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  • WHERE I WORK

Little urchins, mischievous molluscs: my life as a sea champion

Despite being jetted by giant clams, Mei Lin Neo remains steadfast in her defence of marine species.
By
  1. Jack Leeming
Mei Lin Neo holding a small plastic basket in front of a water tank for mussels. She is framed among grey plastic pipes.

Mei Lin Neo is a marine ecologist in the Tropical Marine Science Institute at the National University of Singapore. Credit: Juliana Tan for Nature

“In this photo, I’m examining some of the animals in my care. I work as an ecologist at the St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory, which is sited on a small island off the coast of mainland Singapore.

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Nature 646, 252 (2025)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-03153-x

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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