Migle worked as a member of the Marine conservation team at Archipelagos. She chose Archipelagos after hearing what a great platform it creates for a young scientist to get experience and work on exciting projects. Migle had been with Archipelagos for 9 months, working on a variety of projects and learning different methods.

Her main project aimed to investigate biodiversity in different marine habitats using underwater cameras.

Migle worked on the ‘’Comparison of fish biodiversity and invasive fish species presence in different marine habitats, using remote underwater video method (RUV)’’.

There are many native fish species in Mediterranean, suffering, due to the spread of invasive species, which compete for the same food and shelter as native, in turn affecting the successful establishment of the native species populations.

‘’The aim of my project is to investigate fish biodiversity in different marine habitats and observe correlations found between native and invasive fish abundance in different sites around Lipsi island.

By using Remote Underwater Video (RUV) methods we are able to record fish biodiversity in 3 natural marine habitats: Posidonia oceanica (Seagrass meadows), scarce seagrass/sand and rock bed.

It is essential to keep monitoring the most encountered invasive species such as: Siganus luridus, Siganus rivulatus, Pterois miles, and Synchiropus sechellensis. As current literature suggests that since the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, more than 80 Lessepsian fish species (species that have spread through the canal) have been recorded in the Mediterranean.

Migle Jucaityte
MsCi Wildlife Ecology & Conservation Science student,
University of the West of England
On-site intern at Archipelagos’ Marine Conservation Team