Speaker 1 (1)
You will hear two marine biology students discussing a lecture on marine biodiversity and conservation from a visiting speaker.
Speaker 1 (2)
First, you have some time to look at questions 21 to 24.
Speaker 1 (3)
Now listen carefully and answer questions 21 to 24.
Speaker 2 (4)
That lecture from the visiting speaker yesterday was good, wasn't it?
Speaker 3 (6)
I learned a lot from her about ocean biodiversity.
Speaker 3 (7)
I've already done some reading on it, and I did an assignment on some of the problems associated with it last year.
Speaker 3 (8)
But I especially like the way her lecture focused on more long term issues.
Speaker 2 (10)
Things that aren't currently receiving widespread attention, but are likely to be important in the future.
Speaker 2 (11)
That impressed me too.
Speaker 2 (12)
It wasn't exactly a feel good conclusion because it's hard to see any real solution for a lot of the problems.
Speaker 3 (14)
Though she did point to where policy changes could be made to protect our marine and coastal environments.
Speaker 2 (15)
But that's just at a national level.
Speaker 2 (16)
The examples she gave were at a more global level, and they really made it clear to me just how wide ranging the threats to ocean biodiversity are.
Speaker 2 (19)
The research project she described was impressive, wasn't it?
Speaker 2 (20)
I'd have thought it was quite unusual to have so many experts working together.
Speaker 3 (22)
And from such different backgrounds.
Speaker 3 (23)
Must have been a really exciting team to work with.
Speaker 3 (24)
I'd heard of a couple of them before.
Speaker 3 (25)
They were involved in research way back in 2009, warning about the dangers of ocean pollution.
Speaker 2 (26)
But now people are much more aware of that, aren't they?
Speaker 3 (27)
I suppose so.
Speaker 2 (28)
Another thing about the research is that the team members came from all around the world, though I suppose that's not unusual nowadays.
Speaker 2 (29)
Now everyone can work remotely.
Speaker 3 (31)
I like the way she didn't bombard us with figures.
Speaker 3 (32)
I mean, they were available, but she focused more on the general points they indicated.
Speaker 2 (33)
And the description of improvements in systems used for tracking marine animals, and things like robots were really interesting.
Speaker 3 (35)
And her description of how robotics can be used to investigate threats to biodiversity.
Speaker 2 (36)
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (37)
Before you hear the rest of the discussion, you have some time to look at questions 25 to 30.
Speaker 1 (38)
Now listen and answer questions 25 to 30.
Speaker 2 (39)
While you're here, can we talk about the list of resources we have to evaluate for the seminar tomorrow?
Speaker 2 (40)
I've had a look at them all, but it's been a bit of a rush.
Speaker 3 (42)
What did you think of that article on invasive lionfish?
Speaker 3 (43)
The one claiming they were expanding their habitat throughout the Mediterranean Sea.
Speaker 2 (44)
Well, the writer went on about how dangerous they were in environmental terms, which is probably true, but he didn't really provide much information to explain why.
Speaker 3 (45)
I know what you mean.
Speaker 2 (46)
I watched the documentary on microplastics.
Speaker 2 (47)
At least, I started to.
Speaker 2 (48)
But then I found it was made ten years ago, so I gave up.
Speaker 3 (49)
I watched to the end, but you're right.
Speaker 3 (50)
It was showing its age.
Speaker 3 (51)
People had hardly heard of microplastics then, whereas now everyone knows about them and how dangerous they are.
Speaker 2 (53)
Did you listen to the podcast on ocean pollution?
Speaker 3 (54)
I didn't get anything out of it, though.
Speaker 3 (55)
Most of it was stating the obvious.
Speaker 2 (57)
It mentioned pesticides and plastic and things, and it clearly made the point that they were a bad thing.
Speaker 2 (58)
But everybody knows that anyway.
Speaker 2 (59)
Did you read that book on coastal ecosystems?
Speaker 3 (60)
The one by John Harper?
Speaker 3 (62)
I found it hard going at first.
Speaker 3 (63)
It went into a lot of detail about things like the effects of offshore wind farms and fish farms, but actually, I ended up with a much better understanding of the issues.
Speaker 2 (66)
And I thought it was a well written summary of those, and the diagrams helped a lot too.
Speaker 3 (67)
The article on metal toxicity was way above my head.
Speaker 3 (68)
I didn't know anything about how metals from industrial emissions react in the ocean, and I still don't understand it.
Speaker 2 (69)
I gave up reading after the first chapter.
Speaker 2 (70)
I just couldn't follow it.
Speaker 3 (71)
That podcast on floating marine cities was interesting, though it presented a rather one-sided picture, I thought.
Speaker 2 (73)
It focused on how this would benefit people and ignored the effects on the environment.
Speaker 3 (74)
But anyway, shall we talk about
Speaker 1 (75)
That is the end of part three.
Speaker 1 (76)
You now have thirty seconds to check your answers to part three.
