Tag: shark research

Posted on

So, you want to be a Zoologist?

It’s been three years since we’ve had transition year students pass through the door of the Zoology building to take part in a week long work experience programme. A huge thank you to everyone who made this possible and to Prof. Nicola Marples for organising another successful ‘Zoology TY Week’.

The Zoology TY Week is dedicated to exposing transition year students from around Ireland to what it is like to study Zoology in Trinity College Dublin, and to show them the opportunities that come with it. This year we had almost 100 applications, that was whittled down to 24 students, who were then invited to attend the course. The winners got to experience life as an undergraduate zoology student, attending lectures, researching in the lab, conducting fieldwork, having discussions, siting and chatting with new friends over coffee and meeting the cohort who work in Zoology everyday.

And importantly, applications for next year’s TY week are open now until 1st December 2023!

This year, we asked the students to write about their experience of zoology. The following blog consists of paragraphs written by the Zoology TY class of 2023, reflecting on their last day as a zoologist.

“I really enjoyed my time here and the opportunity to be able to participate in this course, meeting others with the same interests as me and meeting the zoology department team. My view on zoology since before I started this course has definitely changed. I wasn’t expecting this course to have such a vast variety of topics to possibly specify if you were to take this course. I learnt that zoology covers nearly all living organisms, right down to bacteria and parasites, and up to big blue whales.“

by Sean Keating

“I have really enjoyed my TY zoology week, I wish it would never end. I learned so much from all the lovely people here and they are all much friendlier than I expected…although I don’t know what I expected. During the week I learned about cells, parasites, how animals work and much more. We did experiments in the science labs which I loved because it was very hands-on and we got to do more than just theory classes.

In my opinion one of the most helpful things was speaking to people who have just finished their degree or are almost finished. They spoke about where they have travelled to, the pros and cons of this course path and what they do as a career from studying zoology. This got me thinking about what career I would like to do after college too.

If you are thinking of doing the TY zoology programme next year I would definitely recommend it as it’s more beneficial than I thought it would be. If you have an interest in ecology, the natural world or animals in the wild etc.. then this is perfect and very ideal for you. I’m walking away from this course with lots of information that I didn’t have before and I’m delighted I did it.”

by Caoimhe Dunne

“My experience in the TCD Zoology TY course has been one of the best things I have done in recent years. I learned so much during the week from fascinating owl pellets to intriguing parasites. It was a truly magical experience and has given me a great view into what it is like to be a zoologist. This course is a must do for anyone who has an interest in zoology. You learn so many intriguing things, I for one never knew the amount of little critters living in the rivers – fascinating! As I reflect upon the week, there was not a moment where I was bored. Everything we did was fascinating, fun and taught by such kind and caring Zoologists. If you have an interest in zoology this is the course for you and I would highly recommend it.”

by Charlie Maher

“I loved my week in the zoology department at Trinity. I loved all the practical work and the experiments we got to do – in and outside the classroom. I never knew there was so much diversity in the types of jobs you can do in zoology, but I learnt about things like parasites to extinct birds to how sharks are monitored and tagged. It’s not just sitting in a classroom learning about different animals. We got to learn about genetics, how PhDs work, the different opportunities zoology can give you and we got to even pull parasites out of fish! When I signed up for this week, I didn’t think I’d actually enjoy zoology to the level I did and I’m now wondering if I should try to do it after school. There’s so many things you can do and places you can travel to by doing zoology. Due to this week, I’m extremely interested in sharks and marine life, and want to know more about what I could do with that after school.”

by Katie McBride

“Overall I really enjoyed this zoology work experience. Zoology is one of my favourite areas of science and I’m so glad I got a chance to experience what it would be like to study this subject in Trinity. I liked how we got to talk to some students, asking them questions to learn more about zoology and how we got experience working in a lab. On the first day we were told the story of the elephant skeleton in the Zoological Museum called “Prince Tom.” The story stuck with me because it was incredibly sad how the elephant was mistreated. We learned how he was forced to carry people on his back when his ribs were damaged, and when he started acting strangely due to the pain he was tied up and kept away from the public in case he tried to hurt someone.

What interested me most about zoology is that you get to travel around the world for fieldwork and get to see animals in person in their natural habitat, rather than just hear about them in lectures. I really like travelling and this is definitely something I would like to do, especially since most of my favourite animals are not found in the wild in Ireland.

I think this experience has made me excited to go to university as I will get to study a topic of my choice rather than studying everything like in secondary school.”

by Elia Ross

“After spending a week in the zoology department of Trinity College, I have learnt so many new things. One of which being exactly what a course and career in Zoology entails. We heard about this from many different people from the undergrads, to the PhD students to the faculty members. We also got to experience first hand what it’s like being a zoology student through lots of field work. One morning, we went to the Dodder river and learnt how to take samples of insects within the river. Afterwards, we brought the samples back to the lab and looked at them under a microscope, to determine what species they were. We learnt that you could tell a lot about the cleanliness of a river by looking at what insects inhabit it. Zoology is a very broad subject and during the week we learnt about everything from mammals, to parasites, to birds and to even skeletons and bones.”

by Emilie Duffy

“When I applied for this program I didn’t think my perspective of zoology would differ. I do love science, but I’ve never really had an interest in zoology, but I just thought “why not”. Ever since taking part in this program my opinion has changed immensely. There’s so much more to zoology than I thought. We took an interactive museum tour and we learnt about different animals, extinct and existing. I’d never heard about the auk bird and learning about its extinction was very interesting. We also had the privilege to hear from undergraduate and postgraduate zoology students. It was very helpful to hear about their journey and the process of studying a science subject at Trinity. My favourite modules were Pepijn’s Parasites and Teeny Tiny Organisms. I knew what parasites were but I learned about how they spread and the way they control their victims’ brains. We got to look at different kinds of parasites in real life and we dissected a worm parasite out of a small fish. It was quite disgusting but very intriguing. For Teeny Tiny Organisms we collected different small organisms from the river and when we brought them back, we examined them through microscopes and identified them. I felt like a real Trinity student! I also learnt other things I didn’t know, for example, how different coloured foods affect bird’s eating habits and how shark data is collected by marine biologists. Overall participating in this programme really changed my view on zoology and I feel more encouraged to apply to Trinity College in the future.”

by Naomi Abu

“The Zoology TY Week was an opportunity not to be missed. This week far exceeded my expectations in so many ways. We were exposed to many different areas of zoology, giving a well-rounded experience of what studying zoology would be like. We were exposed to a broad range of animals, for example, insects, mammals, birds, and parasites in a variety of experiments, both in the lab and in the field. The activity that I most enjoyed was the invertebrates of rivers. We took samples of invertebrates in the Dodder river to gauge how pure the water is in that river. We then took our samples back to the lab and identified them under a microscope. I found this very interesting as I had never seen any of the invertebrates up close before, and it’s certainly not an opportunity that would be available to me in school. I learned in this activity the importance of insects in our ecosystem and definitely have an increased appreciation for them now.”

by Arianna Petley

“One thing I really enjoyed about the Trinity TY zoology course was the bird race. I was amazed how many birds we were able to find in such a small area. That had been a common trend this week. I’ve been amazed by so many aspects of zoology. From the impressive museum and massive elephant to the equally massive laboratory and the gross parasites we saw living there. I’ve learned so much about zoology and science as a whole, and learned what life on campus can be like.”

by Derry Flanagan

“My favourite part of the first day was in the Zoological museum when we were told the story of the Great Auk. We also learned about ‘Prince Tom’ a royal elephant who had an incredible and diverse life. I had to try very hard to not say “Let’s talk about the elephant in the room”, but I managed to persevere .Day 3 was probably my favourite day. The first thing we did was learn about Mini-Mammals with John Rochford. That was my favourite part of the week. It was interesting to see how to trap the animals safely for testing and then to release them back into the wild. We also looked through owl pellets and looked for the bones of little animals. I found the skull of a mouse. We also went to St.Stephen’s Green and tested if seagulls would eat bread if it was a different colour. That was quite fun and we analysed the data later on. What I loved at this experience that was unrelated to zoology was the lunch breaks and tea breaks because I got to socialise with everyone and know my peers better. I would recommend this course to anyone even if you’re not too interested as there is a wide range of things to learn and you will enjoy most of it. All in all a great experience.”

by Euan Flanagan

“I came to the placement with one friend from my school, and within only a few minutes in the Zoology building I had made many more. The friendships that were fostered between others and myself were greatly encouraged by the games and activities that we do, not only on the first day but in the week throughout. As someone who came into TY not really knowing what I wish to do with myself, as I would probably guess most people to be – the sheer scope of Zoology as a whole made it extremely interesting, even if you’re not particularly interested in Science or Geography. For example, History is probably my favourite subject in school and I wasn’t really expecting this week to have much to do with history, but the Zoology Museum viewing with Professor Linnie and the general evolutionary studies that we carried out also brought what I believed to be my main interests to the fold. It’s an extremely hands-on experience, so if you like wading through rivers or cutting up fish I think you should consider! The miny mammals class with Professor Rochford was completely new and was a subject that greatly made me want to look into zoology as a career after school. He showed us the different traps used in field studies to allow Zoologists to study the environment and ecology of a specific area and also explained to us how his students are granted the opportunity to work all over the world in places like Canada and New Zealand, working with species that most of us have only seen in the wild on our TVs. This practical element of Zoology began a genuine interest to pursue doing something similar.”

by James Meehan

“I’ve really enjoyed experiencing what it is like to learn like an undergraduate student of zoology. My favourite part of the week was when we collected freshwater invertebrate samples from the river. We put on wellies and used nets and buckets to collect samples from the river. I liked being out in nature and experiencing everything that we had spoken about the day before. We then took these samples back to the lab and studied them under the microscope. It made me feel like a proper scientist, since we were wearing lab coats and latex gloves. The whole week was just a great experience, and I hope next year’s TYs enjoy it as much as I did.”

by Elisa Terry

“As someone who has always been fascinated by the animals and ecosystem of the natural world, this past week at the zoology week at TCD has been such an eye opening experience. We covered many different topics and carried out experiments that definitely deepened my knowledge of the workings of animals. We even got the opportunity to extract real parasites like liver fluke from fish through dissection. Identifying invertebrates under a microscope was one of my favourite activities of the week, as we got to collect them from the Dodder. It made me realise how little I knew about my local rivers and insects. Having the professors there to answer our questions, help us understand and share their experiences on the different topics has only deepened my interest and passion for zoology.”

by Éadaoin Cullen

Thank you again to everyone involved in this year’s Transition Year Zoology Experience. It was greatly appreciated by the students, as you can see from the above excerpts. If you would like to be a part of next year’s TY week applications are open until the 1st December 2023!

Posted on

Studying Ireland’s ocean giant: An interview with basking shark researcher Haley Dolton

Studying Ireland’s ocean giant

An interview with basking shark researcher Haley Dolton

The basking shark, Cetorhinus maximus, is the second largest shark in the world and is regularly seen swimming off the coast of Ireland. But how much do we really know about these ocean giants? In this installment of the EcoEvo blog our co-editor, Lucy Harding sat down with PhD candidate and basking shark researcher, Haley Dolton to find out what it’s like studying these enormous sharks.

Lucy: So Haley, what was it about sharks that first got you interested in them?

Haley: I remember first being interested in sharks when I was reading an encyclopedia of animals and I read that sharks were fish! And that kind of blew my mind because of what I knew about sharks, they were more like mammals in my head; really powerful, can birth live young, can be social. So yeah, that really intrigued me. And when I started reading about them (because this was before the Internet!), and learnt more, like that they have these amazing senses, electrical senses, and they’re capable of doing amazing behavioural things, I think that really sparked my interest in sharks.

Three basking sharks swimming together in Irish waters (photo captured by Haley Dolton).

Lucy: What sets basking sharks apart from other large-bodied sharks, for you? Why study them over white sharks for example?

Haley: I know this sounds almost like a throw-away answer but I actually kind of fell into basking shark research, and then I grew to love them! It was the first opportunity that I was given to work in shark research in the Isle of Man, working with Manx Basking Shark Watch, and I just remember the first time I saw one I was like, “Oh my God, what is that?!” and it came right up to the boat, and I remember being shocked by the size of it! Any shark documentaries I’d seen, the only sharks really that were featured years ago were great whites because they’re the most *air quotes* “exciting” shark, but then I saw this basking shark, with the way it swims and what it looks like and I thought “Oh that looks like a great white but it’s massive!”. I think that that really sparked my interest in them.

Haley Dolton surveying for basking sharks on the bow of the research boat.

I learned more about them from being in the field and reading about them, I was trying to figure them out because they didn’t make a lot of sense to me. For example, they feed on zooplankton (so they’re filter feeders) and they’re the second largest shark species capable of undertaking powerful behaviours, but they feed on microscopic prey, all of this got me thinking “How are they doing this?!”. So I got obsessed with how weird they are! Like how are they behaving like they do?! As another example, they aggregate in large numbers, and we don’t really know why!

(Haley scans the water hoping to spot a shark fin. Photo captured by Dr Nicholas Payne).

We think it’s maybe related to mating or for saving energy, as they swim close to each other, but you know seeing that in the wild, for yourself, it really sparks the ideas in the mind and that set me on the path to studying basking sharks over any other shark species. That’s not to say that I’m not interested in other shark species of course, but more that it was just circumstance which led me to basking shark research in the first place, and then I fell in love with how weird they were!

Lucy: Well, that’s a good point you make in that, for research, you don’t always have to follow a particular species or a particular project. If you more follow opportunities, you never know where they’ll lead you to, and it could lead you into something that interests you more than you realised!

Haley: Yeah, that’s it! When I went to the Isle of Man, I learned loads about research and what areas of research there were. So, for instance, we were doing satellite tagging and collecting DNA samples and this is what I actually wanted to go into at the time, I wanted to use DNA to carry out genetic research of shark species and look at the evolution of traits. And so, I originally started off being interested in that question and then when I saw that they were doing this amazing satellite tagging work, with behavioral and social studies, whether that’s on the human side, so looking at the impact of anthropogenic activity on basking sharks, or whether that’s the social side of the fish themselves, studying how they gather in large numbers! So, that’s where I first got introduced into loads of different scientific areas of research which focused on this one species.

“without knowing enough about your study species, you can’t effectively conserve them”

Lucy: So, are basking sharks an endangered species?

Haley: Yes, basking sharks are an endangered species. They’re endangered globally which means that they’re of ‘conservation concern’. The reason that we’re researching them, particularly in the Payne lab at the minute, is because we don’t really know a lot about what makes them tick.

Aerial view of basking shark feeding off the West coast of Ireland. The gills can be seen fanned open as the animal filter feeds (photo captured by Haley Dolton).

We’re trying to learn more about them because without knowing enough about your study species, you can’t effectively conserve them. To give an example, imagine if someone was trying to conserve me and they saw one day – let’s pick a really bad day – where I’ve gone to the pub for hours, then eaten a pizza, and I haven’t really moved a lot. It might make people think, that’s all I do so let’s give her that all the time! Well, I wouldn’t last very long! I’d have a great time, but I wouldn’t be very healthy.

And that’s why we study these animals, to get as much information as possible to really affect conservation policy and change because these are vulnerable species.

There were massive fishing industries for them, including in Irish waters, and although we no longer have those fisheries, they’re still very vulnerable to being accidentally caught in things like pot lines or in other fisheries related equipment. They are a vulnerable species to lots of kinds of anthropogenic activity, making conservation efforts even more important.

Two basking sharks swim underwater, off the West coast of Ireland (photo captured by Haley Dolton).

Lucy: And you said they are filter feeders and very large, so does that make them a difficult species to study?

Haley: Basking sharks are an unusual study species for sharks, in that we can’t fish for them or attract them to the boat, so we can’t research them in the ways we would with other species where you can do that. So, we’re very dependent on where and when they turn up and whether there’s a good weather window for us to get out and study them, which off the Irish coast is quite rare! So, everything needs to come together to allow us to go out and study them and in reality, I only have around six days to get my tags deployed, which just highlights how difficult they are to study.

Lucy: What does your current research on basking sharks focus on? 

Haley: My current research really focuses on getting back to basics of what we know about the general biology of these animals. For example, looking at their anatomy, whether that’s the larger structures or microscopic features. I’m looking at how their anatomy can explain their behavior. So, as I said there’s so much we don’t know about basking sharks.

At the minute, off the Irish coasts, we’re getting hundreds of them in the spring and then later on throughout the summer, and they’re displaying this amazing behavior where they all gather and swirl around each other, which we think might lead to mating, but ultimately we don’t really know why they display this behaviour! So, my research is really focused on trying to explain these behaviors by looking at their anatomy and physiology and what we as scientists, the general public, or policymakers, can do to effectively conserve this species in Irish waters.

“it’s a really exciting time to be part of basking shark research in Irish waters”

This is all going on at an exciting time for basking sharks in Irish waters! Recently it was announced that they’ll hopefully gain protection under the Irish Wildlife Act and there’s been incredible public support for this in Ireland so it’s a really exciting time to be part of basking shark research in Irish waters and to hopefully make a positive change within their conservation.

Lucy: And when you’re out in the field, how do you actually study these animals?

Haley: Well, firstly we work closely with other researchers and the general public who very kindly tell us where and when they see the sharks; we’ve had loads of great sightings (and skippering of boats!) from the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) and individuals from different tour operators off the Irish coast like West Cork Charters (Dave Edwards) and Nick Masset (also part of IWDG), whose based near the Blaskets in Dingle, and of course, social media, which tells us where and when sharks have been seen. Then, we’ll scramble to get all our field kit ready and head over to the West Coast!

Normally with shark research we go out to a place where people are already fishing for sharks (for catch and release) or where we’re fishing for them for scientific research and this normally involves attracting them to the boat (with bait) but because we can’t do that with basking sharks, we basically drive the boat up and down the coast slowly, surveying with binoculars to try and spot that characteristic fin sticking out of the water.

The dorsal fin of a basking shark breaking the surface. Three other sharks can be seen finning behind also (photo captured by Haley Dolton).

Lucy: And so, when you do spot a fin, what happens next?

Haley: In basking shark research we actually deploy the biologgers without touching the shark at all (apart from the actual deployment itself). We carefully approach the shark in the boat, deploy the tag, and then we’re off again! This all takes a matter of seconds, so that we’re actually only beside the animal for a couple seconds as we deploy the biologger. Some sharks don’t even react at all, they just carry on swimming or feeding at the surface, which is a good indication they haven’t been disturbed.

I should point out that any research we do on sharks is conducted under license from the HPRA (Health Products Regulatory Authority) ethics board for animal studies, as to not cause stress to the animals.

Haley uses a radio antenna to listen for the radio tag they have attached to a basking shark (photo captured by Scott DeGraw).

Lucy: How is your research going so far? What are your plans going forward for the research?

Haley: The research that is focused on basking shark biology, ecology and behavior has gone really well so far and we’ve found out some really, really interesting things which I’m dying to talk about but I can’t at the moment, but watch this space! There’s lots of cool stuff coming soon!

My research interest has grown from my supervisors, Nick Payne, Andrew Jackson and Jonathan Houghton, supporting my curiosity for this species and a collaboration I made when I first started shark research all those years ago (Jackie and Graham Hall who ran Manx Basking Shark Watch). Now this project is growing and we’ve established new collaborations with some incredible researchers from Oregon State University (Big Fish Lab) and Stanford University, who came over this year for fieldwork. Together, we’re trying to collect and analyse even more data about what the sharks are doing and how they’re behaving. There’s been lots of steep learning curves with doing this research as well, but overall, it’s gone really well and we found out some really cool stuff, which will hopefully come out soon!

“if you do see something, take lots of pictures”

Lucy: That’s great, I can’t wait to see what you’ve found out! Well, for my last question, as a lot of our readers may not necessarily be in the scientific field, is there any way they could get involved in conservation efforts or research to help these threatened sharks?

Haley: Yes! People can get involved by reporting their sightings of any sharks to groups such as the Irish Basking Shark Group and Irish Whale and Dolphin Group and these can feed into scientific research. Also, if you do see something, take lots of pictures because then it’s possible to identify individuals by nicks and cuts on their dorsal fin and this is a great example of a non-invasive way of looking at social behavior or whether sharks are returning year on year to an area, indicating it might be an important area for feeding or breeding or pupping.

You can also get involved with any campaigns that you see going on for the protection of these animals. Support from the public, alongside the work and support from Minister Noonan and TD Jennifer Whitmore is actually what was instrumental in the recent campaign to have the basking shark added to the Irish Wildlife Act; it was a great campaign led by the Irish Basking Shark Group to get basking sharks protection in Irish waters and part of that was a petition that was signed by the general public. It gained incredible support from the public, with I think over 20,000 signatures, which is amazing and hopefully they’ll be protected under Irish law soon.

Haley is a PhD student in Zoology at Trinity College Dublin, and you can find her on Twitter @haleydolton. Haley’s work has been funded by the Irish Research Council, with support from the Fisheries Society of the British Isles. Nick Payne is funded by Science Foundation Ireland.