Marine Mammal Research & Conservation
My Professional Practice!
From April 21st to June 16th I did my Professional Practice on Marine Mammal Research and Conservation with other IMBRSea student (Maria Cajal) under the supervision of Patrice Hostetter.
Due to the world situation and the existent travel restrictions imposed in different countries the Professional Practice occurred remotely.
Scroll down if you would like to have an idea regarding the work I developed during my PP.
To go into more detail use the menu tool on the left side!
Archipelagos - Institute of Marine Conservation
I did my Professional Practice with “Archipelagos – Institute of Marine Conservation” located in Greece.
Archipelagos is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that combines scientific research in different areas with conservation work. The institute has many ongoing types of research, focusing in a few different areas as: Marine Conservation; Marine Mammals; Terrestrial wildlife; Educational programs; Community engagement and awareness activities; Creation of the Aegean Marine Life Sanctuary; and Laboratory research.
For more information see Archipelago's website
Study Area
How was working remotely?
Since I was not able to be physically present in Archipelagos’ Institute, the practical part of my Professional Practice could not happen. The Professional Practice original plan was adapted, focusing more on data analysis and theoretical aspects of cetacean's research.
See the gallery and get to know some of the professional skills, developed during the Professional Practice.
Common Dolphin - Delphinus delphis
During the 8 weeks of my Professional Practice, I had the opportunity to participate and contribute to a variety of scientific research Archipelagos' is developing that focuses on protecting and monitoring the Common Dolphin’s (Delphinus delphis) population of the Aegean Sea in the Mediterranean.
Accordingly to IUCN, this specie is classified as endangered in the Mediterranean Sea, which increases the importance of studies regarding this specific specie.
During my Professional Practice, I categorized and matched photoID data from 2015 and 2016 and analysed behaviour videos from 2017 and 2018.
PhotoID
PhotoID analysis is a very powerful tool when studying wild populations of cetaceans. In most cases morphological characteristics are used such as dorsal fin shape, presence of scars, notches and/or nicks on the fins which allow to identify and follow each individual through time, working as a mark-recapture method.
Behaviour
Behavioural studies in wild populations of cetaceans can be something demanding, considering the lack of visibility and the amount of time these animals can spend underwater. During a sighting, behaviour data can be collected, by recording a non-stop video. Then each video needs to be analysed by interpreting and identifying different surface behaviours and categorize them.