A bird's-eye view on turbulence: seabird foraging associations with evolving surface flow features.

Understanding physical mechanisms underlying seabird foraging is fundamental to predict responses to coastal change. For instance, turbulence in the water arising from natural or anthropogenic structures can affect foraging opportunities in tidal seas. Yet, identifying ecologically important localized turbulence features (e.

Reverse engineering field-derived vertical distribution profiles to infer larval swimming behaviors.

Biophysical models are well-used tools for predicting the dispersal of marine larvae. Larval behavior has been shown to influence dispersal, but how to incorporate behavior effectively within dispersal models remains a challenge. Mechanisms of behavior are often derived from laboratory-based studies and therefore, may not reflect behavior in situ.

Localised anthropogenic wake generates a predictable foraging hotspot for top predators.

With rapid expansion of offshore renewables, a broader perspective on their ecological implications is timely to predict marine predator responses to environmental change. Strong currents interacting with man-made structures can generate complex three-dimensional wakes that can make prey more accessible. Whether localised wakes from man-made structures can generate predictable foraging hotspots for top predators is unknown.

Increasing the Depth of Current Understanding: Sensitivity Testing of Deep-Sea Larval Dispersal Models for Ecologists.

Larval dispersal is an important ecological process of great interest to conservation and the establishment of marine protected areas. Increasing numbers of studies are turning to biophysical models to simulate dispersal patterns, including in the deep-sea, but for many ecologists unassisted by a physical oceanographer, a model can present as a black box. Sensitivity testing offers a means to test the models' abilities and limitations and is a starting point for all modelling efforts.

Optically significant particle sizes in seawater.

Small particles (<10  μm) are often considered to play the dominant role in controlling scattering and absorption due to their relatively large numbers, which are typically found in the ocean. Here we present an approach for quantifying the size range of particles that contribute significantly to bulk inherent optical properties. We present a numerical assessment of the variability in optically significant particle sizes for simplistic populations that conform to the assumptions of homogeneous, spherical particles, and power-law size distributions.

Scattering signatures of suspended particles: an integrated system for combining digital holography and laser diffraction.

The use of laser diffraction is now common practice for the determination of an in situ particle size distribution in the marine environment. However, various imaging techniques have shown that particles vary greatly in shape, leading to uncertainty in the response of laser diffraction instruments when subjected to this diverse range of complex particles. Here we present a novel integrated system which combines both digital in-line holography and a LISST-100 type C, to simultaneously record in-focus images of artificial and natural particles with their small-angle forward scattering signature.