Dr McLeod – the 2008 McDiarmid Young Scientist of the year – has a fascination with the slimy and disgusting that has seen her study hagfish in Fiordland and metre-long worms in Antarctica. She looks at the importance of rain forest and sea ice for the diets of these creatures. What if more forests are cut down, or if the sea ice disappears? Armed with these answers, it is becoming possible to predict the challenges ahead for these coastal creatures, and for coastal ecosystems in general. 2009 Winter Lecture Series.