/2020 – Dr David McKee (University of Strathclyde) – Light in the sea: new frontiers in optics and oceanography
05/08/20 – Anna Garcia-Teruel (University of Edinburgh) – Reshaping wave energy: a method for design optimisation
29/07/2020 – Drs Lucie Novoveska & Adrian MacLeod (SAMS) – Algae treasure chest: Unlocking the potential of microalgae and macroalgae in Scotland
22/07/2020 – Dr Davina Derous (University of Aberdeen) – What is a healthy dolphin? Toward new ecological relevant health markers
15/07/2020 – MASTS & SUPER Grad School 4 x 10min “My Research” Showcase
08/07/2020 – Dr Hermione Cockburn (Our Dynamic Earth) – Discovering the Deep: Public engagement outcomes and legacy from the ATLAS project
01/07/2020 – Dr Maria Azeredo de Dornelas (St Andrews University) – Changing seas: biodiversity change in the recent past
4/6/2020 – Dr Declan Tobin (JNCC) – What’s the porpoise? Marine conservation; the species behind the policies
17/6/2020 – Dr Tania Mendo & Dr Mark James (University of St Andrews) – Understanding potential impacts and assessing possible mitigation of bycatch in an artisanal shrimp trawl fishery in Peru
10/6/2020 – Dr William Sanderson & Hannah Lee (Heriot Watt University) – The DEEP project: Progress and challenges in oyster restoration
02/06/2020 – Dr Christopher Sweeting (MMO) – Non-lethal deterrent options for mitigation of seal-fishery interactions at sea
27/05/2020 – Dr Kara Layton (Aberdeen University) – Using genomics to investigate climate change response in marine species
20/05/2020 – Dr Clive Fox (SAMS) – Scotland’s experimental electrofishery for razor clams – developments and progress
13/05/2020 – Dr Georgios Kazanidis (Edinburgh University) – Implementing European marine policies in the deep waters of the North Atlantic
06/5/2020 – Dr Bee Berx (Marine Scotland Science) – The Great Interactive Climate Change Quiz
29/4/2020 – Meadhbh Moriarty (Marine Scotland Science) – Evaluation of multiple coupled biological-physical models in Loch Linnhe
22/4/2020 – Dr Tavis Potts (University of Aberdeen) – Participatory mapping for natural capital
15/04/2020 – Prof David Paterson (University of St Andrews) -Decommissioning and the ecology of oil rigs.
08/04/2020 – Dr Simon Waldman (University of Hull) – Future policy implications of large-scale tidal array interactions
01/04/2020 – Dr Leslie Mabon (SAMS) – Nine years on from the Fukushima Dai’ichi nuclear accident: how is Fukushima’s coastal fishing society faring?
MASTS was founded in 2009 to be a unique collaboration between marine research organisations, government and industry.
Charity Number: SC045259
Company Number: SC485726
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