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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 3h

‼️ Registration for UKIRSC 2027 is OPEN! 🐬 Open to all students & recent graduates studying marine mammals! ✨ The conference is free & offers some travel grants within the UK Link in comments ⬇️

Poster for the conference - poster sessions, keynote speakers, workshops, travel bursaries available, QR code for registering

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Nature Portfolio @natureportfolio.nature.com · 28/09/2026

A study in Communications Biology shows that Antarctic krill ecology may be more closely connected to hydrothermal vents than previously recognized. go.nature.com/4gVMUBE 🌊🌎🧪

This is figure 2, which shows screenshots taken from ROV dives aboard RV Falkor (too).

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Great graphic in here on Europe’s not-so-great summer heatwave. Does anyone know how this has impacted marine mammals? 🐬

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MASTS @mastscot.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

NEXT WEEK - a MASTS Webinar from the Marine Mammal research forum 🐬 Sign up: events.teams.microsoft.com/event/1b1664... 👇Using Stranding Data and Consequences of Multiple Stressors to Understand Cetacean Health 🐳

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

📣 SAVE THE DATE! 📣 The 21st UKIRSC Conference will take place 12 - 15th Jan 2027 at the University of St Andrews. A free event for students in marine mammal science to share research, network, and be inspired. More details soon! #UKIRSC #MarineMammals #StudentScience @seamammalresearch.bsky.social

Conference announcement poster stating save the date and stay tuned, 12-15th January 2027, University of St Andrews.Background picture is iconic ruined cathedral in St Andrews

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Marine Mammal Research at Aarhus University, Ecoscience @marinemammalsau.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

'What does an Arctic fjord sound like beneath the surface during an expedition cruise? First results will be presented at the Arctic Cruise Conference during Arctic Expedition Cruise Week in Oslo, October 20–23.' link below to press release from AECO involving work by our section 🐋🌐🔊 🧪❄️

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ZSL @zslofficial.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Read the latest blog from Rob Deaville, CSIP Project Manager, and James Barnett, Cornwall Marine Pathology Team and lead author of the paper, to learn more about the ripple effect of bycatch in cetaceans #CSIoftheSea 4/4

zsl.org

What a tangled web we weave: Bycatch in UK cetaceans

Bycatch presents the greatest human-caused threat to marine mammal populations, bypassing ship strike, hunting, and pollution.

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Society for Marine Mammalogy @marinemammalogy.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

SMM FIELDWORK SERIES A bird’s-eye view of marine mammal fieldwork in action! This drone footage captures the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s 2026 Steller sea lion brand-resight survey at Sugarloaf Island, Alaska. 📸 Drone footage by Dr. Greg Larsen ©ADF&G ESA/MMPA Permit No. 27503-02

A large colony of sea lions clustered on rocky tide pools and a pebbled cove beneath green cliffs, with a small boat in the calm blue water nearby.

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Not one but TWO new papers from ex-UKIRSC committee member Josh! Ok so they’re not technically mammals… but useful insights for top predator foraging 🐧 🐟

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Committee member Ellen Hayward recently published a paper on cooperative feeding strategies in killer whales - picture tail slaps from a killer whale’s perspective as well as slurping sounds when they eat! 🐬

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

A final introduction to our committee members this year, all PhD students studying marine mammals! 🦭 🐳 Starting with Myriam Widdman, a PhD student at the University of St Andrews, studying acoustic communication and behaviour of North Atlantic herring-eating killer whales 🫍

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Super interesting paper on the variability in bowhead whale song 🐋 🎵 🔊

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

… and final returning committee member Ellen! 🫍 🫍

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

… and returning committee member Beth 🐬 🔊 …

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Reintroducing returning committee member Mia! 🦭

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IPBES @ipbes.net · 29/05/2026

Two part-time consultants are needed to provide technical support, including the preparation of written inputs and analyses, as well as the organization of online meetings. If you have an advanced relevant degree and two years of relevant work experience, apply here: www.ipbes.net/vacancies

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

and reintroducing returning committee member Katie Rapson! ⛵

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

🦭Introducing our new committee members for #UKIRSC27! 🐬 First up is Thomas Stone, a PhD student at the University of Oxford. His research aims to develop & apply novel methods & technologies to help monitor seal populations. He's excited already looking forward to next year’s conference!

Thomas sat on some rocky ground wearing tshirt, shorts and wellies (as you do) with lots of ground nesting gannets in the background

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Luke Rendell @lrendell.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Great job @jessmontabaranom.bsky.social! Important findings about seal behaviour around tidal turbines monitored with multibeam sonar @seamammalresearch.bsky.social #ECS2026 🐋🦑🧪

Jess and a slide highlighting concerns about declining harbour seal populations interacting with tidal turbine

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Ben JJ Walker @benjjwalker.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

Super excited to share that the first article from my PhD has been published! Taking 60 years of research, we looked at how long distance vocal communication in aquatic and land mammals has evolved and why. Read here: tinyurl.com/3eydkwwc The Conversation article: tinyurl.com/mryr7sme

Blue Whale and a Freediver by Darin Sakdatorn/AdobeStock

Ben JJ Walker / UNSW Sydney, CC BY-NC-ND

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Jessica Montabaranom @jessmontabaranom.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

🦭 We have a new paper out! We developed an accessible framework for assessing the risk of collision between seals and operating tidal turbines. ⏭️ We found that most seal tracks moved near the turbine without collision. Read it here: doi.org/10.1002/aqc.... @seamammalresearch.bsky.social

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Mia Hurst @miahurst.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Super excited to have presented today at Ocean Science Meeting in Glasgow on some of my PhD work 🌊🧊! Was so much fun to talk all things polynyas and sea ice 🦭❄️ thank you to everyone who came to have a listen! #OSM26

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

That’s a wrap for #UKIRSC26! Thank you to everyone who came to Plymouth for our 20th Annual UKIRSC Conference! It was a pleasure meeting everyone and hearing all of the amazing presentations! 🦭🐬🐋

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

Finally our winner for the Bernie McConnell Prize for Innovation was @ecostone1.bsky.social “An automated method to rapidly estimate pinniped body volume at scale for population monitoring” 🏆🦭

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

Our winner for best poster at #UKIRSC26 was our very own @miahurst.bsky.social “An automated method for polynya detection using a geomorphon algorithm” 🏆🧊 Thank you to Seiche and Whales et al. ART for sponsoring this prize!

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

Our winner for best long talk at #UKIRSC26 was our very own @oshuwilson.bsky.social “Projected shifts in Southern Ocean humpback whale distribution under a changing climate” 🏆🐋 Thank you to the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (HWDT) and Whales et al. ART for sponsoring this prize!

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

Our winner for best short talk at #UKIRSC26 was Josh Symes “Risso’s dolphins of the South-West” 🏆🐬 Thank you to @prstats.bsky.social and Whales et al. ART for sponsoring this prize!

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

Our runner up for best poster at #UKIRSC26 was Ethan Wrigglesworth “The impact of endocrine disrupting chemicals on the male reproductive physiology of the harbour porpoise” Thank you to British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) for sponsoring this prize!

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

Our runner up for best long talk at #UKIRSC26 was Emily Martens-Oberwelland “Royal Fish, Sea Monsters, and the great Leviathan: Whales in Seventeenth Century England” 🐳 Thank you to ReWild swimwear and @thembauk.bsky.social for sponsoring this prize!

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

Our #UKIRSC26 Conference prize winners have been announced! First up, we’ve got the runner up for best short talk: @dasweeney.bsky.social “Using mark-recapture models to understand goose-beaked whale residency in Southern California” 🌊 Thank you to @infohackit.bsky.social for sponsoring this prize!

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

Stine Omdahl Petersen (@stine.op.bsky.social) compares how climate change is causing diverging distribution responses for minke whales and white-beaked dolphins in the North Sea. 🌊🐬 #UKIRSC26

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

‘Humpback to the future’! @oshuwilson.bsky.social projects how Southern Ocean humpback whale distributions might shift southward by the end of the century.🐋 #UKIRSC26

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

Patrick Kagerer shares a study on harbour seal haul-out behaviour in the Wadden Sea to help improve the accuracy of population size estimates. 🦭📈 #UKIRSC26

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

Charli Grimes discusses the social ontogeny of resident killer whales, exploring how lifelong social bonds form and change from early life through maturity. 🐋🤝 #UKIRSC26

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

Inspiring keynote from Dr Clare Embling on her career journey so far 🐬🐳 From porpoises to sperm whales, PhD & postdoc tips, insights into predator–prey interactions and impacts of noise. A brilliant, honest look at building a career in marine mammal science. #UKIRSC26 @plymbiomarsci.bsky.social

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Our second workshop is off with a bang! We are going to learn about communicating our science to a wider audience. 📝 #UKIRSC26

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Amy-Jo Randalls (@pintofangrybees.bsky.social) uses photo ID and citizen science to investigate common dolphin site fidelity and whether Loch Broom serves as a vital nursery area. 🐬🍼 #UKIRSC26

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Claire Stainfield shows us how "Rootpainter," an open-access AI tool, can automate drone image processing to monitor grey seal populations without disturbance. 🚁🦭 #UKIRSC26

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Ag Czernecka evaluates the recovery of the Baltic grey seal, assessing its ecological functionality and the potential impact of seal-fishery interactions. 🦭🐟 #UKIRSC26

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Josh Symes at @exetermarine.bsky.social is tracking Risso's dolphins in the UK's south-west, using photo ID to reveal site fidelity and core social alliances within this sub-population. 🐬📸 #UKIRSC26

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Presenting on biodiversity, David Sweeney (@dasweeney.bsky.social) kicks off our Population session by using Bayesian mark-recapture models to better understand the residency patterns and population dynamics of goose-beaked whales in Southern California. 🐋📉 #UKIRSC26

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Closing our first session, Grace F. Bradley (gracebradley99.bsky.social) explores how interannual climate variability influences the abundance and distribution of baleen whales in the Mid North Atlantic 🐳☀️ #UKIRSC2026

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Gemma A. S. Bekki is looking at how multiple gliders with hydrophone arrays can be used to detect and localise sperm whales in the Mediterranean 🐳📣 #UKIRSC2026

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Evie White is sharing new insights into the spinner dolphins of Peros Banhos, using whistle characterization to understand this remote and unique population. 🐬 #UKIRSC2026

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Nikolina Sokcic is diving into the acoustic cues that drive humpback whales to interact with herring fishing vessels in Norway. Are they eavesdropping for a free lunch? 🐋🐟#UKIRSC2026

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UKIRSC Marine Mammals @ukirsc.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Presenting from afar is Udayanga Sampath @udayanga-sampath.bsky.social ! He’s talking about using passive acoustic monitoring to detect and classify dolphin whistles in the remote Chagos Archipelago 🐬🏝️ #UKIRSC2026

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