GIANT GUARDIANS OF THE DEEP SEAS II
From Small Cetaceans to the Great Whales of the East
Designed around the need to fill the vast data gaps in the Eastern Mediterranean and decrease the disparity between research levels in the Eastern and Western basins, Giant Guardians of the Deep Seas is a research expedition unlike any other in the region. Bringing together field researchers, academics and professional passive acoustic monitoring experts from around the world, the expedition spans a huge area (~22,000 sqkm) between Marmaris and Anamur in the Levantine Sea.
With a strong emphasis on developing local research capacities in Turkey, this project collects data on cetaceans from the small delphinids including common, striped and bottlenose dolphins right the way to Cuvier’s beaked whales and sperm whales.
DMAD runs expedition in every season and uses hydrophones and visual monitoring to map out the most important areas for marine mammals, establish the biggest threats to marine mammals and their relative magnitudes. Alongside this, DMAD organises workshops in photo identification and GIS to help young researchers reach their maximum potential and public outreach events to increase awareness of the marine environment and actively get people involved with conservation.
