Andrew Pollard Yorkshire, UK, Planet Ocean :: andrew@marinebio.org

Andrew has been a member of MarineBio since 2006 and is a graduate of the University of Bangor, Wales (BSc, 2006), the University of Hull (MSc, 2008) and York St John University (PGCE, 2012). He is an experienced teacher who assists with many of the day-to-day operations of MarineBio as our Editor, working closely with David as well as our interns and volunteers.

He has been fascinated with sharks since a young age and grew up reading a mixture of educational marine books and Willard Price Adventure series. Andrew is a big fan of quality marine life documentaries and really bad shark films. He has a wide interest in marine conservation issues – particularly fisheries management and conservation education but will always have a soft spot for white sharks.

Jeremy Day MarineBio Volunteer, Marine Biologist, Wollongong, NSW, Australia

Jeremy completed a Bsc. in Marine Biology at James Cook University (JCU) in 2017, during which he worked as a PADI divemaster, commercial skipper and marine engine driver of various research and recreational dive boats, and has been involved in a range of projects from recording dolphins and surveying coral reefs to collecting dugong poo.

Jeremy undertook a Marine Science Honours year at the University of Wollongong (UOW) in 2019, where his topic of study was the role of predators in urchin barrens habitats. He continues to work on this topic into 2021 as a PhD candidate at the University of Newcastle (UON) and currently holds a Scientific Diver certification. Jeremy is interested in Marine Sanctuary Zones, evidence-based conservation and trophic cascades, and he was first driven to study marine science after receiving advice from the original MarineBio forum back in 2009. In his spare time he enjoys surfing, spearfishing and gardening.

Rutu Patel MarineBio Volunteer

My name is Rutu Patel and I am a Software Engineer with a passion for the ocean and marine life, that was inspired from watching David Attenborough and wildlife documentaries in my childhood. I had always known that I had chosen the wrong career path, and for the wrong reason (because it was popular at the time!), and ever since have been trying to get back on the right path. In the early years of my IT career I was frequently dissatisfied with the work I was doing and had a burning desire to be making a difference somewhere in the marine world. In 2012 I obtained the Advanced Open Water Diver certification, which further fueled my desire to be more involved and to do more. I started searching for an avenue in, which led me to Compass Education through whom I have completed Marine Zoology Part 1 Diploma and currently working on Part 2. Another avenue led me to MarineBio through whom I use my passion and skills to help educate others. I hope to go on to a Marine Biology degree and continue steering my career towards Marine/Ocean/Conservation efforts.

Natalie Swaim MarineBio Volunteer, Marine Science Research Institute

Natalie has a dual-BSc in Marine Science and Biology and is currently obtaining her MSc in Marine Science, with a specialization in Physical Oceanography. She is Advanced Open Water SCUBA certified and still learning and logging dives by trying to complete a Rescue Diver Certification. She hopes to further her own knowledge of marine life and share her passion for conservation of the ocean by making shared knowledge more accessible to everyone, even those that are not necessarily right by the ocean.

Van Wangye MarineBio Moderator, Singapore

Van is a self-taught, award-winning wildlife/scientific illustrator, graphic designer, graphic artist, art teacher, and conservationist. He is bilingual in both Mandarin and English, which makes him able to bridge conversations about conservation between the East and West.

He hopes his works will help further the efforts of wildlife conservation and scientific education, to hopefully make a real difference for Life on this tiny planet.

Fiona Durnford MarineBio Volunteer, Plymouth, UK

My name is Fiona Durnford and I study (BSc) Marine Biology at the University of Plymouth in the UK. I grew up in the 80s, when whale hunting was heavily protested. I could not imagine anyone wanting to hurt these incredible animals and all I wanted was to protect them. As a teenager growing up in a place where we do not really encounter much marine life, I started to drift off and chose other professions, but the passion to protect Ocean life always stayed with me. A few years ago, after years of feeling something was missing, I decided to change my life. I went to South Africa to do volunteer work. This entailed working with a Marine Biologist towards the protection of Great white sharks. I also became a certified diver and got to experience the ocean in the most beautiful way possible. After my time in South Africa, I knew without a doubt that I wanted to dedicate my life to protecting the oceans and its inhabitants. The feeling that I was missing something disappeared as soon as I got accepted to study at the University for Marine Biology.

Eirini Kardara MarineBio Volunteer, Greece

Eirini Kardara is a Geoscientist from Greece, keen on participating in ocean & climate change projects. She holds a BSc in Geology and a MSc in Renewable Energy Engineering. Passionate about the environmental awareness she assisted as a scientific writer on marine bio articles. Her long term objective is to become an active member of ocean life protection and make her own research on ways to reveal how ocean life & geology is affected across the globe.

Shelby-Jay Lewis MarineBio Volunteer, Up Hatherley, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom

Shelby-Jay Lewis is an aspiring Marine Biologist with a passion for underwater life and for conservation of the oceans. She has a BSc in Marine Biology and spends her free time stuck in a good book or educating herself about the wonders below the surface. Her main ambition in life is to positively contribute towards the sustainable management of the planet.

Dru Thush Moderator, Shop Owner, Designer, Customer Service, San Pedro, CA, USA

Looking for ways to further my son’s interest in the ocean, is when I found MarineBio. With the wealth of its resources, I knew I wanted to help others, who like my son wanted to know more, do more and give back to conserve this natural resource.

Vicki Richardson Moderator, Dallas, Texas USA

I'm a mom from Dallas, who cares about and loves all animals, especially the ones in the ocean. <3

+ Mary Finelli, Susan Freeman, Jay Gittens, and Jeff Richardson….

Content Producers/Editors – we are seeking science content producers/editors to help us expand by writing new content about marine biology, conservation and science. If you have superior writing/editing skills and are willing to e-volunteer (virtual volunteer) for a significant amount of time, please contact info@marinebio.org asap. No HTML experience is necessary but a strong knowledge of the Web and the content on MarineBio.org is very helpful. Please attach writing samples or urls to your online work.

MarineBio is always looking for virtual volunteers to help us continue as a viable environmental enterprise to help save ocean life by educating the general public and serving as a clearing-house for marine life information.

We are looking primarily for proactive, independent, biology, zoology, marine biology, etc. students and graduates who wish to help us with our mission and goals. We are also interested in talking with you if you simply have time, energy and an interest in marine life and would like to help make a difference. We also need help with marketing and PR, networking with similar groups, and researching various topics involving marine conservation and marine life. Contact us if you have any questions or would like to know more. We are all volunteers and MarineBio is the direct result of hundreds of people working together who are concerned about marine life.

Our volunteer needs are currently virtual, which means all you need is your computer and a Web connection. We need volunteers to help with (in no order of importance):

Marine Species Photos/Videos/Resources/References

Marine species research is constantly evolving and very little is known about most species in the ocean. Help us keep our species home pages up-to-date by helping us find new research including photos, video, online resources and references for all of our species. A good place to start would be the most endangered and threatened marine species or the poorest known species which actually include most of the whales and dolphins, especially the beaked whales. Be sure to ask permission to use any photos or video first or simply email us the urls (web addresses).

Marine Science section

This section starts at /oceans. We welcome help with critiques of existing content in this section and the contribution of additional content for any page or related topic.

Marine Conservation section

This section starts at /oceans/conservation. We welcome help with critiques of existing content in this section as well and the contribution of additional content for any page or related topic.

Projects

Our main projects page is at /research/projects and includes much of the above. If you’d like to know more about any of the projects listed or would like to suggest new ones, let us know by emailing info@marinebio.org.

Site Reviewing

We can always use help checking MarineBio content and links. We spell check as we create content but we have been known to make mistakes. All links are checked monthly via software but we love suggestions and updating is quick and easy. Feel free to point out anything you find confusing or in error. We are online nearly 24/7 and you can email us at info@marinebio.org anytime. MarineBio’s success is in a large part due to the support and feedback from visitors just like you.

Working with MarineBio will provide you with excellent experience to prepare you for future work in marine biology, etc., and we are more than happy to write letters of reference for those who excel in their contributions to MarineBio. In addition, interns and volunteers who make significant contributions will be featured on our contributors page.

If you’re interested, please send a brief description of what you’d like to get involved with from the above, a few words concerning your background, and what sort of commitment you are willing to make to help with MarineBio’s mission to our Volunteer Coordinator at info@marinebio.org.

We look forward to hearing from you and we hope we can provide you the opportunity to work on some very exciting projects. We offer much more than just a stuffing envelopes type of volunteer work. We want you to learn from your experience with MarineBio and feel that you are contributing to the field of marine biology and/or conservation of marine life.