The company has two full-time company directors, who are supported by a pool of associate and independent professionals, as and when required, which enables OSC to provide an efficient and reliable service for any size of project. We have alliances with several academic institutions and commercial organisations, while our own recruitment database typically contains current details of more than 50 specialists, qualified in relevant subject areas, including oceanography, marine biology, marine mammal science, marine mammal observer (MMO) and passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) services, industrial acoustics and scientific (HSE) SCUBA diving. This has lead to the creation of a multi-disciplinary team that can provide a total and efficient solution to meet a host of environmental services.

Victoria Todd – Director & Consultant
Dr Todd is a founding Director of OSC and an Honorary Research Fellow at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, in the Department of Life Sciences. She holds degrees in the Ecology and Acoustics of Bats (PhD, Leeds University), Oceanography (MSc, National Oceanography Centre), and Marine Biology (BSc, Liverpool University). Dr Todd is also a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London. She is experienced in international maritime law (United Nations Environment Programme, Convention on Migratory Species, Bonn, Germany), marine mammal acoustics as Guest Investigator at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI, Massachusetts), large-scale field trials involving potential effects of military sonar on gray whales in the Pacific Ocean (WHOI/US Navy funded work), and marine mammal visual and acoustic surveys in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean and North Seas. Dr Todd also planned and directed a comprehensive series of acoustic trials on seal scarers for the commercial aquaculture industry (SAMS, Scotland). She gained extensive experience in the film industry when employed as a researcher for the joint BBC and John Downer Productions 'Supernatural' series. Dr Todd is a JNCC- and NPWS-trained marine mammal observer (MMO), MMS-trained Protected Species Observer (PSO), and skilled passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) operator, for which she possesses current health, safety and emergency certificates for offshore operations. Research interests include bioacoustics, porpoise and bat foraging ecology, and wild tortoise and corvid behaviour. Dr Todd supervises survey design, measurement and analysis.

Ian Todd – Director & Consultant
Mr Todd is a founding Director of OSC and is currently undertaking part-time postgraduate research in acoustics and ecology of harbour porpoises (PhD, Leeds University). He holds degrees in Marine Resource, Development & Protection (NERC-funded MSc scholarship, Heriot-Watt University) and Business & Economics (BCom with Honours, Edinburgh University), various diplomas including Marine Engineering (HND, Glasgow College of Nautical Studies), and a Marine Engineering Officer Certificate of Dual Competency (Class 4 Steam and Motor Plant, Maritime & Coastguard Agency). As a former engineer/safety officer in the Merchant Navy, he served deep-sea and worldwide with P&O Containers and later P&O Nedlloyd. Mr Todd has supervised visual and acoustic surveys of marine mammals throughout European waters during scientific and commercial contracts, for which he is a JNCC- and NPWS-trained marine mammal observer (MMO), MMS-trained Protected Species Observer (PSO), and skilled passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) operator. Mr Todd possesses current health, safety and emergency certificates for offshore operations. Research interests include distance sampling (statistical methodology to estimate populations) and bioacoustics. Mr Todd is experienced in corporate finance, HSE SCUBA diving operations, scientific and monitoring survey work, project management, field equipment installation and technical support.

Will Pearse – Research Assistant
Mr Pearse is currently undertaking postgraduate research in community phylogenetics, investigating how communities of species assemble themselves, involving detailed statistical and phylogenetic analyses (PhD, Imperial College). He holds degrees in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation (MSc, Imperial College) and Zoology (BA with Honours, Cambridge University). He is experienced in visual and acoustic surveys of marine mammals during scientific and commercial contracts in the North and Irish Seas.