When I first started my PhD, attending the Society for Marine Mammalogy’s biennial conference was something I had set my sights on. My supervisor offered my first opportunity to attend the biggest international meeting of marine mammal researchers but it came just a month into my PhD, when the conference was being held in Australia. I decided to wait until I had research of my own to share, making the opportunity to learn from and connect with marine mammal researchers from around the world even more meaningful to me.
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This October, that opportunity finally came. I travelled to Puerto Rico for SMM 2026, and it was a particularly special experience.
Attending conferences is an important part of the research process, particularly as I approach the final stages of my PhD. While collecting and analyzing data is central to research, being able to share findings, discuss ideas and hear different perspectives helps shape how that research develops. Presenting work to an international audience provides an opportunity to receive feedback, consider questions from different angles and discover new methods and approaches that might otherwise remain outside your own research network. Just as importantly, it allows us to understand how our individual projects contribute to the much wider picture of marine mammal science.
Throughout my career, I have had the privilege of working alongside researchers studying marine mammals, helping to collect the data that contributes to world-wide research. One of the highlights of the conference was catching up with some of those previous colleagues, hearing about the results that had developed from those collaborations, and then having the opportunity to share my own research showing the data and results of my PhD. It was a lovely reminder of how interconnected our research community is, and how the contributions we make at different stages of our careers help build a wider understanding of these animals.
One of the things I enjoyed most about SMM was the sheer variety of research being presented. There were studies exploring female elephant seals and their preferences for pupping beaches in California, researchers using machine learning to estimate the body mass of grey seals in Sweden, and investigations into how cruise ships affect harbour seals in Alaska. Each study was asking a different question, using different approaches, and offering another way to understand these fascinating animals.
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Although some topics were quite different from my own research, there were so many connections. Whether we are looking at where seals choose to haul out, how we monitor their populations, or how human activities influence their behaviour, we are all working towards a better understanding of marine mammals and the environments they depend on.
It is easy to become immersed in the details of your own research, especially during a PhD. SMM was a chance to step back, see the bigger picture, and be reminded of the many different ways we can approach marine mammal science.
For me, this was particularly valuable at a stage when I have collected much of my PhD data and am bringing the different strands of my research together. The conversations and presentations at SMM offered new perspectives on my own work, as well as ideas about how some of the methods and technologies being developed can have applications beyond their original research. It was a reminder that research doesn't happen in isolation, and that sharing knowledge is just as important as collecting it.
After looking forward to this conference since the very beginning of my PhD, being there with research of my own to share made the experience all the more rewarding. I return from Puerto Rico feeling inspired, with new connections, plenty to think about, and an even greater appreciation for the international community working to understand and protect marine mammals.
It was wonderful to take a little piece of the Ythan Estuary's grey seal story along for the journey.
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