The Life CONCEPTU MARIS concludes the first phase of transferring of the multidisciplinary protocol for the monitoring of cetaceans
The Life CONCEPTU MARIS concludes with September the first phase of transferring of the multidisciplinary protocol for the monitoring of cetaceans, sea turtles and ecological processes through visual, environmental DNA, isotopes and sensors techniques.
The protocol, developed in a core area of the Tyrrhenian Sea, was transferred this summer to the key areas of the Spanish Cetacean Migration Corridor, the Pelagos Sanctuary and the Adriatic Region.
To date, the project has made it possible to collect 1,534 sightings of cetaceans and 1,012 of sea turtles, 87 samples of environmental DNA, 492 samples for stable isotope analysis, 600 samples to characterize key environmental variables such as the chlorophyll and 60,823 points with sensor data on temperature, dissolved oxygen, Ph and salinity.
A great team effort involving ISPRA as project coordinator, the Anton Dohrn Zoological Station, University of Milan-Bicocca, University of Palermo, Universitat de València, CIMA Research Foundation, ÉcoOcéan Institut, University of Studies of Turin and the “Capo Carbonara” Marine Protected Area.
The sampling will now be systematically replicated during next autumn and in all the seasons of 2024 thanks to the continuous support of the shipping companies Balearia, Corsica and Sardinia Ferries, Grandi Navi Veloci, Grimaldi Lines, Minoan Lines and Tirrenia which allowed transforming their ships into floating laboratories to support the research and monitoring on the giant of the sea.
More information on the page: https://www.lifeconceptu.eu/en/
