Sea Mammal Research Unit

Dophins use whistles to say hello to each other

2012-05-18T00:00:00

Using hydrophones, researchers Vincent Janik and Nicola Quick of the University of St Andrews made recordings of dolphins swimming in St. Andrews Bay, off the northeastern coast of Scotland, in the summers of 2003 and 2004.

When groups of dolphins met up, they swapped whistles that outwardly sounded the same but their research showed that the whistles were individual signatures that were never matched or copied by other dolphins.

The whistles are clearly important, as they were heard in 90 percent of the joinups, says their paper, which was published in the British journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The discovery adds an intriguing footnote about the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), one of only very few species which can invent or copy noises.

Dolphin-spotting around Scotland

2013-04-05T00:00:00

You don’t have to be on the water to spot a dolphin in Scotland if you know where to go writes Keith Broomfield. Cetacean expert Vincent Janik of the Scottish Oceans Institute at the University of St Andrews tells me that there are two main populations of bottlenose dolphins found around Scotland. The largest group comprises just under 200 animals and is found along the east coast. As well as the already mentioned sites, other reasonably reliable places to spot dolphins include the mouth of the Firth of Tay (Broughty Ferry Castle is a good viewpoint) and also at Anstruther in Fife on the outer edge of the Firth of Forth.

A smaller population of around 50 bottlenose dolphins is resident on the west coast around the Hebrides. They comprise of two different groups, one consisting of around 15 individuals that live mainly in the Sound of Barra, whereas the other is double that size and ranges more widely throughout the Inner Hebrides and western mainland coasts.

Other types of dolphin are found around Scotland too – such as the common dolphin, white-beaked dolphin and Risso’s dolphin – but they tend to be more offshore in their habits and are therefore not seen nearly so often. Dolphins are long-lived animals and have only been studied in more recent times, which makes it difficult to determine any long-term trends in numbers, but indications suggest that at least the eastern Scottish population is probably stable.

Studies at St Andrews will hopefully shed more light on our bottlenose dolphins and help develop strategies to ensure their protection. Our iconic Scottish animals represent the world’s most northerly resident populations, and with numbers standing at somewhere less than 300 individuals, there is no doubt that they are also among our most vulnerable creatures.

Whales able to learn from each other

2013-04-26T00:00:00

International Environmental 'Omics Synthesis Conference

2013-04-29T00:00:00

Registration is now open for the first annual International Environmental 'Omics Synthesis Conference, Cardiff, September 9-11th, 2013.

The conference will bring together researches in environmental sciences and researchers in 'omics (e.g. genomics, proteomics, metabolomics), and will help establish a wider integrated 'omics community.

This conference is supported by NERC Mathematics and informatics for Environmental 'Omics data Synthesis program and the STFC Futures Programme, under the coordination of the recently established Environmental 'Omic Synthesis Centre chaired by Professor Thomas Meagher.

School of Biology lecturer Dr Daniel Barker, a member of the conference organising committee, said: "This is a unique conference, aimed simultaneously at environmental researchers and 'omics technologists. This will be a perfect chance for these groups to meet, share ideas and learn from each other. I wish to draw the conference to the attention of researchers in environmental biology, and researchers and users of bioinformatics and 'omics methods."

Unusual sperm whale sighting in the Firth of Forth

2013-04-29T00:00:00

BBC News 29 April 2013

Tracking whales with earthquake monitors

2013-05-19T00:00:00

Science Daily 13 May 2013

H1N1 discovered in US elephant seals

2013-05-18T00:00:00

Science News 15 May 2013