We asked each of our scientists to give us their thoughts on their professions and what they think the future holds for humanity.

What would you recommend for students wanting to pursue a similar career?
Spend as much time as you can learning about natural history. Universities will teach principles and concepts, but it is up to yourself to develop your own understanding of ecosystems – knowledge and experience that can only be gained by being out in the field and in libraries, by keen observation, a critical mind and a lot of enthusiasm.

What do you like best about your profession?
The most important aspect for me is to be able to contribute to a better understanding of our environment and hence to better informed decision making. I also love the day-to-day diversity of doing research: every day is different and every month brings new and interesting questions, challenges to solve and answers. And of course I absolutely love every minute I can spend under water in coral reefs and other marine ecosystems.

What makes you most fearful for the future?
The fixation on the dogma that growth in consumption and demand is desirable or even essential. It's a simple fact in ecology that there is no such thing as unlimited population growth: populations grow until they have depleted their resources and consequently crash. Unfortunately, this principle also applies to the human population — as it does to the crown-of-thorns starfish.

What makes you most hopeful for the future?
Progress in science, raising awareness, a greatly improved knowledge base for decision making and the development of smart, cleaner technologies.