The Thomson marine team are specialists in the analysis of marine macrobenthic samples.
We routinely handle large numbers of samples and have the capacity to respond to the demands of urgent projects, with the ability to meet short deadlines. In recent years we’ve processed around 2000 benthic samples per year.
Expert team of taxonomists
We have a strong team of dedicated marine taxonomists with an international reputation for accurate species identification. Our taxonomists also provide quality assurance auditing of samples analysed by other organisations and conduct workshops and training courses in taxonomy.
Dedicated resources
Since the company first started in 1985, we have been building a reference collection of representatives of unique taxa present in our projects. Currently the reference collection includes over 100,000 animals attributed to about 3,500 taxa. This includes specimens from UK waters as well as from around the globe, including the Mediterranean Sea, Caspian Sea, Qatar, Brunei, southern Greenland and West Africa. This unique collection, combined with a wealth of appropriate literature and keys, enables us to make rapid and accurate identifications.
Our laboratory is well equipped to undertake all stages of sample analysis from sieving and faunal extraction to species identification. Our extensive facilities allow us to process and store large numbers of samples.
Our data management system UNICORN 2 facilitates sample tracking and data processing. UNICORN 2 uses the authoritative WoRMS taxon list to ensure standardisation in the naming of fauna. Results are provided to clients in a wide-range of formats including user-defined layouts suitable for input into other analytical packages.
We are framework providers to the Environment Agency (EA), Natural England (NE) and Natural Resources Wales (NRW), undertaking analysis of benthic faunal samples collected by these organisations. Our inclusion on these frameworks and the significant work commissioned under them is evidence of the high regard we are held in by the statutory authorities and our market leading position.
