On Earth with Oladimeji Ayo Iwalaye - Biological Oceanographer

01/05/23 • 50 min

I am Oladimeji Ayo Iwalaye, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Professor Maite Maldonado’s laboratory in the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver (BC, Canada), in collaboration with the PlasticLab at OceanWise (https://ocean.org/pollution-plastics/plastics_lab/). I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from Ekiti State University, Nigeria and a Master of Science degree in Zoology (major in Animal Physiology) from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. I have a PhD degree in Marine Biology from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The strong passion I have for life in the marine environment because the ocean houses more life than land has led to my interest in plastic pollution and global climate change research. I investigated the effects of increasing temperature and microplastic concentrations on microplastic ingestion and retention rates in two filter- and one deposit-feeding marine invertebrates for my PhD. My Postdoctoral Research focuses on toxicological effects of polyester microfibers on indigenous marine amphipods, using microcosm and mesocosm studies. I hope to continue using my knowledge to provide evidence-based proof of the effects of microplastics and temperature on marine biota using laboratory studies. I participated in several beach clean-ups in South Africa, and was part of the support personnel at the OceanWise International Coastal Clean-up, 2022 help in Vancouver. I am always eager and excited to participate in research and activities that can provide evidence-based results that can help policymakers to make informed decisions that will promote a clean, safe and healthy environment for marine biota.

Previous Episode

On Earth with Kallie Moore - Science Communicator

Kallie Moore is an enthusiastic paleontologist and science communicator. She is the Collections Manager, or ‘Fossil Librarian’, of the paleontology collection at the University of Montana and co-host the YouTube channel PBS Eons (youtube.com/eons). Her debut children's book, "Tales of the Prehistoric World", was released in the fall of 2022.

Next Episode

On Earth with Kirstin Brink - Adjunct Curator and Assistant Professor

Dr. Kirstin Brink is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Manitoba and Adjunct Curator of Fossil Vertebrates at the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre in Morden, MB. She is a vertebrate palaeontologist interested in the evolution and development of biomineralized tissues (teeth and bones). Ongoing projects in the lab involve dinosaurs, marine reptiles, non-mammalian synapsids (like Dimetrodon, an ancestor of mammals) and living animal models (lizards and fish). We use histology, microscopy, Computed Tomography (CT scans), Scanning Electron Microscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and geochemical analyses to address our research questions.