Ailish Ullmann
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ailishullmann.bsky.social
Ailish Ullmann
@ailishullmann.bsky.social
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dsbsoc.bsky.social
Hey all, meet one of #DSBSoc 2025 conference awardees!

Meet Ailish Ullman (@ailishullmann.bsky.social) , PhD candidate at @vicuniwgtn.bsky.social & Earth Sci. NZ with @ifremer.bsky.social, researching habitat heterogeneity of life living on & in (yes, in!) #PolymetallicNodules.

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"I’m Ailish, a PhD candidate at Victoria University of Wellington (VUW) and Earth Sciences New Zealand (formerly NIWA), working in partnership with Ifremer in France. I'm researching how habitat heterogeneity and the disturbance of habitat heterogeneity influence the diversity, abundance, and community composition of animals living on and in (yes, in!) polymetallic nodules. Polymetallic nodules are small deep-sea rocks that are full of minerals and metals that can be used in technologies ranging from electric vehicles to smartphones." 📸 Photo1: Ailish smiling looking off the side of a ship down at some dolphins. 📸 The photos include me with a nodule box core in the #CCZ, a view from the box core at the seafloor (~4000 m deep), a view from the ship, and some of the animals found inside of nodules (nematodes, tardigrades, and nauplii). "Because of increasing demand for these minerals and metals, polymetallic nodules are being targeted for deep-sea mining both on the high seas and in countries’ exclusive economic zones (EEZs). Polymetallic nodule environments remain understudied, so researching the communities they support––and how resilient those communities may be to disturbance––will be critical in managing and conserving these environments." 📸 Photo1: Ailish grinning behind an opened nodule box core collected from the CCZ. Photo2: view from the ship of the sun gleaming through clouds over the horizon. "So far, my thesis has focused on the smallest metazoan animals associated with polymetallic nodules (meiofauna, which includes animals like nematodes, copepods, and tardigrades). I'm studying how these meiofauna communities vary across habitat types, space, time, and environmental conditions, and how disturbance from impacts like mining and climate change may influence their resilience." 📸 Photo1: Ailish grinning outside along other researchers outside the ship the L'Atlante. Photo2: view of multiple polymetallic nodules on the seafloor. Photo3: Microscope view of meiofauna (larva, tardigrades and nematodes) collected from nodules.
December 1, 2025 at 8:21 AM