How I came to have a nudibranch named after me!

For me, part of the attraction of diving is the fact that you really do never know what you will come across. You can dive a site 20 times, and on the 21st you might see something completely new, or you might come across something unusual the very first time you dive there.

The latter was the case on 6 June 2021 on a Seasearch NI dive at the Skerries with Aquaholics.

I always really look forward to the Seasearch dives, and this day was no different. After a lovely first dive and a surface interval spent chatting about all things SCUBA, I was preparing for dive number two with buddies Bernard Picton and Phil Wilkinson. We were last to go in and the skipper, Richard, kindly dropped us in a slightly different spot to the others, as it was an area Bernard wanted to explore.

Libby on a dive in Northern Ireland.

We set off on a drift dive, and not long in I spotted what I thought looked like an unusual Dendronotus sp. nudibranch. I began to take a few photos, although being relatively inexperienced I wasn't sure if it was just a variation I had never seen before.

I have a few confessions to make at this point; the first is that I spend A LOT of time looking at pictures of nudibranchs on social media and I still thought this one looked unusual. The second is that I deliberated for what felt like a long time about whether I should signal to my buddy, Bernard, or not. I did not want to embarrass myself in front of a nudibranch expert by making a big deal out of nothing.

First sighting of the Dendronotus keatleyae.

Luckily for me, although perhaps not for this particular nudibranch, I did decide it was worth highlighting, and began to frantically wave my torches to get Bernard over to look at my find. I moved out of the way and waited nervously to see if he also took some photos, which he did. I felt a sense of pride that I had in fact found something at least photo worthy. However, when the sample bag came out and the nudibranch was (rather deftly) collected I did feel a strange mix of pride and guilt.

The feeling of guilt was compounded when our other buddy, Phil, arrived beside me to see what I had been so excited about, only to see a bald patch in the hydroids, and shoot me an understandably confused look. Back on the boat I was interested to see what Bernard thought, only to have him calmly tell me that it could be a new species!

The nudibranch was taken to the Queen's University Belfast marine laboratory where it was documented and subsampled by Christine Morrow and sent off for DNA sequencing. This is part of an exciting DNA barcoding project funded by DAERA (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs). And I spent the next year trying my best not to ask Bernard about it every time I saw him.

When the results were returned, it was shown to be a species of Dendronotus that was not yet described. These results were shared with other marine biologists around the world who were also working on the Dendronotus genus. On 1 April 2023 Korshunova et al. published a paper describing this new species. After being assured it wasn't an April fool, I was absolutely delighted to learn that Bernard, with the kind agreement of the other authors, had officially named the new species Dendronotus keatleyae.

To me, this is a wonderful example of how citizen science projects like Seasearch can bring together amateur marine life enthusiasts and expert marine biologists, allowing them to work together to learn about our fantastic marine life and the biodiversity we have, and sometimes even make an exciting discovery.

I have certainly learned a lot since I started diving and I have Seasearch to thank in a large part for that, I would strongly recommend it to any diver with an interest in marine life. Participating as a volunteer has provided me with the opportunity not only to learn more about our local marine species and dive new places, but also to meet wonderful people like Bernard and Christine who kindly share their knowledge and offer their support.

So keep your eyes peeled, and keep diving!

A happy Libby on the surface after a dive.

The full paper about Dendronotus keatleyae is available to read online.

Bernard Picton and Christine Morrow's book Nudibranchs of Britain, Ireland and Northwest Europe is available to buy from the Seasearch shop.

Main photo by Bernard Picton. Other photos by Phil Wilkinson and Libby Keatley.

AUTHOR

Libby Keatley
Seasearch volunteer

Libby learnt to dive in 2019 and hasn't looked back. After seeing the amazing marine life around Northern Ireland, she knew she had to learn more and contacted her local Seasearch coordinator and has been volunteering ever since.

Libby also recently started as a research assistant at Queen's Marine Lab working on a project with Christine Morrow, developing a web-based portal for marine biodiversity.