ANNUAL REPORT 08-09 LAb shot About SAMS The Scottish Association for Marine Science (est. 1884) is a learned society for marine scientists, students and enthusiasts with an international membership of around 500. It is a Scottish Charity and a Company Limited by Guarantee. SAMS President is the owner of a state-of-the art Scottish Marine Institute at Professor Sir John P Arbuthnott Dunstaffnage near Oban with two research vessels, a dive centre, Chairman of Board the Culture Collection of Algae and Protozoa, and a large research Michael Gibson aquarium. SAMS employs 150 staff that deliver world-class research Council (Board of Directors) for sustainable seas. These researchers are active across all marine Professor Mary Bownes (chairs education committee) science disciplines including technology and policy, with significant Professor Peter Burkill expertise in multidisciplinary working. The SAMS portfolio includes Dr Peter Dryburgh (resigned August 2008) research on the Arctic, climate change, industrial impacts on Dr Keith Duff oceans, prosperity from marine ecosystems and marine renewable Professor Allister Ferguson energy. As a collaborative center of the UK Natural Environment Professor Gideon Henderson Research Council SAMS contributes to the strategic Oceans 2025 Mr Gordon McAllister (chairs finance committee) research programme. Professor Nick Owens Professor David Paterson SAMS is an academic partner of the UHI Millennium Institute, the Dr Carol Philips prospective University of the Highlands and Islands. Under UHI’s Dr John Rogers auspices SAMS delivers a BSc (Hons) Marine Science and a BSc Dr Roger Scrutton (chairs research committee) (Hons) Marine Science with Arctic Studies, and trains PhD students. Mr Walter Spiers It also delivers continuous professional development training for Commodore Charles Stevenson (chairs audit committee) science teachers and regulators, and provides field station facilities Mr Ian Townend (chairs business development committee) for universities. Director Professor Laurence Mee Being committed to knowledge exchange and with a considerable track record in winning commercial contracts, SAMS operates a Company Secretary Mrs Elaine Walton wholly owned subsidiary company (SAMS Research Services Limited) and the European Centre for Marine Biotechnology, an incubation unit hosting three tenant companies. Front cover image by Hugh Brown, SAMS, (Ragged Channel, Baffin SAMS is governed by an independent Council, which is supported Island in the Canadian Arctic, during a SAMS-led international by a Board and several committees. expedition studying arctic seaweed biodiversity) The Scottish Association for Marine Science CONTENTS page Director’ s Introduction 02 Oceans 2025 03 Ecology Department 04 Biogeochemistry and Earth Science Department 13 Microbial and Molecular Science Department 18 Physics, Sea Ice and Technology Department 25 National Facilities 29 SAMS Higher Education 32 SAMS Membership Activities 34 SAMS Outreach Activities 35 SAMS Facilities 36 Staff at 31 March 2009 38 Publications 40 Research Grants and Contract Income Received 46 SAMS Accounts 52 Company Information 53 Council Report 54 Auditors’ Report 59 Group Income and Ependiture account 61 Group and Company Balance Sheet 63 Group Cash Flow Statement 65 Notes to the Group Financial Statements 66 The Scottish Association for Marine Science Director’s Introduction Marine Bill and SAMS would be well placed visited by government ministers, leading to provide key scientific inputs to help make scientists, entrepreneurs and hundreds of it work. local people. All of this augurs well for the future and we will focus on using our I soon discovered that SAMS is a great place successes as building blocks for work on to work. The beautiful facilities are only part research, commercialisation and education, of the picture. Its staff are highly skilled, not forgetting that, as a learned society we good humoured, positive minded and have an important role in outreach to our dedicated professionals engaged in an members and the public in general in amazing array of research, education and Scotland. It is indeed a privilege to lead such commercial activities. Our visitors often a dynamic organisation. remark that there is a constant buzz of activity in the building. During 2008, amongst many other things, SAMS’ staff led a major research cruise to the Arctic Laurence Mee (featured in a 15 minute slot on Newsnight), conducted pioneering studies on the effects My birthday in February 2008 was a of mine waste on the deep sea in Papua particularly memorable one. I woke up New Guinea and successfully bid for over £5 on the sleeper train from Glasgow to million support for new teaching facilities London having just accepted the offer that will make SAMS the best equipped to become Director of SAMS following marine teaching laboratory in Scotland. But an interview in Oban hours earlier. this is only a small part of the picture as you During the five busy months between will soon see when you delve into this report. then and taking up my new role on 1 September 2008, I was able to visit SAMS, talk to staff and its Council, SAMS is a collaborative centre of the UK read piles of reports and publications Natural Environment Research Council and and successfully bid for a major EU continues to enjoy a strong academic research project that will allow me to partnership with the UHI Millennium remain active as a researcher during my Institute, the prospective University of the directorship. Meanwhile SAMS was in Highlands and Islands. It is forging closer ties the competent hands of its Acting with other institutions in Scotland through Director and my future Deputy membership of two research pools funded Director, Ken Jones. by the Scottish Funding Council: SAGES (Scottish Alliance for Geoscience, Environment and Society) and the newly Of course, I applied for the job in the constituted MASTS (Marine Alliance for knowledge that SAMS was an excellent Science and Technology, Scotland). We value institution with a great future and I had long our national and international links, some of admired Graham Shimmield’s leadership that which began 124 years ago when we were had resulted in the most modern marine founded by the father of Oceanography, Sir research facility in the UK. I also knew that John Murray. the clouds of economic recession were building across the world and that we would have to be agile and adaptable to overcome In 2008-9 there were many new beginnings this challenge. But there were also major at SAMS. We began to implement a new opportunities; I had seen some of these governance system that brings more outside during my recent experience as a Special talent to guide our science and Adviser to a House of Commons Select management. We consolidated our work on Committee Inquiry on “Investigating the marine biofuels, leading to the tacit approval Oceans” and a similar role on the Scrutiny of a new € 6 million EU project in this area Committee for the UK Marine Bill. Interest in and we began work in earnest on the sea and its economic potential was implementing the NERC Oceans2025 mounting, Scotland was developing its own flagship research programme. We were The Scottish Association for Marine Science 02 OCEANS 2025 Rapid climate-induced changes in Preliminary Results & Discussion An abundant and active bacterial community Arctic sea-ice and water column was observed in the water column structure will have a significant impact The oceanographic conditions encountered suggesting that considerable amounts of were colder than expected with extensive ice on the Arctic marine ecosystem and energy, carbon and nutrients were being cover. These cold conditions were a local carbon cycle. The accurate prediction recycled by the microbial community (rather feature produced by northerly winds forcing of such changes is a major challenge. than being transferred up the food web to sea ice south onto the north coast of During July and August 2008 a larger organisms). This bacterial community Svalbard. multidisciplinary oceanographic was not, however, using the dissolved carbon research program was undertaken on The marine ecosystem at the study sites compounds released by the phytoplankton. the RRV James Clark Ross in shelf seas appeared to be characterised by typical Healthy populations of large herbivorous to the north of Svalbard in the Arctic species. Full taxonomic analysis will zooplankton were found in deep waters at European Arctic. The objective of the confirm if this was the case or whether our study sites. These Arctic species had UK-led ICE CHASER (CHAnging Sea- invasive warmer water species were present. stores of high energy lipids accumulated ice and Ecosystem Response) whilst feeding on phytoplankton earlier this expedition was to improve our summer, and had entered winter understanding of the ecology and Phytoplankton were observed in the water “hibernation”. This suggests that their food biogeochemistry of the region and column with peak abundances recorded at supply must have been active and abundant thereby help refine models of depths characterised by very low light levels underneath the sea ice earlier in the year, ecosystem response to environmental (<1% surface solar radiation). The despite low light levels encountered under change. The cruise was funded by the phytoplankton were actively growing, the sea ice. It also suggests that a substantial UK Natural Environment Research although relatively slowly. Much of the quantity of energy and carbon had been Council’s OCEANS 2025 strategic carbon taken in by the phytoplankton was transferred up the food web to larger marine research program and was part being released back out into the seawater as organisms during spring/early summer. of the PAN-AME and PAME dissolved compounds. Calcification rates were very low. International Polar Year research clusters. Incubation experiments revealed that an increase in water temperature may lead to a High concentrations of recycled nutrients decrease in phytoplankton growth. Methods were observed in deeper waters, just below the depths where phytoplankton were The ICE CHASER expedition sampled open- growing.