Life’s a drag: large whale entanglement
In early March 2019, a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) was sighted in the Firth of Forth close to Edinburgh, Scotland (UK), entangled in static fishing gear (ropes and buoys associated with shellfish pots or creels). Despite the efforts of a large whale disentanglement team, releasing the whale from the gear was unsuccessful and the location […]
Superpod of dolphins seen around offshore platform in the North Sea
Visual and acoustic evidence for marine mammals around man-made structures is really growing. Ian and Victoria are back offshore, where a superpod of hundreds of dolphins were observed swimming around hydrophones deployed from an offshore oil and gas installation in the North Sea. Spectacular to see. We can’t wait to report these data in a […]
Acoustics aids in individual recognition of animals
It has long been known that some odontocetes (toothed whales and dolphins) produce sounds with unique frequency modulation patterns known as signature whistles. Research has shown that these individually identifiable whistles, which are formed early in life, play a similar role to names in humans. Under normal circumstances, signature whistles account for 50% of whistle […]
Sonar and marine mammals
An article in BBC news today (www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23115939) discusses new research by DeRuiter et al. (2013), and Goldbogen et al. (2013) on how sonar affects blue and beaked whales; a topic relevant to the research conducted by OSC on anthropogenic noise and marine mammals. By attaching multi sensor Digital tags (D-TAG), which measure animal activity and […]
Grey seal sightings
The majority of sightings by our Marine Mammal Observers in the last few weeks have been Grey seals (Halichoerus grypus), which are a member of the Phocidae family, more commonly known as the true seals. When seen at sea, our Marine Mammal Observers have been recognising these seals by their distinctive long, broad, flat snout, […]
Latest research
As we wait to hear if one of our recently submitted papers is accepted for publication in Mammal Review, it seems like the perfect opportunity to explore the latest research. At OSC, our research focuses mainly on marine mammal acoustics. With concern growing about how anthropogenic noise has the potential to affect marine mammals, the […]
Bull sharks have the strongest bite
Marine animals have featured in the news this week with the discovery that bull sharks have the strongest bite relative to body size. Also, on a positive note; a substantial rise in the introduction of marine protected areas over the last decade means that 2.3 % of the world’s oceans are now protected, as per […]