Marine Biodiversity Networking Friday with Atlantic Whale Deal

On May 10th, 2024, from 1:00 to 2:00 PM UTC, we will have a special session with Dr Filipe Alves and Dr Marc Fernandez, focusing on the nascent Atlantic Whale Deal project, aimed at pioneering solutions to mitigate ship strikes on whales in Atlantic waters. The session will outline the project objectives, including developing innovative detection technologies and creating risk assessment tools to enhance marine safety and biodiversity conservation. Emphasizing the project's initial phase, the discussion will address planned strategies, expected outcomes, and the importance of transnational collaboration for successful implementation and long-term ecological sustainability.

Programme (UTC)

1h00 - Welcome and introductions, Laura González García (Post-doc cetacean researcher University of Azores / Biologist – Futurismo Azores Adventures) 1h05 - Filipe Alves (Associate Researcher, MARE-Madeira / ARDITI, PT). 1h25 - Marc Fernández Morrón (Junior Researcher, MARE-Madeira / ARDITI, PT). 1h45 - Q&A, moderated by Laura González García. 2h00 - Closing. This is an Ocean Decade Event.

Speakers

Filipe Alves

Associate Researcher, MARE-Madeira/ARDITI Filipe is an associate researcher at MARE-Madeira/ARDITI and leads the Marine Megafauna team, MegaSOS. Filipe is a guest lecturer at the University of Madeira and teaches the Marine Mammal summer course at the Duke University Marine Lab (USA). He is also a consultant for several highly recognised organisations, including ICES, OSPAR, the European Commission’s Habitat Directives and the UN. Filipe's research interests span population ecology, physiology, diet and the movement of marine megafauna. Filipe has a PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Madeira, an MSc in Ecology from the Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra and a BSc in Marine Biology and Fisheries from the University of Algarve.

Marc Fernández Morrón

Junior Researcher, MARE-Madeira/ARDITI Marc is a researcher at MARE-Madeira/ARDITI and has a PhD in Biology (University of the Azores) and a BSc in Marine Sciences (University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria). He co-founded the MONICET platform, which started in 2009 and is still running, based on open-science and collaborative data management principles, to collect observations data from whale-watching boats. His main research interests are marine ecology, biodiversity, and biogeography, focusing on ecological niche modelling for cetaceans.

Moderator

Laura González García

Post-doc cetacean researcher University of Azores / Biologist – Futurismo Azores Adventures With extensive hands-on experience in whale watching in the Azores, Laura´s work highlights these opportunistic data as a highly valuable source of information valid for research, supporting the existent link between Science & Tourism. Laura´s research focused on the spatial and temporal distribution and habitat modelling of cetaceans in the Azores, with a sound background in physical oceanography and involved in the photo-identification of Atlantic cetaceans. We will continue with the Networking Fridays during the next months. More information about future sessions as well as presentations and videos from previous sessions can be found here. Please do not forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel.  Twitter Hashtag: #netfridays. Expect some very exciting mornings, afternoons or evenings, depending on where you are… If you need any additional information please send an email to Jose Luiz Moutinho. Marine Biodiversity Networking Friday with NECCTON: New Copernicus Capability for Trophic Ocean Networks Marine Biodiversity Networking Friday with MSPACE: Climate-smart, economically viable and socially acceptable spatial ocean strategies. Marine Biodiversity Networking Friday DTO-BioFlow: Integrating Marine Biodiversity Data into the Digital Twin of the Ocean.