Ashley Postlewhite
Marine Biology student, Scientific InternAbout Ashley
My name is Ashley Postlewhite, and I have recently completed my third year studying MMarBiol Marine Biology at the University of Liverpool (UoL). For as long as I can remember, I have always been fascinated by the mystery of the ocean and the different organisms inhabiting it. However, the first time I experienced marine life in the wild was when I went scuba diving in the Red Sea; in this moment, I knew I wanted to become a Marine Biologist in the future.
Studying Marine Biology at UoL has allowed me to develop a groundwork of knowledge and analytical skills that are crucial for a career in this field, including analysing lipid distributions in particulate organic matter from a transect across the Arctic and comparing this to the physicochemical parameters measured in tandem at each site for my dissertation. Being a Liverpool Marine Biology and Oceanography Society (LUMOS) member, I have also taken part in countless beach cleans and completed the ORCA Marine Mammal Surveyor training course. Although the one group of fish I am still yet to have any contact with that captivates me the most is the sharks. This encouraged me to apply for an internship at Marine Dynamics Academy (MDA). I was lucky enough to be aware of the fantastic opportunities at MDA, as they delivered an engaging presentation about the programme at UoL. I knew within the first 5 minutes that this was something I wanted to get involved in.
I am particularly interested in learning how to collect data for white sharks on Slash fin, fish tagging through methods such as fishing and snorkeling, and working with the African Penguin and Seabird Sanctuary. Although my long-term aim would be to improve the understanding of marine ecosystems and how to protect them by taking part in field studies around the world using scuba diving as one of my main methods, I am not yet sure where I want to go within the field of Marine Biology; therefore I hope the internship at MDA will help streamline my interests to uncover which field inspires me the most, allowing me to focus on this field in my fourth year at UoL.