Scottish Oceans Institute

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.

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."

SCOS 2012 Report now available.

2013-06-10T00:00:00

The 2012 SCOS report containing advice to government on UK seal populations now publicly available.

Direct link to the 2012 report

Main SCOS page