So You Want to Be a Marine Biologist

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Joshua Voss is the Executive Director of NOAA's Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research, and Technology and an Associate Research Professor at Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute. His research interests? Coral. In today’s episode, we chat about coral reefs, both shallow and mesophotic (or slightly deeper water), their health,...

Send us Fan Mail Outdoor environmental educator Amy Osborne joins us on the show today. Starting her career as a rowing coach, Amy discovered her passion for teaching- and particularly teaching the outdoors- a little bit later in life. This led her to the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, Wyoming, and California. It also gave her the opportunity with PolarTrec to conduct research at McMurdo Research S...

Send us Fan Mail Film-maker, broadcaster, photographer, and outdoor swimmer Calum Maclean joins us on the podcast today. Calum is a host on the BBC Social, and has his own wildly popular YouTube, Instagram, and now TikTok channels. His new book, “1001 Outdoor Swimming Tips” is written to get people out in and excited about being submerged in nature. Today’s episode is a fun one chatting about all...

Send us Fan Mail Entrepreneur, marine biologist, educator, and dive instructor, Danél Wentzel joins us on the show. Danél shares her journey from landlocked farmland in rural South Africa to becoming an instructor with over 600 dives under her belt, four minute breath holds, and her own show and company. As a self proclaimed “freelance marine biologist” Danél has some incredible stories and experi...

Send us Fan Mail Past SYWTBAMB intern Aislinn Olthoff joins us on the show today! Inspired by nature around her and Jane Goodall, Aislinn took a gap year after high school in order to figure out where her interests lie. A pivotal volunteer opportunity working with elephants in Asia firmly pointed her to her degree in Wildlife Conservation. Not one to sit idylly by, Aislinn did quite a bit of trave...

Send us Fan Mail With an undergraduate, two masters under her belt, Constance Schéré is currently working on her PhD studying MPAs. In this super wide ranging episode we chat about how Constance went from a history degree to studying marine science and then conservation, how growing up next to a marine protected area influences her work now, and how she’s brought it full circle. We leap all over t...

Send us Fan Mail Isobel Yeo is a marine volcanologist, which means she studies volcanoes underwater. Volcanoes are found everywhere, and we really don’t know that much about them. Today, Izzy and I chat about why it can actually be easier to study space than the ocean, and what field work really looks like including playing with ROVs and seeing fish with feet in thousands of feet of water. We chat...

Send us Fan Mail If you’ve listened to episode 2 of the podcast, you’ve already heard Jessica’s story and the genesis of her research. Today, we start right where we left off in that episode. Jessica shares a few of her many exciting projects including identifying and describing a third species of manta, tagging the mantas, and future projects with guitarfish. We chat about how the manta project h...

Send us Fan Mail IT guru at PEW Charitable Trusts, Dawn Borg Costanzi joins us on the SYWTBAMB podcast. Her job? To help track international fisheries. Which wasn't what she thought she would do initially. Originally, Dawn was going to go into software design. In this episode, we chat about how the fishing world captivated Dawn’s interest and how she’s navigated working for private entities a...

Send us Fan Mail Brandon Doheny is a marine scientist, diver, and sailor. Our conversation today ranges from crazy two hundred plus foot dives to eDNA sampling to teaching technology to identify sea creatures. Currently Brandon is on an extended sailing trip with his family, sailing from California to New Zealand, so of course we chat a bit about this adventure. Show Notes: marinebio.life/79 Suppo...

Send us Fan Mail We’re diving into the wonderful world of seaweeds! My guest today is Allison Poklemba, environmental educator, botanist, and herbalist. Allison shares how plants have fascinated her from a young age, why her move across the country for university was the financially responsible choice, and how she incorporated both botany and herbalism into her career. Allison puts a few different...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Andia Fonnegra Chavez studies sponges and their interactions on reefs at Florida Atlantic University.. In today’s fascinating conversation, Andia shares her story falling in love with the ocean growing up in Colombia, and how she ultimately ended up in the States. We chat about how sponges are important members of the reef building and maintenance crew, how most of the color y...

Send us Fan Mail Valeria Vergara is a senior research scientist at Raincoast Conservation Foundation where she co-directs the Cetacean Conservation Research Program. Her main focus? Beluga Whales. Originally hailing from Argentia, Valeria studied canids- specifically coyotes and foxes- during her undergrad and masters degree. It wasn’t until her PhD that she switched to the marine world.  Valeria...

Send us Fan Mail Kristy Bredin is an herbalist, educator and owner of Mermaid botanicals. She lives in the San Juan Island in Washington State. In this episode, you’ll learn what herbalism is, how seaweed is the ancestor to all land plants, some of the magical powers of marine algae, and what a day in the life of an ocean herbalist looks like- tide pools are involved. Show notes: marinebio.life/75...

Send us Fan Mail Winnie Courtene-Jones is a researcher at the University of Plymouth in their International Marine Litter Research Unit. We had such a fun conversation today starting with Winnie’s volunteer position studying dolphins off the coast of Wales. Winnie shares her graduate research of, essentially, watching hermit crabs duke it out, and how she definitely wasn’t going to get PhD. Until...

Send us Fan Mail Steve Burton has what most people would consider to be the dream job. As the Director of the Marine Mammal and Stranding Assessment program at Harbor Branch, Steve’s job is to work with dolphins and whales. In addition to responding to animals in distress, he also gets to conduct population assessments, the scientific way of describing going out on the boat to look for dolphins an...

Send us Fan Mail Harri is an aquatic animal biologist and ecologist which is a broad way to describe his work monitoring fish patterns and their implications with our changing climate, and spending time at camp tagging whales. We have a fun conversation today covering topics ranging from tropical sharks to arctic fish and even narwhals. Harri has some great insights into what sustainable fishing r...

Send us Fan Mail Jim Sullivan has had a fascinating career starting with the smallest, and quite possibly the mightiest, organism in the sea, phytoplankton. From doing ground-breaking scientific research, including anti-submarine warfare research, to inventing new oceanographic equipment to leading an oceanographic institute, Jim has had quite the diverse career. In this episode, Jim shares some a...

Send us Fan Mail Sindia is a paleoclimatologist, which means she studies how the earth used to look, millions of years ago, in order to better understand what may be going on with our current climate. Sindia is a past Sir Keith Murdoch fellow, Fulbright Distinguished Scholar, and currently teaches and conducts research at Cardiff University in the UK. In today’s episode, we chat about how surfing...

Send us Fan Mail Bill Francois is a physicist, marine scientist, fisherman, and author. In his premiere book, Eloquence of the Sardine, Bill dives into the world of mythology, legends, and basic science, bringing to life fascinating stories from the underwater realm. In today’s show, Bill shares how he won a National French show competition and the prize of a book deal. Bill also shares the correc...

Send us Fan Mail Kate Morrison is the strategic partnership director for the Ocean Foundation. Her job? Match-making. Kate is the magician that connects science and conservation efforts to the sources of funding with similar intentions and goals. In today’s episode, we chat about Kate’s winding path, starting as a marine bio major and the shift from science to ultimately graduating with a masters...

Send us Fan Mail As a senior program associate with The Ocean Foundation, Kaitlyn Lowder  supports the International Ocean Acidification Initiative. Despite growing up in a landlocked desert, Kaitlyn always knew she wanted to become a marine biologist. She pursued her dream of becoming a marine scientist, despite growing up in a landlocked desert, and was the recipient of the NOAA Hollings Scholar...

Send us Fan Mail Finnish sailor, marine scientist, and science communicator, Annukka Pekkarinen joins us on the show today. Growing up sailing the archipelagos of Finland, the ocean has influenced her life in a big way. In this episode, we chat about Annukka’s PhD research studying pygmy blue whales (don’t worry, they’re still huge), how her research evolved and how she evolved out of her research...

Send us Fan Mail From shucking in oyster bars to his own private events and even for the President of the United States, Gardener Douglas truly is the Oyster Ninja. With his own mobile rawbar business and podcast, Gardner has garnered some amazing experiences around oysters. Gardner is super passionate about oysters and his work, and it really shows during our conversation today that encompasses e...

Send us Fan Mail If studying sound underwater sounds like a quiet activity to you, this episode is a must-listen. Dr. Denise Risch is a marine mammal ecologist currently with the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) studying marine acoustics (sounds in the ocean) and the impacts with marine mammals like whales and dolphins. We chat about how her career has taken her from Europe, to the S...