Interviews with Marine Scientists!

Dr. Ben Wilson

Visiting Scientist at
Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre
(and all-round jolly nice chap)

-currently at the
Scottish Association for Marine Science

Could you describe your work/research?

"I'm interested in the interactions between cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) and their prey (principally fish). We know lots about both groups but know little about how the behaviour of one affects the behaviour of the other. For example, we know that dolphins use echolocation (high frequency clicking sounds) to find fish but we don't know if the fish can also hear these sounds and if so what they do about it. Are fish behaviourally smarter than we assume them to be? Understanding how fish respond to sound is important for:

* Studies of dolphin foraging behaviour
* Scientific and management related studies of fish stocks using echo-sounders
* Understanding how human noise pollution may affect fish populations.
* Reducing unwanted capture of both dolphins and non-target fish in fishing nets. "

How did you get interested in marine biology? Your specific field?

"I've always been fascinated by the sea and the way that animals behave. I was never particularly interested in cetaceans but took a job working on dolphins to get more experience working on boats and to spend time out on the water. Unfortunately the more I found out about the animals the more I realized how little is actually known about them. It was the mystery that motivated me to get involved in research. It still does."

What training and education do you have? Where did you obtain it?

"I was an all round failure at school and only just managed to get the grades to get into university. Once there I discovered that education could be fun and got sucked in. I spent most of my free time learning to SCUBA dive and became president of the university club. By picking options/classes that had a marine element I found that I could combine my studies with my hobby and ended up on university diving expeditions to the Caribbean and Egypt. I completed my bachelors degree in Zoology in Glasgow, Scotland with top grades and then went onto some extra course work in Hawaii. I then took a research job working on a population of Scottish dolphins. The job turned into an obsession and so I converted it into a PhD at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. I continued working on Scottish marine mammals for a couple more years but became frustrated by how little we knew about the behaviour of the fish that the dolphins I was studying actually ate. How can we understand how dolphins are outsmarting their fish prey if we don't know what the fish are doing in the first place? I got a grant to travel out to Vancouver Island in British Columbia to study fish behaviour and how they might escape attacks by dolphins. And this is what I'm doing now."

What specific skills do you use in your work?

"The main skill is thinking in questions. Figuring out what we need/want to know and then trying to work out how to get at that information. Can an experiment at sea or in the lab tackle the problem or has somebody else already answered it for a different reason? More tangible skills include computing, statistics, writing, public speaking and wandering around libraries with an open mind."

What is your work schedule (days, hours per day, and overtime)?

"It's very much open and often dictated by the animals I'm studying or the weather. The main thing is that the job gets done i.e. the question answered in the time available. If I'm efficient and things work I can be done by lunchtime each day if I'm not I might stay in the lab all day and
all night. "

What benefits do you get?

"This is not the career for someone interested in the money. The rewards come from discovering completely new things, from getting to travel to wonderful places and from being able to reveal the wonders of the marine environment to others."

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