Tianna Holloway

Hi, my name is Tianna! I’m currantly an undergraduate student on my placement year, studying marine biology and coastal ecology at the University of Plymouth!

I am originally from the Suffolk area but decided to study in Plymouth since it’s well-known for marine biology. I've always been curious about the ocean, despite being very afraid of it. I chose this course to help deepen my understanding and admiration for our planet’s oceans and shallow seas. As a bonus, my studies are helping me conquer my fears! One day, I hope to work as a professional marine biologist, but next on my list is completing my 3rd Year, excelling at my dissertation project, and applying for a Master’s Program. My favourite marine animal is a manta ray!

Summary:

For my placement with Ari, I worked with her on the sensory appendage of hermit crabs along with chemosensation. I started off by working with SEM software, taking the cheliped moults and looking at their hairs or any other sensory appendages. We also did some image analysis of their claws to measure and pinpoint surface area, clusters of hair, length, any other formations found etc. Alongside this I worked with isopods, making my own project studying the startle response durations after exposure to hypoxic and normoxic conditions to then compare the two treatments.

Projects

  • For the first part of my placement, Ari and I worked on taking scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of the sensory appendages, mostly chelipeds, of hermit crabs. We used the SEM imaging software to create montage scans of claws. We only used moults so that no hermit crabs were damaged during this research project. We were looking at the sensilla or sensory hairs on the surface of the claws and on other sensory structures. This research forms part of a larger project and will be part of Ari’s PhD.

  • We are working on understanding marine isopod biology and behaviour in a variety of contexts. As part of this, I ran and designed my own experiment for the second part of my placement. I worked to find a way to measure startle response duration (SRD) in three species found at Hannafore, Looe, UK: Cymodoce truncata, Idotea balthica, and I. emarginata. After developing this protocol to measure behaviour, I applied it to examine the effect of exposure to hypoxia on SRD. I compared this with SRDs of isopods that had been kept in normoxic water. I am considering expanding upon this experiment for my 3rd Year Dissertation Project with my project supervisor, Prof John Spicer.