Marine Biology

I have now been a marine biologist for over 30 years and I cannot imagine anyone wanting to be anything else.

Marine biology is, of course, the biology of the organisms that live in the sea, everything from tiny algae and protozoa to whales. This is a broad field, as there are more major groups of animals in the sea than anywhere else and many groups are confined to the oceans.

Marine biology also covers all the aspects of their functioning: physiology, genetics, behaviour and ecology, as well as the way in which marine systems operate, at all levels, from the dynamics of organisms on tidal shores to the large-scale ecology of the oceans.

As the oceans are a dumping ground for waste and yet are fished for food, marine biology also embraces the economic importance of the sea.

How does it compare with biology?

It is biology ­ and students in most universities cover in their first two years a variety of biological topics, not just marine ones, to ensure that they are up to speed on those subjects and techniques that make a well-rounded biologist.

What do you study on marine biology courses?

Courses are now modular and, although some modules are compulsory in order to prepare students for the Honours course in marine biology, there is scope to choose from a wide menu of modules. Such flexibility allows you to select a course that suits your interests and also keeps open the option of switching to a different Honours school, should you suddenly develop an inexplicable passion for microbiology, genetics or zoology.

Some universities offer joint Honours degrees, in which marine biology is paired with another topic and counts as half of the Honours degree evaluation.

Another option is to take a four-year degree of marine biology with a foreign language. Students on this sort of course spend their third year working abroad, usually in a marine laboratory, then return to their home university to complete the Honours year. The language training continues throughout the course and replaces a biology module, so it is not additional to the full biology workload but is integrated within it.

There are also applied degrees at several universities, in which students spend a year gaining hands-on experience of marine-related work with a company or laboratory. Again, the students return to university to complete their final (fourth) year.

How is the course taught?

The training typically includes lectures, laboratory sessions and fieldwork. There may be team projects and certainly an individual research project ­ an original piece of research using the facilities available in the laboratory, including such things as boats or even ships. Most students find the project work one of the most enjoyable aspects of the course and some of the research is of a sufficiently high quality to be published.

A work-based learning scheme may also be available, enabling students to carry out a project in conjunction with a commercial company, museum or other institution. This is not an additional burden but replaces the "in-house" project.

Several universities have a marine laboratory on the coast that students visit to carry out fieldwork. At my own university, for example, the students have some marine teaching at the main campus but, in each of the first two years, they also have residential courses at our marine laboratory on the Isle of Man and the whole of the final year is spent there.

Although diving is an important tool for marine biologists, it is not a requirement of any course. Nonetheless, if you are interested in diving, most universities have a diving club where it is easy and cheap to be trained and gain qualifications. At my own university, there are student branches of the British Sub-Aqua Club both on the main campus and at the marine laboratory.

What is the best academic preparation?

Modern marine biology is multidisciplinary and relies heavily on developments in chemistry, oceanography, molecular biology and applied mathematics. It is, therefore, useful to have a broad education in science. Biology is essential and chemistry, physics or maths are most useful. Admissions officers may look sympathetically at other combinations if the grades are good.

What career opportunities are available to graduates?

Providing students get a good degree, finding a job should not be a major problem. Only about a third to a half of our students aspire to be marine biologists. They readily find employment in fisheries, conservation and aquaculture ­ the commercial cultivation of marine organisms ­ and do very well. For example, Liverpool graduates are now directors of both the major marine laboratories in Plymouth, another is secretary to the International Whaling Commission and yet another was formerly head of marine biology for Greenpeace.

Many of our students have no intention of becoming marine biologists but reckon that, if they take a subject they enjoy, it will increase their chances of getting a good degree and the course will provide them with computing and other skills that will make them attractive to employers. The strategy seems to work: in recent years, such students have become journalists, software specialists and even the squadron leader in an RAF display team.

What type of student enjoys marine biology?

Marine biology is a marvellous blend of academic learning and outdoor experience. It suits practical people who are weatherproof and enjoy being out in the field. It also offers unprecedented opportunities to observe living things ­ all you have to do is to walk on to the shore. Best of all, in many places you get to live beside the sea. Who could ask for more?

For further information

Details of all UK marine biology degrees can be accessed through the UCAS website at: www.ucas.com