The marine biology of Lundy has been studied since the middle of the 19th century with the most significant work being undertaken on Lundy shores in the late 1940s and early 50s and underwater in the 1970s and 80s. Descriptions of the habitats and species around the island have revealed a great variety of marine life with many species that are nationally rare or scarce in Britain present especially underwater.
Lundy provides opportunities to study rocky habitats that range from those exposed to severe wave action or vicious tidal currents to those of the sheltered cast coast with its infrequent wave action, gentle currents and muddy seditnents. Now, with the status of the island as a Marine Nature Reserve, the focus of research has switched to monitoring change and developing an understanding of why that change occurs.