Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Hannah Vallin @hannahvallin.bsky.social · Jul 28

🦈 Angelshark spotted in Cardigan Bay! Our BRUVS cameras captured this incredible footage. Next to check if our eDNA samples match the sighting... fingers crossed! Super exciting research 🔬🌊 #NationalMarineWeek #Angelshark #eDNA #CBMWC @aberuni.bsky.social

www.welshwildlife.org/news/secrets...

Secrets of our seabeds revealed for National Marine Week - underwater camera captures critically endangered shark in Cardigan Bay | The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales

The Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales’ underwater cameras share a window into our beautiful, fragile underwater world with a recent sighting of an Angelshark, one the world’s rarest shark species, ...

www.welshwildlife.org

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Reposted by Hannah Vallin

Sarah Perry @sarahperry.bsky.social · Jul 26

Epic sighting captured as part of our ##DolphinDietDetectives project!
Life beneath the waves 🌊🦈🐟

@neildcook.bsky.social @hannahvallin.bsky.social @guibortolotto.bsky.social

CBMWC @cbmwc.bsky.social · Jul 26

Our underwater cameras in Cardigan Bay give an incredible insight into our seabeds in West Wales. They recently captured an Angelshark, one of the world's rarest & most threatened shark species! 🦈

Read the full story: champ.ly/RIUSW4c3

📸CBMWC

@aberdlsagb.bsky.social @neildcook.bsky.social

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Reposted by Hannah Vallin

CBMWC @cbmwc.bsky.social · Jul 19

A peek 👀 behind the scenes of our recent BRUVS deployments as part of our #NatureNetworksFund #DolphinDietDetectives project 📹🛥️🐟.

#MarineResearch #CardiganBay #BRUVS #cbmwc #wtsww

@sarahperry.bsky.social @neildcook.bsky.social @guibortolotto.bsky.social @maddydemarchis.bsky.social

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Hannah Vallin @hannahvallin.bsky.social · Jun 16

First week in CA with UofAlberta on the Climate Action Through Grazing project 🌱🐄 Joined long field days at Kinsella Ranch (5,000+ ha!) collecting baseline data: biodiversity, soils, sward heights & more—before cattle hit the plots. Great example of #ClimateSmartAg in action! 🌍💨
#GHG #SoilHealth

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Reposted by Hannah Vallin

Aberystwyth University @aberuni.bsky.social · May 27

🐬 Did you catch this fascinating report on @news.sky.com about how researchers are finding out more about the secret lives of Cardigan Bay’s bottlenose dolphins by analysing their poo?

We’re thrilled to be part of this innovative project.
🖱️ tinyurl.com/3yhmxjz5

#dolphins #CardiganBay #research

What do dolphins get up to beneath the waves? Their poo has the answers

Analysing DNA excreted by dolphins allows scientists to identify the sex of individuals and how they are related to other animals.

tinyurl.com

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Reposted by Hannah Vallin

Sarah Perry @sarahperry.bsky.social · May 25

Sky News featuring our #DolphinDietDetectives project funded by Welsh Governments #NatureNetworksFund
👉 news.sky.com/story/what-d...

@cbmwc.bsky.social @wtsww.bsky.social @hannahvallin.bsky.social @niallmckeown.bsky.social @guibortolotto.bsky.social @neildcook.bsky.social @aberdlsagb.bsky.social

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Reposted by Hannah Vallin

Aberystwyth University @aberuni.bsky.social · May 13

Our scientists are helping to monitor the success of the reintroduction of Britain’s second rarest mammal.

🖱️ www.aber.ac.uk/en/news/arch...

@vincentwt.bsky.social @aberdlsagb.bsky.social
@niallmckeown.bsky.social #pinemarten #pinemartens #martensonthemove

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Hannah Vallin @hannahvallin.bsky.social · May 13

Very excited to be attending my favourite conference this week in London at The Royal Society for the UKDNA working group. Lots of interesting talks lined up all about eDNA, my favourite topic 🤩
🧬🐞🐛🦋🌼🦇💦🐠☘️ #UKDNAWG25

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Reposted by Hannah Vallin

Aberystwyth University @aberuni.bsky.social · Apr 17

🐐 PhD candidate Megan Quail has written an article for The Conversation about research findings that goats outperform sheep and alpacas in a series of cognitive tests.

@ibers.bsky.social

The Conversation UK @uk.theconversation.com · Apr 16

Goats have outperformed sheep and alpacas in a series of cognitive tests, suggesting they’re the sharpest minds in the barnyard.

No kidding: goats prove brainier than sheep and alpacas

Goats have outperformed sheep and alpacas in a series of cognitive tests, suggesting they’re the sharpest minds in the barnyard.

tcnv.link

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Reposted by Hannah Vallin

IBERS - Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Science @ibers.bsky.social · Apr 16

Check out Hannah's first principle-author paper on DNA metabarcoding as a scalable alternative to traditional quadrat-based botanical surveys for assessing plant diversity in grasslands.

www.aber.ac.uk/en/ibers/new...

Comparing DNA Metabarcoding with traditional Quadrat-Based Botanical Surveys - Aberystwyth University

www.aber.ac.uk

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Hannah Vallin @hannahvallin.bsky.social · Apr 11

Yesterday's dolphin action out in Newquay. Very excited when @sarahperry.bsky.social messaged to say they also collected some 🐬💩 Can't wait to extract the DNA and find out what they have been eating... picture might be a clue 😉

Sarah Perry @sarahperry.bsky.social · Apr 11

#DolphinADay Day 101

Dolphin v shark 🐬

📷 ©️ Sarah Perry, Apr 2025

#CardiganBay #Dolphins #CBMWC #Wales #MarineConservation #WildlifePhotography #WTSWW #MarineLife #Nature #Wildlife #PhotoOfTheDay #CBWildlife #MarineMammals #BottlenoseDolphins #WomenInSTEM #Catshark

@cbmwc.bsky.social

Photograph of a bottlenose dolphin at the surface of the water chasing a nursehound. The nursehound is being tossed out of the water by the dolphin. Photograph copyright Sarah Perry / CBMWC

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Hannah Vallin @hannahvallin.bsky.social · Mar 31

📣Exciting news — my first first-author paper & PhD publication is out! 🎉
Comparing DNA metabarcoding vs botanical surveys in assessing grassland composition under different management. A great blend of field ecology & molecular work! 🐑🌿🧬 🔗 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
#Ecology #DNA #PhD

Comparative Analysis of Pasture Composition: DNA Metabarcoding Versus Quadrat‐Based Botanical Surveys in Experimental Grassland Plots

DNA metabarcoding offers a scalable alternative to traditional botanical surveys for monitoring plant community composition under different management regimes in experimental grassland plots. Compari....

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Reposted by Hannah Vallin

IBERS - Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Science @ibers.bsky.social · Mar 27

Great to represent IBERS at the Connecting Research Culture event, engaging with colleagues from across the BBSRC institutes. A fantastic opportunity to share ideas, strengthen collaborations, and explore how we can work together to drive positive research culture.

#ResearchCulture #IBERS #BBSRC

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Reposted by Hannah Vallin

Sarah Perry @sarahperry.bsky.social · Mar 27

A fantastic few days on the water recently, working with a great team including @neildcook.bsky.social , @hannahvallin.bsky.social, @guibortolotto.bsky.social to collect data for our #DolphinDietDetectives project.

Science on the sea = happy days! 🧬📹🐟🐬

CBMWC @cbmwc.bsky.social · Mar 27

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 A behind the scenes look into our #DolphinDietDetectives BRUVS deployment 🐬

We're collecting eDNA water samples & underwater footage to discover more about the availability of potential dolphin prey species 🐠

This project has been made possible thanks to funding from the #NatureNetworksFund 🙏

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Hannah Vallin @hannahvallin.bsky.social · Mar 26

First day attending the #BBSRC connecting research culture conference with colleagues from #IBERS. There is a busy networking schedule lined up with lots of interesting talks 🤗 #AberUni #EarlhamInstitue

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Hannah Vallin @hannahvallin.bsky.social · Mar 21

The life of a Metaprobe eDNA sampler: from 3D printing, diving into the ocean to collect eDNA, back to the lab for DNA extraction, PCR, and finally metabarcoding sequencing. Excited to start processing and see what secrets the ocean reveals! 🌊🧬

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Hannah Vallin @hannahvallin.bsky.social · Mar 17

What a fantastic week for #BritishScienceWeek! 🐬 Grateful for the extra help from colleagues @cbmwc.bsky.social as we explored how dolphins find prey, what they eat, & showcased our work uncovering their diet—by collecting poo samples & extracting fish DNA! 🧬🐟 #STEM #AberUni @aberdlsagb.bsky.social

CBMWC @cbmwc.bsky.social · Mar 17

✨ Highlights from our #DolphinDietDetectives Stall at the Aberystwyth University Science Fair last week 🔬🐬

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 We discussed how dolphins find prey, what they eat & showcased how we’re working to discover more about their diet by collecting poo samples & extracting fish DNA! 🍽️

#MarineMammalScience

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Hannah Vallin @hannahvallin.bsky.social · Mar 14

And that's a wrap on British Science Week! 🎉 An exhausting but incredible week engaging with so many curious young minds, sparking excitement for science, and sharing new discoveries. 🔬🧬✨ Here's to inspiring the next generation! 🚀

#BritishScienceWeek #STEM #ScienceForAll #AberUni

Aberystwyth University @aberuni.bsky.social · Mar 13

🔬 Over 1,500 school pupils took part in lively hands-on activities at our annual interactive British Science Week Fair this week.

aber.ac.uk/en/news/arch...

March : News , Aberystwyth University

aber.ac.uk

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Hannah Vallin @hannahvallin.bsky.social · Mar 11

Diving into #BritishScienceWeek with our dolphin diets project at @aberuni.bsky.social showcasing DNA extractions, fish otoliths, dolphin skulls, and learning about echolocation, marine food chains and much more! @cbmwc.bsky.social @lauracaryse.bsky.social @sarahperry.bsky.social 🐬🐠🦑🐚🧬

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Reposted by Hannah Vallin

Aberystwyth University @aberuni.bsky.social · Mar 7

To celebrate #InternationalWomensDay, we are highlighting women and non-binary members of staff and recognising their contribution to research at our Visibility Awards. Many congratulations to all the winners.

tinyl.io/C9KM

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Hannah Vallin @hannahvallin.bsky.social · Mar 6

It's been great to adopt and utilise the 'Metaprobe' throughout Cardigan Bay to collect eDNA samples whilst carrying out BRUVs. Thanks to @giumaiello.bsky.social and @marianilab.bsky.social for introducing me to their eDNA sampler for upscaling aquatic monitoring. Now time to process the samples!🧬🌊🐬

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Hannah Vallin @hannahvallin.bsky.social · Mar 5

Day 3 and the weather is still holding out ☀️. Time to collect BRUVs and eDNA samples off Newquay. Great working with such a fantastic team in a truly beautiful location 🧬🌊🐬🐠📹 @sarahperry.bsky.social @cbmwc.bsky.social @aberdlsagb.bsky.social

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Hannah Vallin @hannahvallin.bsky.social · Mar 4

🌊 Day 2 of fieldwork! 🚤☀️ Headed to Mwnt for more BRUVs 🎥 & eDNA sampling 🧬, plus dolphin & porpoise sightings! 🐬 Retrieved acoustic hydrophones deployed last winter—can’t wait to see (and hear!) what’s in the data! 🎶📊
#eDNA #BRUVS @sarahperry.bsky.social @cbmwc.bsky.social @aberdlsagb.bsky.social

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Hannah Vallin @hannahvallin.bsky.social · Mar 4

🌊 Perfect conditions for fieldwork! 🚤☀️ Out on the uni boat deploying BRUVs 🎥 & collecting eDNA samples🧬off Aberystwyth for our Dolphin diet project. Exciting data ahead! 🐬🐟 #MarineScience #eDNA #BRUVS #Fieldwork #AberUni #CBMWC @sarahperry.bsky.social @cbmwc.bsky.social @aberdlsagb.bsky.social

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Hannah Vallin @hannahvallin.bsky.social · Mar 4

Very exciting to haul this equipment out today - successful trip! Looking forward to hear what’s been picked up acoustically 🐬

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