Posted: October 3, 2024
By: Jocelyn Adams Moss
The latest season of Sciographies launches this week with Dr. Aaron MacNeil (BSc'01), a marine biologist and professor at Dalhousie University. In this episode, MacNeil reflects on his journey from growing up in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, to becoming a leading researcher in fisheries ecology.
Dr. MacNeil shares his early fascination with marine biology, inspired by summers spent at Rissers Beach and the academic influence of a biology teacher in high school.
He describes his path through Dalhousie’s biology program, his pivotal research experiences with sharks, and his exploration of food web ecology during his PhD studies in the United Kingdom.
In this candid conversation with oceanographer and host of Sciographies Dr. David Barclay, Dr. MacNeil emphasizes the importance of mentorship, collaboration, and his international research on marine ecosystems, offering insights into both the scientific and personal milestones that shaped his career.
Here are some excerpts from the episode, edited for clarity and length.
Barclay: As a teenager you wanted to become a marine biologist?
MacNeil: We would spend our summers at Rissers Beach on the South Shore and I was sitting on a beach trying to decide whether I was going to go to engineering or marine biology at Dalhousie. I was sitting on a beach and went, 'There's no decision here. I'm just going to do this.' And, you know, I thought the decision was made there, but after talking to my friend, she said I was talking about being a professor in junior high.
Barclay: What did your parents do?
MacNeil: Both teachers. They were the first two generation to go to university.
Barclay: Were there people on the academic side in high school or junior high?
MacNeil: Yeah, it's interesting because I was the only one of my little cohort of nerds that didn't take AP biology, and then I'm the only one who ended up as a biologist. I had an excellent biology teacher. Just incredible. And all of a sudden it was a thing that was an open avenue for what you could do. You could be a biologist. He instilled that in everybody.
Barclay: During your time as an undergraduate at Dal, did you get to stick your hands into research?
MacNeil: Eventually. I had a friend who was doing a master's with Dr. Jeff Hutchings. She told me I should do an honours, and I believed her. I had to kind of figure out what I wanted to do. And she said, 'Well, sharks are cool.' And I said, 'Okay.'
Barclay: How has it been since you returned to Dal as a faculty member?
MacNeil: Fantastic. Absolute number one job I wanted to have in the world and I absolutely love it. I've won the lottery. I have a job at the university, basically that I grew up in. My family's here, and the academic life here is fantastic.
