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## Video 1: Mud samples

Summary:

Listen to Melanie discuss the ways she collects data and consider:

- the nature of scientific investigation in the marine environment
- use a range of data collection techniques and strategies.

Captions:

Simon: So what strategies do you use to collect your data?

Dr Melanie Bishop: Well I guess a lot of what we do is manipulative field experiments so we'll work out a few factors that we think might be important in influencing what's going on in the environment

and we'll set up experiments that single out those factors and change that element of the environment and see how the system responds to that

We'll do some manipulation to plot some sediment in the field and they'll sit there for about three months so that the animals will have time to respond.

And then at the end of those three months we'll go back with a very high tech sampling device,

basically just a plastic corer, we push it about ten centimetres down into the mud because most of the critters are found in the top two centimetres.

We collect cores, like those you can see here, and then we bring them back to the lab to process them to basically reduce them down to just the animals.

The way that we do that this is using sieves like the one you see here.

So, I guess most of the animals that we are interested in are greater than 500 microns, so have a millimetre in diameter which is this size.

So what we're trying to do is get all the sediment that we are not really interested in to fall through leaving the animals and some of the organic material then there's less stuff to sort through.

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## Video 2: Critters in the mud

Summary:

Listen to Melanie talk about the animals she collects in the mud and think about:

- the contribution of biology to society
- the dynamic nature of science.

Captions:

Joseph: So how do you identify the critters that you find?

Dr Melanie Bishop: It's actually not as easy as it sounds. Because, I guess not a lot is known about the taxonomy in Australia so what species of worms and bivalves we have.

So it's a lot of hours in front of the microscopes that you can see over there. We use some CD-ROM databases to try and work out what species we have.

But then in a lot of cases there are species that haven't been recorded before. So it's kind of exciting but it can be frustrating at the same time.

Simon: And what do these mud samples tell you?

Dr Melanie Bishop: I guess a lot of the critters that live in the sediment, the worms and the snails and bivalves, don't move really far

And some of the snails, we've worked out, only travel about five metres in a month.

So basically if there's some kind of disturbance to the environment, so heavy metals or pollution or something, those animals aren't going to move away to avoid that.

So if we see sudden changes in the types or numbers of animals that we're finding then that is a sure sign indicator to us that something's going on.

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## Video 3: Marine worms

Summary:

As you watch the video, think about:

- the diversity of marina organisms
- uniqueness of Australian animals.

Captions:

Joseph: Hey Melanie, can you show us some of the animals that you have found?

Dr Melanie Bishop: Well under the microscope I've got a couple of the worms that are common in Botany Bay. So, we've got this big fat one here which is a capitellid.

It's actually an indicator of pollution. You tend to gets lots of those when there's been a big nutrient input.

And then we've got another little one here that's a nephtid and that's actually a predatory worm and so it feeds on other worms.

Would you like to have a look?

Joseph: Yes, please. They are all so great.

Simon: Very interesting.

Dr Melanie Bishop: Yeah, I think so.

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## Video 4: Becoming a marine scientist

Summary:

Listen to Melanie’s advice about becoming a marine scientist and consider these questions:

- How important is mathematics, chemistry and physics in biology?
- How could I become a marine scientist?

Captions:

Joseph: So how has your schooling affected you and lead you in this direction?

Dr Melanie Bishop: Well I guess it started with a couple of very inspirational science teachers in about year 8 which made me, I guess, think about getting into science.

And at the end of high school I was doing four units of science and two units of maths and wondering what the hell I was going to do with the rest of my life

so a degree in science seemed a natural progression from there. And here I am now.

Simon: For those that are at a crossroads in their education, what would you suggest if they wanted a career that's similar to yours?

Dr Melanie Bishop: Well I guess there's a lot of marketing hype by the universities these days and a lot of specialist degrees that you can choose form but really all you need to do is a bachelor of science.

All the subjects that you would need to become a marine scientist you can do through that.

That would be a good starting point. The marine science industry is pretty small so in a lot of cases it's who you know not what you know.

So if you're really passionate about getting into this field, I would suggest introducing yourself to maybe some of your university lecturers in the marine sciences

or maybe approaching your local council if they have an environmental division and seeing if you can do some volunteer work with them.

Because that's a good way to work out if this career is really for you and if you like this kind of thing.

and also it's a way to get known fast so that by the time you've finished uni there's someone there to offer you a job.

Simon: Thank you very much for talking with us

Dr Melanie Bishop: Thank you

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