Thread by @DrAlistairDove

This #WorldOceansDay I'm inspired by all the dedicated people working everywhere to understand and protect the dominant geographic feature of our planet. So today I'm going to be tweeting about just a few of those people to spread the news of their good deeds

1st up @HeatherKoldewey. Heather is at @OfficialZSL & has done incredible work with @projectseahorse, @Nets2Carpet and the Chagos MPA with @Bertarelli_fdn. Any one of those would be huge, but all three is just amazing. zsl.org/users/heather-…

Nxt @CoralReefFish Luiz Rocha, originally from Brazil, is leading a team of folks @calacademy discovering new fish diversity in the gloom beyond regular SCUBA depths, using rebreathers. Every bit as hard as space walking, maybe harder. calacademy.org/explore-scienc…

Andrea Marshall (@QueenofMantas) & @simonpierce. Andrea started @MarineMegafauna in Mozambique & with Simon has grown it to a global leader in science & conservation for whale sharks and manta rays, engaging local communities & training new scientists along the way

@tara_pelembe is the Deputy Dir of @SAERI_FI & works across the UK overseas territories in the Sth Atlantic, advancing environment & conservation initiatives. She's a local "Saint" from #StHelena & one of those ppl who excels at connecting & motivating others for action.

Ideas effervesce off @JacobLevenson like no-one I know. Usually crazy, awesome ideas about how technology, especially #opensource, can advance conservation science. Whales, turtles, whale sharks, I struggle to keep up, but what ride!

I'm a big believer in the power of public #aquariums for ocean #science & #conservation and @VanBonn embodies that perfectly. Bill's a veterinarian who sees individual animal health in a systems context & his #microbiome work @shedd_aquarium is ground breaking

Ruth Leeney @Africas_Sawfish travels all over Africa, tracking down hidden populations of critically endangered sawfishes, by working with fishers & tapping into tremendous historical knowledge of the local community. Now a @NatGeo explorer, congrats! nationalgeographic.org/find-explorers…

.@NickMallos & @GeorgeHLeonard at @OurOcean, together a.k.a. "Mallard" (even matching poses!). Advancing science-based and stakeholder-consensus-driven solutions for ocean problems, especially plastic trash #TrashFreeSeas. Super nice guys, to boot. #BeatPlasticPollution

I have tremendous respect for the example of science communication set by @DrCraigMc, who sees outreach as integral to successful marine biology research, not a post-script to it. Now continuing to lead at @LUMCONscience and still @deepseanews #DeepSN #SciComm

I'm a huge fan of the work @DivaAmon does sharing deep sea biology. To hear on live broadcasts her excitement on discovering cold seeps with the team @oceanexplorer is a delight. #WorldOceansDay