PhD Students Presented Research on Dolphins and Blue Whiting
Two PhD projects have so far been financed by the North Atlantic Marine Research Programme - MARiNAO - administered by Research Council Faroe Islands for the Danish government. The PhD students presented preliminary results from their research at a workshop in Nuuk last month for partners in the research programme.
PhD student Sara De Clerck informed about the movements of two Atlantic two-sided dolphins tagged in September 2022. The study is part of the TOPLINK project on ecological importance of toothed whales in relation to environmental changes. The dolphins travelled from the Faroe Islands all the way across the North Atlantic towards East Greenland. This is the first documented case of an Atlantic white-sided dolphin crossing the North Atlantic, and it shows that animals hunted in both areas come from the same stock.
Sara De Clerck also informed about new methods for analyzing aging and reproduction of pilot whales and dolphins.
PhD student Costanza Cappelli informed about future prediction of blue whiting stock development. Her study is part of the BlueOcean project on blue whiting recruitment, distribution and ocean-climate processes. Atmosphere-ocean conditions, such as wind stress curl, effect the ocean environment in the blue whiting spawning area the following year which consequently has impact on the stock development.
At the workshop in Nuuk preliminary results from four marine research projects started in 2022 were presented. Two more projects which have been funded in 2023 and will begin soon were also presented.
The aim of the North Atlantic Marine Research Programme is to generate new knowledge on the impact of climate change on the marine environment in the North Atlantic and to strengthen cooperation between Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Denmark.
25 marine researchers from Faroe Islands, Denmark and Greenland participated in the workshop in Nuuk. The Danish government has granted 25.5 million DKK for marine research in the North Atlantic from 2020 to 2023.