Vigo, Thursday, 3 October 2024. Scientific staff from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO-CSIC), aboard the catamaran of the EDMAKTUB association, carried out a multidisciplinary study of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) that gather in Galician waters to feed. The campaign, carried out on the continental shelf of the Rías Baixas during the first half of September, made it possible to take water samples for the genetic characterisation of whales through environmental DNA. In addition, respiratory microbiome samples were collected using drones and images were taken for identification and biometric analysis.
“The analysis of environmental DNA present in the water and the use of drones to collect data and samples allow us to obtain previously unknown information. This will help us characterise the population that visits Galician waters, study its connectivity and migration patterns, and assess its health status,” says Camilo Saavedra, researcher at the IEO Vigo Oceanographic Centre and head of the campaign.
The RorquGAL campaign was carried out within the framework of the EMPHATIC project (E-DNA, Microbiomes, Photogrammetry and Hormones – Assessment Techniques In Cetaceans), coordinated by the Institute of Marine Research (IIM-CSIC) and funded by the European Biodiversa+ 2022-2026 call through the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge. This project is funded by the European Union. However, the views expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Biodiversity Foundation. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.