The Benthic Ecology Meeting Society (BEMS) is a non-profit organization established to run a yearly meeting to exchange scientific information focusing on marine benthic ecosystems (e.g., rocky intertidal, coral reef) and to foster the next generation of benthic biologists. The mission of the BEMS is to promote research in benthic ecosystems, support the exchange of information about benthic ecology, and encourage student participation to develop the next generation of benthic ecologists. BEMS is organized exclusively for educational and scientific purposes and the meetings attract both national and international participants.
The 52nd Annual Benthic Ecology Meeting (BEM 2024) was held in Charleston, South Carolina (USA) from April 10-14, 2024. The 5-day conference had 482 speakers across 530 session, and attracted nearly 600 attendees.
Zoé Delecambre PhD candidate at Centre de Recherche Insulaire et Observatoire de l’Environnement (CRIOBE) and University of Texas Marine Science Institute (UTMSI). 
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your research interests?
My research objectives revolve around two major themes in the understanding of ecosystems: trophic ecology and community ecology. I am primarily interested in the interactions between species that structure a system and the processes that led to these interactions. To this end, coral reefs are an excellent playground as they are highly diverse, complex in terms of species interactions, and productive.
What first interested you in this field of research?
I was first interested by the way species coexist and interact, as these elements are the foundation of stability and productivity of ecosystems. I found it extremely relevant in order to understand to which extent ecosystems are impacted by upgrowing threats and disturbances, and how resilient they can be. As their productivity supports millions of Human lives in the tropics, being able to tackle these questions in coral reefs is a great opportunity for me (and the field work is very pleasant!).
Can you briefly explain the research you presented at BEM 2024?
I have been working with stable isotopes and fish count data in several archipelagos of the Pacific Ocean to understand if individual body mass can be a reliable indicator of trophic level in reef fish communities, as it is in many other ecosystems as described by the size spectrum approach. My main finding is that, in coral reefs, individual body mass cannot approximate trophic level, and therefore is not a tool for assessing the trophic structure of reef fish communities. This is not only important for ecosystem understanding, but also for fisheries management, as the size spectrum approach is extensively used to assess the stocks and production of fisheries.
What are your next steps?
On this particular project, I aim to understand why the size spectrum approach is not a one size fits all and is not quite applicable to coral reefs fishes.
More generally, the next step in my PhD project is to couple stable isotopes with DNA metabarcoding to assess even more precisely the trophic niche of reef fishes and understand how human activities and habitat loss can impact the stability of these trophic niches, and how this influences the coexistence between reef fishes. Overall, I wish to keep tackling similar questions and theories in my further career.
Robyn Walker-Spencer Undergraduate student at Bowdoin College, USA.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your research interests?
I am a biology major with a particular interest in marine ecology. I haven’t been able to narrow down my research interests to a specific animal model, but I am interested in progressing shellfish aquaculture, learning more about the intersection of climate change and invasive biology, and behavior/physiology of intertidal organisms.
What first interested you in this field of research?
I grew up on the coast of Maine and was lucky enough to be exposed to marine science as a teenager through my coursework and in field excursions; I’ve loved it ever since. My research interests and career goals have progressed significantly since then, but marine snails continue to hold a special place in my heart.
Can you briefly explain the research you presented at BEM 2024?
I studied how an intertidal snail native to the coast of Maine (Littorina obtusata) might change its behavior in response to two different non-native crab predators. These snails exhibit a crawl out response when exposed to predator scent, and I investigated how that differed by crab species, as well as latitudinal differences in snail populations based on how well-established the different crab species were.
How will you continue to build on this research?
I am graduating in a few weeks, but I would love to continue this project in a graduate school context. I’m curious to look into the response from a chemical ecology perspective and better characterize differences in crab scents, as well as physiological differences in snail morphology. I’m also interested in looking into differences between a freezing and fleeing responses in the snails.
Brittney Mitchell PhD student at Duke University, USA.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your research interests?
I am a PhD student in the Marine Science and Conservation Division at Duke University studying in Dr. Dan Rittschof’s lab. I am also pursuing a certificate in toxicology through the Integrated Toxicology and Environmental Health Program. Broadly, my interests surround the toxicological impacts of antifouling management on both biofouling and non-target organisms. Biofouling is a pervasive issue, with both environmental and economic consequences. As such, many antifoulant management strategies have been developed to prevent or mitigate the settlement of problematic marine biofoulers, like barnacles. It has been exciting to explore the behavioral and physiological responses of barnacles to substrates they settle on, and in turn, how barnacles play a role in the physical modification of these substrates.
Antifoulant management has included the use and widespread application of environmental poisons called antifouling paints. Despite being manufactured to target specific biofouling organisms, these poisons often exert a suite of sublethal toxicities towards non-target and often environmentally and economically important species. Thus, I have been deeply interested in investigating how biocides incorporated into these paints impact the development and behavior of fish.
What first interested you in this field of research?
When I was young, I was really interested in learning about pesticides and the harm they exert on the environment. I was introduced to these concepts by my father, who owned and operated an all-natural pesticide control company. His work as the “Pesticide Sherriff” aimed to normalize more environmentally benign pest control management. His mission to provide a sustainable pest control service inspired my curiosity in understanding environmental toxicology. As an undergraduate researcher, I had the opportunity to explore how bryozoan larval settlement behavior was influenced by copper, a commonly used antifoulant biocide. This work led me to Dr. Dan’s research, which instantly excited me for the potential to continue studying biofouling phenomena in graduate school.
Can you briefly explain the research you presented at BEM 2024?
My poster titled “Bioerosion of Biogenic Calcium by the Barnacle, Amphibalanus amphitrite” explored barnacle morphological responses to natural and artificial substrates and the potential for barnacles to modify these surfaces. We used microcomputed tomography to nondestructively analyze the interface between barnacle base plates and the materials they settle on. We found that bioactive surfaces can elicit responses to the architecture of barnacle base and parietal plates. It is from these studies we hope to better characterize how barnacles are attaching to surfaces, which may ultimately be utilized to develop materials that exploit poor attachment mechanisms of biofoulers and help relieve both the economic burden they pose on various marine industries, and the environmental burden marine habitats experience in response to current management strategies.
How will you continue to build on this research?
My experiences at Duke, learning under Dr. Dan, doing this research, and working with our various collaborators have been the highlight of my academic journey. I have had the privilege to work with amazing people and have learned so many exciting techniques and skills. Our endeavors into looking at the material interface between barnacles and the surfaces they settle on have only just begun. We are curious into how these interactions change over time and in response to multiple environmental stressors. In addition to looking at other economically important materials used in coastal infrastructure and defenses, we are planning to investigate the genes responsible for some phenotypically plastic traits in response to bioactive surfaces. Sharing this work at BEM24 was a phenomenal experience, and big next steps are to make this information more widely available. We have several manuscripts in the works to share this research further and are also gathering a compilation of the beautiful images obtained from this technology to engage broad audiences into this science. This is a really exciting time, and I cannot wait for what is next to come!
Michael Cornish PhD candidate at University of Virginia, USA.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your research interests?
I like to think of myself firstly as a natural historian, very much influenced and motivated by my love of the natural world–especially the ocean and marine ecosystems. Currently, my research interests lie primarily in understanding how coastal marine ecosystem structure and function are being reshaped in the Anthropocene and, in particular, increasing sea surface temperatures and the loss of foundation species such as seagrasses.
What first interested you in this field of research?
Growing up in rural New England, I spent much of my time birding in the nearby forest. Unbeknownst to me at the time, I was doing this in the same place a young Robert MacArthur, the preeminent ecologist, did many years before me. Despite being landlocked, these early memories and a trip exploring the tide pools on Block Island kindled a love of the ecology and ocean that catalyzed my moving to Maine to pursue the marine sciences in college.
Can you briefly explain the research you presented at BEM 2024?
My work in graduate school has focused on better understanding the consequences of seagrass loss and restoration on infaunal bivalves, such as hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria) in the coastal bays of Virginia’s Eastern Shore. I presented work to this end in which I used sectioning techniques (akin to tree-ring analyses) to look at long-term clam growth using annual growth signatures found in their shells. I found that, despite the expansion of the world’s largest restored seagrass meadow, clam growth was dictated by long-term climate trends (increasing sea surface temperatures and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation) and not by seagrass, a surprising finding. Moreover, I found that response strength varied by clam age, with only clams greater than 10-years old exhibiting a response .
How will you continue to build on this research?
I will continue preparing this work towards a manuscript and leverage the other chapters of my dissertation, which used food supply surveys and predation/growth experiments to explain some interesting seagrass-mediated effects not found in my shell sectioning growth chronology dataset.