As part of my undergraduate degree in Conservation Biology and Ecology, I am currently undertaking a 9‑month placement with SAERI. I chose to come to SAERI because it not only allows me to gain valuable research experience and skills, but it also allows me to explore the Falkland Islands and see some of its incredible wildlife. My role here is to help resident and visiting researchers with new or ongoing projects. This includes a mix of field and desk-based research, providing a wide diversity of opportunities depending on what is needed week to week.
SMSG Divers at King George Bay, West Falklands
Orcas at King George Bay, Falkland Islands
Steeple Jason, Falkland Islands
Office Work
Office‑based work mainly consists of quadrat analysis using PhotoQuad. This involves defining quadrat parameters from photos taken of dive transects, then identifying all the different species within them. Additionally, I have been sorting frozen coral samples in preparation to be sent to the Natural History Museum.
King George Bay (KGB)
From the 10th to 20th of November, I assisted on SAERI’s King George Bay (KGB) dive trip with SMSG and two researchers from Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML). The PML researchers were investigating how eroded peat deposits in the ocean affect the uptake and release of CO₂, using CTD (conductivity, temperature, and depth) sensors and core samples to study oxygen depletion. SMSG collected seabed transects at different locations around the bay.
My role on the trip was to assist the divers and to collect data on birds around KGB. I undertook point counts and transects in different areas of the bay, recording species, quantity and time. I also had the opportunity to document species in the intertidal zone whilst snorkelling, where I was visited by a couple of curious sea lions that took an interest in my fins.
During the trip we saw a wide range of birds, cetaceans, and other fauna, including many black‑browed albatrosses, Falkland skuas, South American sea lions, and both Peale’s and Commerson’s dolphins. However, the main highlight was the orcas that came to check out our boat.
Steeple Jason
After KGB, I went out to Steeple Jason with Ben to fly a drone over the albatross colony there. The aim was to capture footage to test AI software’s ability to differentiate between rockhopper penguins and albatross. We hiked roughly 4 km around the colony, flying the drone to collect high‑resolution images for testing.
We were kept company by the resident caracaras, locally referred to as Johnny rooks, who took a keen interest in the drone and other equipment we were carrying — apparently deciding the best vantage point was our heads! It was incredible to see the albatross and to experience the vastness of the colony.
Other research
On top of the trips I’ve been on, I’ve also been helping out with other, more local projects. The first is Rosie’s peat project looking at how different habitats affect carbon cycling (CO2 and CH4 uptake and release). I went out with Rosie to Rincon Grande and Horseshoe Bay to do flux tower maintenance and chamber measurements of gas fluxes.
I’ve also been helping Lydia to collect kelp holdfasts for her PhD project looking at the role of buoyant kelp species in Southern Ocean shallow coastal ecosystem connectivity. This comprised of chiselling kelp off rocks whilst waist deep in the sea.
Finally, I am currently involved in a review of burrowing bird census methods. So far, I have been out 3 times, mainly focusing on Magellanic penguins as these are the plots we have set up. The project is comparing different census methods for surveying burrowing birds, concentrating on Magellanic penguins, sooty shearwaters and white-chinned petrels. The fieldwork involves going out to marked plots with numbered burrows, using each survey method, and repeating this over time. The survey methods include detection dogs, call backs, and burrow scopes which, depending on the depth of burrows, aren’t always necessarily needed.
