MATHEMATICS, STATISTICS and COMPUTING

All marine scientists must have a good knowledge of statistics and be familiar with computers. It is most unusual to see any job advertisement in marine science which does not explicitly request quantitative skills. Marine scientists require these skills to plan their data collection properly and analyse their results. However specialist mathematicians, statisticians and computer scientists are also required.

Data collection in most areas of marine science is an expensive and difficult process. The advice of expert biometricians and statisticians is essential to ensure that data are gathered in ways that maximise the value of the results. To provide useful advice the biometrician (biological statistician) needs a good understanding of the biological questions and practical difficulties of data collection as well as familiarity with the latest statistical techniques and methods. A good biometrician is therefore not tied to a computer terminal in an office, but also works in the field to experience the problems first hand. Students interested in a career in this area should take courses in biology (particularly ecology and marine biology), mathematical statistics and computing.

Statisticians are not the only mathematicians who contribute to marine science. As the pressure on fisheries grows, increasingly sophisticated mathematical models are required to ensure that marine resources are managed responsibly. Fisheries modellers require a variety of mathematical skills. First, they must be competent statisticians to extract the relevant biological information from large amounts of 'noisy' data. Second, they require mathematical skills in areas such as calculus and probability theory to construct models of the fisheries. Third, they require computing skills to implement the models. Finally, as with biometricians, practical contact with the problems in the field is essential. Natural resource modellers will usually combine ecological courses with statistics, applied mathematics, and computer science.

Mathematicians and computer scientists also play a central role in oceanography. The understanding of current flows, with its implications for dispersal of marine organisms, sediments and pollutants, requires large-scale computer models. Computing skills of a high order and mathematical skills in areas such as fluid dynamics and numerical methods are essential. Oceanographic modellers usually have an applied mathematics and computer science background, although some may have entered the field from engineering.

Most mathematicians, statisticians or computer scientists working in marine science are employed by government departments and instrumentalities such as the CSIRO Divisions of Fisheries and Oceanography, the Australian Institute of Marine Science, the Antarctic Division, state departments of primary industry, and tertiary institutions. However, increasing numbers are working in environmental impact assessment, either employed by private industry or as self-employed consultants. Demand in this area is expected to increase substantially in the next few years.

Photos: (Top) A researcher uses the computer model SharkSim to predict the effects of fishing on shark populations. (Bottom) AbaSim is a computer modelling package developed by researchers as a simulation trainer for the management of populations of abalone.