Conference of the European Cetacean Society

Morigenos team attended the 25th Conference of the European Cetacean Society in Cadiz (Spain), from 21st to 23rd March 2011. The theme of this year's conference was »Long-term datasets on marine mammals: learning from the past to manage the future".

Tilen Genov presented some of the latest findings, made in cooperation with our Italian colleagues, on short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) in the central Mediterranean Sea with the title: »Long-distance (1000+km) movement by a short-beaked common dolphin in the central Mediterranean Sea«.

Konferenca Evropskega društva za kite in delfine

 Ekipa društva Morigenos se je v Cadizu (Španija), med 21. in 23. marcem 2011, udeležila 25. konference Evropskega društva za kite in delfine. Tema letošnje konference je bila »Dolgoročni podatki o morskih sesalcih: učenje iz preteklosti za načrtovanje prihodnosti«.
Tilen Genov je predstavil izsledke zadnjih raziskav, opravljenih v sodelovanju z italijanskimi kolegi, o navadnem delfinu (Delphinus delphis) v osrednjem delu Sredozemskega morja z naslovom: »Dolga migracija (1000+km) navadnega delfina v osrednjem delu Sredozemskega morja«.

Del dohodnine za delfine

Znova je tisti čas v letu, ko je potrebno oddati napoved za odmero dohodnine, in znova imate priložnost da del le-te namenite za naše delfine. Tako lahko brezplačno darujete in bistveno pripomorete k delovanju društva Morigenos.

 Zakonodaja omogoča, da lahko del dohodnine, ki jo plačujemo državi, namenimo dobrodelnim in neprofitnim organizacijam. To pomeni, da lahko kot davčni zavezanec del odmerjene dohodnine (do 0,5 %) namesto državnemu proračunu, namenite delovanju društva Morigenos.

Verjetno ni potrebno posebej poudarjati, kako dragocen bo vaš prispevek za nadaljnje in uspešno delovanje našega društva. Z zbranim denarjem bomo, kot vedno doslej, nadvse gospodarno in skrbno ravnali.

Ves denar je namenjen izključno znanstvenemu preučevanju delfinov ter aktivnostim za varstvo morja. Za vsak vaš prispevek se vam iskreno zahvaljujemo!

Postopek je podrobneje opisan tukaj.

Happy birthday Tethys!

Happy birthday to Tethys, our fellow NGO! Tethys is celebrating its 25th birthday.
Morigenos team has been working closely with Tethys and its members over the past years, which is always a great pleasure. In fact, in a way, Tethys is guilty of inspiring something that later became Morigenos, as the founder of Morigenos started his cetacean work with Tethys. So thanks for that and best wishes from Morigenos!

A few thoughts from Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara, president and founder of Tethys: Tethys' 25th birthday

Vse najboljše, Tethys!

Vse najboljše, Tethys! Tethys je naša sorodna prijateljska organizacija, ki praznuje 25 let.
Ekipa društva Morigenos tesno sodeluje z inštitutom Tethys in njegovimi člani, kar nam je vedno v veliko zadovoljstvo. Pravzaprav je Tethys delno kriv za navdih, ki je kasneje prerasel v društvo Morigenos, saj je ustanovitelj društva Morigenos začel svojo raziskovalno pot v inštitutu Tethys. Hvala za to in vse najboljše od ekipe Morigenos!

Nekaj misli, ki jih je strnil Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara, predsednik in ustanovitelj inštituta Tethys: 25. rojstni dan inštituta Tethys

Environmental profession and opening of the photo exhibition

On Wednesday, February 23^rd at 18.30 Morigenos is holding a lecture about the work that we have successfully been carrying out in the last decade. The lecture will take place at the Environment centre in Ljubljana. You will find out how young people from different backgrounds started being active in Morigenos and see the exhibition of photographs showing dolphins and the humpback whale in Slovenia.

Welcome!

Click on the image to view the invitation (in Slovene)

Okoljski poklic in otvoritev fotografske razstave

V sredo, 23. 2. ob 18.30 pripravljamo v Okoljskem centru v Ljubljani predavanje o našem delu, ki ga uspešno opravljamo že deseto leto. Izvedeli boste, kako smo mladi iz različnih področij pričeli z delom v društvu Morigenos, lahko pa si boste ogledali tudi fotografsko razstavo o delfinih in kitu grbavcu v slovenskem morju.

Vljudno vabljeni! 

za ogled vabila kliknite na sliko

Acoustic monitoring of dolphins in Slovenia

In the beginning of 2010, Morigenos started carrying out acoustic monitoring of dolphins in Slovenia. We already have the first data, although we are only in the early phase. Acoustic monitoring means that we monitor and study the animals by using special equipment – hydrophones (underwater mycrophones) - to detect and record their natural vocalisations. This way we can find out many interesting and important things. In collaboration with Marine Biology Station in Piran (Slovenia) and Chelonia Ltd (UK) we deployed a device called C-POD (see photo) in the sea. The C-POD enables us to detect dolphin presence even in bad weather, during the night and whenever we are not able to be out in the field. This way we are gaining further insights into their patterns of occurrence in our waters, their feeding habits and even interactions with fisheries. In spring 2010, during one of our encounters with dolphins, we also recorded the first dolphin sounds in Slovenian waters. We initially started some acoustic sampling back in 2005, but only as a testing phase, as this was not one of research priorities back then. Apart from our existing research methods, acoustic monitoring will enable us to acquire more information on dolphins in Slovenia and we hope this will aid to their conservation.

You can see a few photos from the field here: Acoustic monitoring

Akustični monitoring delfinov v slovenskem morju

Društvo Morigenos je lani, v začetku leta 2010, začelo izvajati akustični monitoring delfinov v slovenskem morju. Prve podatke že imamo! Akustični monitoring pomeni, da živali spremljamo in preučujemo tako, da s posebno opremo oz. hidrofoni (podvodnimi mikrofoni) zaznavamo in beležimo njihovo naravno oglašanje, s tem pa lahko ugotavljamo marsikaj zanimivega in pomembnega. V sodelovanju z Morsko biološko postajo v Piranu in Chelonia Ltd iz Velike Britanije smo v slovenskem morju namestili napravo imenovano C-POD (na fotografiji), s katero lahko prisotnost delfinov zaznavamo tudi v slabem vremenu, ponoči in nasploh takrat, ko ne moremo biti na terenu. Na ta način dobivamo dodatni vpogled v njihove vzorce pojavljanja v našem morju, njihovo prehranjevanje in celo interakcije z ribištvom. Spomladi 2010 pa smo v času opazovanja delfinov s prenosnim hidrofonom posneli tudi prve zvoke delfinov v slovenskem morju. Prvo akustično vzorčenje smo sicer začeli izvajati že v letu 2005, vendar je bila zadeva zgolj v testni fazi, saj takrat to ni bila ena izmed raziskovalnih prioritet. Poleg obstoječih metod raziskovanja bomo tako dobili več informacij o delfinih v Sloveniji in upamo, da bodo tovrstni podatki pripomogli tudi k njihovemu varstvu.

Nekaj fotografij s terena si lahko ogledate tukaj: Akustični monitoring

Movie of the week: The Cove on RTV SLO

This Wednesday, 2nd February 2011 at 20.00, a documentary The Cove will be screened on Slovenian TV channel SLO 1. The film talks about secretive and cruel activities that are taking place in Japan, involving the multi-billion-dollar industry of dolphin captivitiy and the industry of dolphin meat trade. Richard O'Barry, a former dolphin trainer, gathers an unusual team - experts in underwater and secret filming, marine researchers, former military experts, top divers - in order to break the barrier of silence and expose the horrible secret to the world.

In 2010 and 2011, Morigenos is participating in the promotion and the screening of the film in Slovenia, in collaboration with Demiurg and Kinodvor.

More about the film: The Cove

A note to foreigners who happen to be in Slovenia this week: Films in Slovenia are subtitled. So even if you do not speak Slovene, you can still see the movie and understand exactly what it's about!