Scout the sea

Rajkumar Rajan is a marine biologist. Here’s a peep into his working day as he explores the wonders of the deep.

THE OCEAN FLOOR: Rajan’s work place.

Do you love spending time on the ocean? Do you like dolphins and whales? Imagine swimming alongside them as you study them. Well, marine biologists do all this and more. While many marine biologists study these intelligent and endearing creatures, there are yet others who study other things that make up the ocean floor including corals. Rajkumar Rajan is one such scientist.

Are there different specialisations for a marine biologists? “A person chooses a field of study depending on his or her interest. It could be conservation and management of marine life in different marine ecosystems or study single celled organisms in the sea to the larger marine mammals like whales, dolphins and dugongs. Or, they could work on issues related to the conservation and management of marine ecosystems and species and why their numbers are decreasing,” says Rajkumar Rajan.

“My field of interest is in corals and coral reefs. Marine animals belonging to the

Phylum Cnidaria (an invertebrate), these are sedentary animals that attach themselves to a substratum and grow and form large colonies. Coral reefs are delicate ecosystems which are highly prone to suffer from stressful environmental and climatic conditions. My studies involve assessing the current state of health of our coral reefs, identifying causes for decline, suggesting mitigation measures and planning,” he adds.

In the deep blue

So does that mean your second home is the sea?

“I do spend a lot of time under water studying these organisms. The day before we begin our underwater study we ready our dive gears, fill oxygen in our scuba cylinders, check the dive gears... its a long prep before the field work. On a field day, our work starts early. We leave the shore before 6.00 AM. We may have to travel anywhere between 30 minutes to six hours. Depending on the weather, we may take one to three dives,” he says. Once out the scientists sort the specimens collected, label them and preserve them. They are also expected to enter the data collected for further analyses.

To qualify for this job you need a degree in Biology and Masters in any Life Sciences discipline. Once you have graduated you can work in any institution in marine biology research. However, marine biology is not restricted to biology graduates alone. “Nowadays we find candidates from unrelated disciplines like engineering sciences entering into marine biology research. “There are many NGOs involved in marine research.” As a marine biologist one could work under various fields from marine ecology, taxonomy of different marine organisms beginning from protozoas to mammals, fisheries science to conservation and management of different marine ecosystems like coral reefs, mangroves, seagrasses, estuaries, beach sand dunes, coastal waters and oceanic waters.

I fell in love with this after my exposure to oceanic research, and my visit to the coral islands of Lakshadweep. Seeing the coral reefs in person and getting a chance to stay there helped me make my decision, says Rajan.

Pick one!

1. National Institute of Oceanography, Goa.

2. Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi

3. Marine Biology Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Chennai

4. Pondicherry University, Marine Biology Department, Andaman Nicobar Islands