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marinemammalsau.bsky.social
Marine Mammal Research at Aarhus University, Ecoscience
@marinemammalsau.bsky.social
570 followers 930 following 50 posts
Tracking movement, health & populations 🐋🐬🐻‍❄️

Our research covers aerial surveys, telemetry, bioacoustics, contaminant research & more, to better understand & protect marine life 🔬#science #dkgreen #onehealth
📍🇩🇰
Posts Replies Media Videos
marinemammalsau.bsky.social
At Science Week, Greenland 🌏🇬🇱

7 years of aerial survey data reveal abundance and habitat selection of the genetically distinct Kangia ringed seal, uniquely adapted to the UNESCO-listed Ilulissat Icefjord🦭🌱🌐🧬

Rikke presented research, with Aqqalu Rosing-Asvid (Pinngortitaleriffik) @GINR

🔗s in 📷
Rikke Guldborg Hansen presented “Sea-ice habitat association of a small ringed seal population”, co-authored by Aqqalu-Rosing Asvid from Pinngortitaleriffik (The Greenland Institute of Natural Resources). The study presented aerial survey data of abundance and habitat selection from two surveys (2018 and 2025) for the genetically distinct Kangia ringed seal, uniquely adapted to the environment found in the UNESCO-listed Ilulissat Icefjord (Kangia in Greenlandic). Observers, photographer: Emile Holba Seal: Aqqalu-Rosing Asvid Greenland Science Week Conference https://www.scienceweek.gl/kopi-af-abstract-submission
November 20, 2025 at 10:36 AM
marinemammalsau.bsky.social
🔊 New volume covering oceanic dolphin species

Ridgway & Harrison’s Handbook of Marine Mammals: An expert-written review & fantastic resource for anyone working with/ fascinated by marine mammals 🌊🐬

Our Anders Galatius has contributed the chapters on white-beaked & Atlantic white-sided dolphins 🧪🌏
November 19, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Reposted by Marine Mammal Research at Aarhus University, Ecoscience
emilytgriffiths.com
It's live! Please see my new paper in Ecological Informatics on the #detection and #categorization of frequency notched echolocation from wild recordings. 🐬🔊👇

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Graphical abstract for the paper 'A simple categorization method for frequency notched echolocation.' Here, we describe how from four passive acoustic monitoring stations in Skagerrak, echolocation clicks from white-beaked dolphins were manually audited. These signals exhibit distinct spectral peaks and notches between 20-80 kHz in 75-90% of visually confirmed species recordings. A nonlinear least squares model was used to dynamically map the spectral banding pattern. Our template was significantly correlated with 87% audited white-beaked dolphin events, making this a viable, computationally efficient method.
November 8, 2025 at 9:05 AM
Reposted by Marine Mammal Research at Aarhus University, Ecoscience
emilytgriffiths.com
First up we have Prof. @jonasteilmann.bsky.social giving an overview of the hight ambitious North Atlantic #minkewhale #tagging project.
Professor Jonas Tielmann presenting the paths six minke whales took after being tagged in Scandinavia.
November 7, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Reposted by Marine Mammal Research at Aarhus University, Ecoscience
emilytgriffiths.com
Live from the Danish Marine Mammal Symposium! Here I'll be posting talks given by @marinemammalsau.bsky.social scientists! Stay tuned 🐋🐬🦭🌊🚢🔊
November 7, 2025 at 10:46 AM
marinemammalsau.bsky.social
This week, Sweden had their first marine mammal research symposium, hosted by Johanne Stedt at #LundUniveristy

This brought discussion for further scientific meetings, presentations of new #MarineMammalResearch and collaborations between the Scandinavian countries.

🐋🌍 🌱🐬 🌐 🧪
October 10, 2025 at 9:15 AM
marinemammalsau.bsky.social
AU and NIRAS are monitoring the critically endangered Baltic harbour porpoise through the international project SAMBAH II 🌐🐬

Since last week, all equipment deployed in summer 2024 to log echolocation clicks from porpoises has been safely retrieved!

📷 captions for more details
sambah.org 🧪
'Crew on Skoven 2 hauling in scientific equipment after months at sea' Static acoustic recorders (anchored to the seabed) listen for porpoise echolocation clicks. Very short, high-frequency sounds (around 130 kHz) the animals use for navigation and hunting. 'Line Khyn from NIRAS and Poul Boel Jørgensen from Aarhus University, Department of Ecoscience' Project is shared equally by Aarhus University & NIRAS. Together with partners across the Baltic: This is a large, international project (involving Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Germany, and others) focused on monitoring the critically endangered Baltic Proper harbour porpoise population. It is funded by the Aage V. Jensen Charity Foundation and the Danish Env. protection agency. 'Poul and Line holding CTD' CTD (Conductivity, Temperature, Depth) casts are often made alongside acoustic deployments so researchers can link porpoise presence with environmental conditions. 'Skoven 2 cruising the Baltic sea'
September 25, 2025 at 2:16 PM
marinemammalsau.bsky.social
Our recent study in the #MarineEcologyProgressSeries
highlights how body size, condition, and human impacts shape the survival of right whales & why they are so vulnerable to prey limitation and disturbance 🐋

🔗 in thread

#Conservation #WhaleResearch #RightWhales #OceanHealth #MarineScience 🌐🌏🧪🌱
📸 Southern right whale: Fredrik Christiansen, Aarhus University 📸 North Atlantic right whale: Center for Coastal Studies, taken under NOAA permit #24359 👉 Link to paper: https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v768/meps14914
September 8, 2025 at 8:04 AM
marinemammalsau.bsky.social
New York Times article discusses @nature.com paper by our Rune Dietz, Christian Sonne, and others at @au.dk and the University of Copenhagen 🌐🐋🧪🌏

@newyorktimeshaiku.bsky.social @ucph.bsky.social
#Science #Research #impact #Mercury #Arcticchange
Study Shows Mercury Levels in Arctic Wildlife Could Rise for Centuries
www.nytimes.com
September 3, 2025 at 12:47 PM
marinemammalsau.bsky.social
Our Rikke on fieldwork in Maniitsoq, Greenland 🇬🇱
Collecting samples to study #genetics, #feedingecology, #reproduction, and the presence of pharmaceuticals & other
#persistentchemicals in harbour porpoises.

See photo captions and link for project details 🐬🌐

veluxfonden.dk/en/projekt/p... 🌱🌏
Rikke Guldborg Hansen is a senior advisor working from the marine mammal research team at AU. She is working on this project in collaboration with RUC and the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources. Rikke has a focus on Arctic marine mammals and the effects of anthropogenic and climatic changes. She is leading monitoring programmes and bridging gaps between scientific and local knowledge with respectful communication and public outreach. At AU she is advising for marine mammals in Danish waters. This includes work with Novana and the different advisory groups for marine mammals under Helcom, Ospar and Ices.  Photo taken by Rikke in Maniitsoq, August 2025
August 29, 2025 at 10:39 AM
marinemammalsau.bsky.social
We have redefined Dolphin Taxonomy 🐬

5 former Lagenorhynchus species have been reassigned to the new/revived and redefined genera:

Aethalodelphis, Leucopleurus & Cephalorhynchus

#marinemammalresearch #globalecology #marineecology
#cetaceans #research #genetics #science 🐋🌱🧪🌐🌏
Phylogenomic, morphological and acoustic data support a revised taxonomy of the lissodelphinine dolphin subfamily
The dolphin genus Lagenorhynchus has included six species of dolphins characterized by short, wide rostra. Genetic analyses have consistently found th…
www.sciencedirect.com
August 14, 2025 at 11:57 AM
marinemammalsau.bsky.social
We are underway with the retrieval of detached data storage tags in the #WaddenSea 🇩🇰🦭

See photo captions and previous posts on our page for the building of retrievable tags and their deployment
@au.dk

#Science #biomonotoring #research #marineecology #marinemammalreasearch 🌐
Deployment of satellite tags on animals has the advantage of the electronics doing the datasampling. Positions, dive depths and underwater 3D movements can be collected for days, weeks and even months. In some cases larger data amounts are being sampled, and the amount of data is too large to transmit to a satellite. Instead, the floating tags need to be recovered after detaching from the animal. Retrieving tags, unless they are being found by people on the beach, can be quite time-consuming. However, with the help from radio transmitters the access to important research data is a great reward for the invested time and logistics.
July 22, 2025 at 1:33 PM
marinemammalsau.bsky.social
PhD student Emilie Stepien uses satellite tags, CATS Cams and drones to observe seal reactions to shipping in the Wadden sea 🇩🇰
Watch a pregnant seal reacting to a sea eagle caught on drone video 🦅🦭

@emstepien.bsky.social 🧪🌐

#Wildlife #WaddenSea #HarbourSeal #AnimalBehaviour #MarineEcology
July 6, 2025 at 10:14 AM
marinemammalsau.bsky.social
Our Senior Researcher Fredrik Christiansen recently completed the third photogrammetry field season on bowhead whales in Disko Bay, Greenland. See Thread.

🌐🌏🐋🧪

@FChristiansen.bsky.social

#marinemammology #ecology #cetaceanresearch
#Arctic #MarineEcology #Research
#Science
Our Senior Researcher Fredrik Christiansen completed the third photogrammetry field season on bowhead whales in Disko Bay, Greenland. Together with MSc student Oliver Nowak and local hunters, he measured over 500 whales during March to June to investigate their prey consumption and condition.
June 30, 2025 at 4:18 PM
marinemammalsau.bsky.social
🔊 Presenting the first range-and genome-wide population genomic analysis of grey seals! 🦭🌐

3812 nuclear SNPs genotyped in 188 samples from 17 sites identified 6 distinct populations and historic bottlenecks with ongoing recovery effects 🧪🌊 @au.dk

doi.org/10.1111/mec....

#Science #marineecology
Grey seal pup photographed in Southern Denmark 2025, AU Ecoscience. Fig. Connectivity and diversity of grey seals inferred from (A) effective migration parameter (Nm) assessed with divMigrate and (B) genetic diversity estimated as the proportion of heterozygous sites per individual. The legend indicating the sampling locality region is applicable to both subplots. The arrow weight legend for Nm indicates the relative strength of effective migration. Black arrows indicate effective migration between different regions while effective migration within a region is coloured according to the region.
June 26, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Reposted by Marine Mammal Research at Aarhus University, Ecoscience
emilytgriffiths.com
This week I'm out in the Danish #BalitcSea on the #SAMBAHII Project, working to monitor the remaining 500 Baltic #harborporpoise. Here, we are deploying a 4-channel array to calculate the #dectectionFunction, or the likelihood of detecting porpoise #echolocation in the study area.
June 26, 2025 at 2:24 PM
marinemammalsau.bsky.social
🔊Paper out today with @nature.com!

Despite decreasing emissions 🌏 mercury levels are rising in some species. Hg Isotopes could reveal why.

Our new research shows ocean currents, may now be the main source of mercury in Arctic ecosystems. 🌐🧪🐻‍❄️🐋 @au.dk

#Arctic #Mercury #Greenland #MarineEcology
Stable isotopes unveil ocean transport of legacy mercury into Arctic food webs - Nature Communications
Mercury pollution in the Arctic has reached toxic levels. Here, the authors compile mercury isotope data from peat and aquatic predator species collected across Greenland over the past 40 years, obser...
www.nature.com
June 12, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Reposted by Marine Mammal Research at Aarhus University, Ecoscience
pedrolivei.bsky.social
After months of hard work, I finally submitted my master’s thesis! 🥳 Super proud of our work and deeply grateful to my supervisors Frants and Jeanne, and the whole @marinemammalsau.bsky.social team for being family during this time. Now fingers crossed for the defense! 🤞
#marinemammals #bioacoustics
June 6, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Reposted by Marine Mammal Research at Aarhus University, Ecoscience
jacobnabe.bsky.social
🔊 Breaking news on foraging plasticity: Bryde's whales can decide to interrupt ongoing feeding for different reasons🐋🐟👀... Find out more on one of my PhD chapters we just published on Ethology Ecology & Evolution. tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…
@marinemammalsau.bsky.social 🧪
May 25, 2025 at 5:26 PM
marinemammalsau.bsky.social
Rune Dietz presented results on PFAS in Danish wildlife at #Naturmødet 2025, together with Neils Kanstrup.
Dangerously high levels found in birds especially around Harboøre Tange and Agger Tange #Science #Research #MarineEcology #dkgreen
🧪🌐🐋

Recent report (Danish):
dce.au.dk/fileadmin/dc...
A study of 188 birds from six huntable species collected across 14 locations in Denmark during autumn and winter 2023–2024 found significantly elevated levels of PFAS—especially PFOS and Σ4PFAS—in teal, mallard, and greylag goose from Harboøre Tange and Agger Tange, with 94% of birds from Harboøre Tange exceeding EU safety limits for human consumption. These findings support the Danish authorities’ decision to end hunting leases and advise against consuming game from these areas due to serious health risks.
May 25, 2025 at 12:48 PM
marinemammalsau.bsky.social
Where should we build offshore wind farms for minimimal impacts on marine species? Discussed by Jacob Nabe-Nielsen from @au.dk on #Naturmødet in Hirtshals. He presented results from the Screening project that will facilitate a sustainable green transition in Denmark #dkgreen #Marineecology 🧪 🌐 🐋
Joint presentation by Jacob Nabe-Nielsen from Aarhus University (left) and Jonas Nyfeldt-Nüchel from NIRAS (right). The sensitivity mapping of Danish waters included marine mammals, birds, bats, and benthic species. Results are published in a series of reports available from the Danish Energy Authority home page or from https://dce.au.dk/en
May 25, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Reposted by Marine Mammal Research at Aarhus University, Ecoscience
frantsjensen.bsky.social
Check out this piece on some of our latest findings on dolphin communication, in research led by our colleague Laela Sayigh.
Can AI help us talk to dolphins? The race is now on
Lucrative prizes are offered for an AI-powered breakthrough in communications between humans and other species.
www.nature.com
May 22, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Reposted by Marine Mammal Research at Aarhus University, Ecoscience
emilytgriffiths.com
In collaboration with researchers at NIRAS, we at @marinemammalsau.bsky.social undertook a baseline study to understand the #USBL impact on porpoise presence in the #NorthSea. We had control and impact #PAM stations, where impact stations were within 3.5 km of known USBL survey activity. 🧵2/6
May 23, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Reposted by Marine Mammal Research at Aarhus University, Ecoscience
emilytgriffiths.com
The prevalence of ultra short baseline acoustic position systems, also known as USBLs 🔊, is understudied in #EuropeanWaters and its effect on marine mammals 🐋, such as the #harbourPorpoise, is mostly unknown. These systems are used in #geophysicalSurveys and during #trawling fishing activities. 🧵1/6
Harbour porpoise surfacing in calm, northern water.
May 23, 2025 at 11:57 AM
marinemammalsau.bsky.social
Our PostDoc Marina Gil has just returned from Greenland 🇬🇱 Together with local hunters, she collected samples for the AMAP CORE program - monitoring pollution in Greenland biota since 1994. It holds some of the longest time series data for Arctic wildlife 🐻‍❄️🐋

More in the photo captions 🧪
www.amap.no
Marina started with us in January to work primarily on the WhaleAdapt project with Rune Dietz, Christian Sonne and Jens Søndergaard. WhaleAdapt is a 4 year program led by McGill University, Canada and is an international collaboration with Denmark, the US, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The project investigates effects of climate change on cetaceans and whaling communities in the North Atlantic. 'The goal is to help communities across the affected countries to make sustainable, healthy and socio economically viable adaptations to shifting marine resources.' - Melissa McKinney, project lead. Marina is originally from Spain and lived much of her Scientific career in the Canary Islands working closely with cetaceans. She has also been to Antarctica during her recent postdoc at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in Bremerhaven, Germany. - Picture taken from Qeqertarsuaq, Greenland A successful trip for Marina where she collected an array of tissue samples and measurements from 17 subsistence hunted ringed seals in Qeqertarsuaq, she also fished for sculpins as in this picture.
May 10, 2025 at 7:36 PM