Andy graduated from his MSc in Marine Environmental Protection and is now completing a PhD at Bangor University UK.
Why did you choose to work in marine biology?
I grew up watching documentaries on the oceans and going out on boats in various places around the world. It was always something that I really enjoyed and found fascinating. I originally wanted to be an underwater cameraman. I then fell in love with the sciences and thought an undergraduate degree at the Scottish Association for Marine Science was a good way to do something I enjoyed and was highly passionate about. The degree gave me a strong foundation in general marine science, covering aspects from a variety of disciplines. Over the years I have been studying I found that my interests focused on the management and sustainable use of marine resources. During my undergraduate degree I worked as a scientific diver and after leaving university spent a year working as a scallop diver in order to gain further experience of the fishing industry.
What is your research about?
I am looking at the effect of ocean acidification on Mytilus edulis and the effect this would have to their muscle mass, vulnerability to predation and a variety of other factors which could have an impact to the aquaculture industry.
Easily summed up as put mussels in some nasty conditions, when they are weak and defenceless, stress them out in a variety of ways and see how they cope. Mussel masochism basically.