Marine Biologist

Marine biologists address problems and issues facing marine life. They systematically gather data in the field or laboratory with special sampling gear and monitoring equipment. They interpret and evaluate the data they collect, and then write scientific reports for clients or supervisors. They may also help make decisions or solve problems. Sometimes they deal with problems of great economic or political importance. Marine biologists work in a surprising variety of disciplines.

Marine biologists also includes archaeology, anthropology, sociology, engineering and other studies of human relationships with the sea. Scientists in such disciplines may be highly specialized. Geologists, for example, may concentrate on coastal processes, dynamics of the continental shelf or structure of the ocean floor. Chemists may work entirely at the interface of the sea and atmosphere, in the zone affected by ocean waves, at the maximum depth of light penetration, or in the environments created by deep-sea thermal vents. Biologists may work mostly in tropical waters or polar seas, on plants, invertebrates, or vertebrates. Many marine biologists have multiple specialties or work as part of multi disciplinary teams.