Happy new year everyone! Hope you enjoy our new article.
Marine Biology inspires passion in people world wide. These two simple words for many conjure up the idea of Jacques Cousteau like adventures in the setting sun; close encounters with ocean giants in exotic locations, experiencing the sleek, intimidating presence of the most efficient of the ocean's predators, sharks, the awe inspiring size of blue whales underwater or enjoying a paddle with playful, streamlined dolphins up close and personal. Maybe you are browsing university websites in a second tab this very moment, or flipping through a course catalogue of your chosen institution already, on the hunt for a course that will bring you closer to that dream. But what about the bits that don't make it into the glossy documentary? What can you expect after you paid your dues and graduated suma cum laude from your Marine Biology course? If you've made it through university you probably have already come to suspect that marine biology is not quite as glamorous as it is made out to be on television and you are likely to have n inkling as to what it really took to come by the awe inspiring footage smoothly overlaid with David Attenborough's discerning narration.
It's nearly 2 years on since I have graduated from my MSc in Animal Behaviour and Welfare and I have had some incredible experiences during my quest to get a foothold in the world of marine biology-notably all through unpaid work experience-but today's article will focus on what is probably the dream of many aspiring marine biologists out there; a 20 day line transect survey on the beautiful Song of the Whale, IFAW's research sailboat. An amazing opportunity that will inspire a sparkle in the eyes of many a future marine biologist but was it anything like you would expect?
As any marine biologist worth her salt, I was thrilled by the opportunity to spend up to 20 days on a research vessel looking for cetaceans. I was, however, also acutely aware I was going to spend up to 20 days in the North sea in November looking for one of the most illusive of cetaceans, the humble harbour porpoise.
The harbour porpoise is one of approximately 28 cetacean species known to frequent UK waters. Although it is one of the most common species and is often spotted in coastal waters, it also remains one of the most illusive species, usually occurring alone or in small groups, only surfacing briefly and rarely displaying acrobatic leaps that other cetacean species are known for. Due to their secretive nature, little is known about their lives and habitat choice. The Dogger Bank, one of the largest sandbanks in European waters, has long been suspected to be an important area for harbour porpoise and with plans for the construction of a wind farm this survey could provide important information on harbour porpoise distribution and abundance but apart from that also provide some general information on noise pollution in the North Sea. The transect route was to take us not only to UK sections of the Dogger bank but also zigzag through Dutch, German and Danish waters- good thing really we had an international team of researchers to communicate with the various border agencies if necessary!
So how was this particular route decided on with the whole wide North Sea at our disposal? Unlike whale watching trips or even dedicated photo-id surveys, line transect surveys do not actively seek out 'hotspots' known for high sighting rates. Line transect surveys are important tools for estimating how many animals are resident in an area and it is therefore important not to bias the data by looking only in places that you already know have high sighting rates. Instead a set route is strictly followed and dedicated observers on both starboard (right) and port (left) keep their eyes peeled for cetaceans. In some cases these are joined by another set of observers who scan primarily to the front of the boat through binoculars, and in our specific case, one person was on acoustic monitoring at all times which was especially useful during the night and rough seas.
So there's the technical details but what was it really like? The trip exceeded my expectation in many ways, there is an incredible sense of solidarity and mutual acceptance that develops amongst 10 people that spend 24/7 on less than 30 square metre – which is especially remarkable seeing how water for hot showers was limited! Of course we also had some incredible wildlife encounters, some less expected than others.
An experience straight out of Blue Planet then? No. Better? Quite possibly. Stay tuned for the second part of my blog for a more detailed account.
No comments:
Post a Comment