Students are learning about the ecology of bottlenose dolphins in Slovenian waters

In March and April Morigenos organized a lecture for students about dolphins and practical fieldwork weekends as part of the project »Learning about ecology of bottlenose dolphins in Slovenian waters», supported by The Student organization of the University of Ljubljana (ŠOU). Students gained experience in the work of marine mammal researchers and learned basic research methods through lectures, workshops and practical work from land observation point and boat surveys. Every weekend was full of diverse activities that had strong educational focus. Apart from learning about dolphins, participants got to know more about the life of molluscs on a guided exhibition named Magical world of molluscs, they visited Aquarium Piran and gained knowledge about sea litter problem presented by Slovenian marine litter expert Andreja Palatinus from Institute for Water of the Republic of Slovenia. 

Some impressions of the participants: 

Research weekend at the sea side was phenomenal, despite not such a perfect weather. Morigenos team is incredible, full of energy, they smile a lot and are always in a good mood. Even though we haven’t seen dolphins, we learned a lot – from methods of field work to photo-identification and about whales and dolphins in general. In addition “outside” lectures were great as well (about marine litter, collection of molluscs). Weekend was very diverse and has ended too quickly. 

Nina 

Before heading to Piran, I was worried about what we will be doing the whole weekend in rain and fog. In the end the weather was good enough for us to experience field work on boat and saw at least a few jellyfish. I was even more surprised on activities, which filled the foggiest part of the weekend. Thank you Morigenos team, for teaching us so many new and interesting things about whales, dolphins, molluscs and marine litter. Accompanied with good service of coffee, tea, biscuits and Italian Nutella, of course. 

Manca 

Although without dolphins, it was really great. Great team! I hope I will have the chance to cooperate with them again in the future. I’ll definitely come again! 

Matej 

Hey, it was great! I really couldn’t imagine time would run out so fast this weekend. Lectures were the most interesting with lots of funny comments – and with that also easier to remember it and learn it. Although we haven’t been able to track down dolphins, we got a good insight into the research work where the atmosphere was very focused and serious. But on the other hand we didn`t miss any fun moments in relaxed atmosphere. With pantomime, social games and anecdotes there was a lot of laughter guaranteed! Team, you’re the coolest! We’ll definitely see each other again! 

Petra

Photos: Fieldwork weekends

Študentje spoznavajo ekologijo velike pliskavke v slovenskem morju

V mesecu marcu in aprilu je društvo Morigenos ob podpori Študentske organizacije Univerze v Ljubljani (ŠOU) za študente v sklopu projekta »Spoznavanje ekologije velike pliskavke v slovenskem morju« organiziralo predavanje o delfinih in terenske vikende. Študentje so preko predavanj, delavnic in terenskega dela z raziskovalnim plovilom na morju ter s kopenske opazovalne točke spoznali metode in delo raziskovalcev morskih sesalcev. Vikendi so bili pestri in poučni. Udeleženci so se poleg delfinov seznanili z življenjem školjk in polžev na vodenem ogledu razstave Čarobni svet školjk, obiskali Akvarij Piran in podrobneje spoznali problematiko morskih odpadkov, ki jo je predstavila Andreja Palatinus, strokovnjakinja za morske odpadke z Inštituta za vode Republike Slovenije. 

Nekaj vtisov udeležencev: 

Terenski vikend na morju je bil kljub ne ravno najlepšemu vremenu fenomenalen. Ekipa Morigenosa je neverjetna, polna energije, nasmejana in vedno dobre volje. Čeprav delfinov nismo videli, smo se ogromno naučili – od metod dela na terenu do fotoidentifikacije, pa tudi o kitih in delfinih na splošno. Poleg tega so bila super tudi »zunanja« predavanja (o morskih odpadkih, o zbirki školjk in polžev), tako da je bil vikend zelo pester in je zato minil kot bi mignil. 

Nina 

Preden smo se odpravili v Piran, sem se bala, kaj bomo počeli cel vikend v dežju in megli. Na koncu je vreme toliko zdržalo, da smo okusili teren na čolnu in videli vsaj par meduz, še bolj pa sem bila presenečena nad dejavnostmi, ki so zapolnile najbolj megleni del vikenda. Res hvala ekipi Morigenosa, ki nas je naučila toliko novega in zanimivega, pa naj je bilo to o kitih, delfinih, polžih ali morskih odpadkih. Ob vsej dobri postrežbi s kavo, čajem, piškoti in italijansko Nutello, seveda. 

Manca 

Sicer brez delfinov ampak super fino. Super ekipa s katero upam, da bom še sodeloval pri terenih. Še pridem! 

Matej 

Ej pa super! Res si ne bi uspela zamisliti hitreje pretečenega časa tale vikend, predavanja so bila totalno najbolj zanimiva in polna smešnih pripomb – s tem posledično s tudi bolj zapomljivo vsebino. Sicer nam ni uspelo zaslediti delfinov, ampak smo kljub temu dobili kar dober vpogled v strokovno delo in takrat v zagnani in resni atmosferi, medtem ko nikoli ni manjkalo sproščenega vzdušja. S pantomimo, ostalimi družabnimi igricami ali pa samo anekdotami je bil smeh stalno neizbežen! Ekipa, »najkulejši« ste! Se definitivno še vidimo! 

Petra

Fotografije: Foto utrinki terenskih vikendov

Filmski večer z društvom Morigenos na Svetovni dan Zemlje

Letošnji Svetovni dan Zemlje bomo zaznamovali z eko-teroristi. V sodelovanju z Mestno občino Koper, Kulturno izobraževalnim društvom Pina in distributerjem filma Demiurgom pripravljamo filmski večer. Ogledali si bomo dokumentaren film z naslovom Izpovedi eko-terorista ter se podali na pustolovščino po svetovnih morjih s slavnimi eko-pirati organizacije Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in njihovim kapitanom Paulom Watsonom. Priče bomo boju proti kitolovcem, nelegalnemu ribištvu in rekreacijskemu ubijanju tjulnjev. Dokumentarec vsebuje veliko akcije in prikaže zakulisje drznih misij. Po ogledu filma sledi diskusija s člani društva Morigenos o pomenu in načinu varstva okolja. 

Vljudno vabljeni vsi, ki si želite podoživeti pustolovščine z ladje Sea Shepherd, da se nam v ponedeljek, 22.4.2013 ob 20:00 uri pridružite na filmskem večeru v e-Kavarni Pina, na naslovu Kidričeva 43, Koper. 

Morigenos at 27th European Cetacean Society Conference

Morigenos team attended the 27th Conference of the European Cetacean Society (ECS) and associated workshops between 6th and 10th April 2013 in Portugal. Morigenos president served as a member of the conference’s Scientific Committee and a member of the Council. Morigenos researchers presented three talks and a poster, and participated as co-authors in another talk. Before returning back home, the team had a privilege to meet the local dolphins from the Sado estuary.

Morigenos na 27. letni konferenci Evropskega združenja za kite in delfine

Ekipa društva Morigenos se je med 6. in 10. aprilom 2013 udeležila 27. konference Evropskega združenja za kite in delfine na Portugalskem. Predsednik društva Morigenos je pri organizaciji konference sodeloval tudi kot član strokovnega odbora in upravnega odbora. Raziskovalci društva Morigenos so prispevali tri govorne nastope in en poster, kot so-avtorji pa še en govorni nastop. Pred odhodom domov je imela ekipa čast spoznati še lokalne delfine iz estuarija reke Sado.

Arctic Sunrise in Koper

Iconic Greenpace icebreaker Arctic Sunrise is coming to Koper, Slovenia. On its journey in the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean it shows support to small coastal fishermen and sustainable fishery. The ship will be exhibited from Wednesday (17.4.) to Friday (19.4.) in the Port of Koper at passenger’s terminal from 14:00 to 19:00. Morigenos takes part in a diverse program and activities. We will prepare creative educational workshops for children, information point on dolphins in Slovenian waters and participate in expert meetings and round tables. Morigenos president Tilen Genov will appear as a guest speaker in the expert meeting “Sustainable fishery and protected areas: are fishery reserves fulfilling their purpose?” Two of our researchers will join the crew onboard as marine mammal experts to travel to Sicily and monitor whale and dolphin occurrence on their way. 

You can read more about the event here.

Welcome aboard!

Photo: Greenpeace

Arctic Sunrise v Kopru

Greenpeaceov ikonični ledolomilec Arctic Sunrise prihaja v Koper. Na svoji poti po Črnem morju, Sredozemskem morju ter Atlantskem oceanu bodo izkazali podporo malim priobalnim ribičem in trajnostnemu ribolovu. Od srede (17.4.) do petka (19.4.) bo ladja na ogled med 14:00 in 19:00 uro v Luki Koper na potniškem terminalu. V pester program in dogajanje je vključeno tudi društvo Morigenos. Na dogodku bomo pripravili kreativno-izobraževalne delavnice za otroke in postavili informativno točko o delfinih v slovenskem morju, sodelovali pa bomo tudi na strokovnih posvetih in okroglih mizah. Predsednik društva Tilen Genov, bo 19.4. nastopil kot gost strokovnega posveta z naslovom »Trajnostno ribištvo in zavarovana območja: ali ribolovni rezervati v Sloveniji izpolnjujejo svoj namen?«. Dva naša raziskovalca se bosta posadki pridružila na krovu kot strokovnjaka za morske sesalce in z ladjo odplula do naslednje postaje na Siciliji, ter na poti spremljala pojavljanje kitov in delfinov. 

Več o dogodku si preberite tukaj.

Vljudno vabljeni na krov!

Foto: Greenpeace

10 years of friendship

Exactly 10 years ago, on 30th March 2003, we encountered some very special dolphins: Morigenos, Deinon, Foki and Alenka. Little did we know back then that we would keep seeing these dolphins regularly and that they (together with their friends, which we met later) would become a sort of symbol of dolphin conservation in Slovenia. Morigenos and Deinon are the most frequently encountered dolphins in Slovenian waters, while Foki and Alenka are not far behind. We've already seen some of them this year. Today, after knowing them for ten years, we regard them as part of our family. Each of them is different and unique, both in external appearance and in their behaviour. Each new encounter with them makes us happy, but we also worry about their future. Today we know that these waters are important for them, as they keep using them year after year. If you're interested in finding out more about how we tell dolphins apart, visit the Photo-ID catalogue. If you would like to adopt some of these dolphins or, with some luck, see them in nature, please visit Adopt a Dolphin and Research Camps.

We hope to keep seeing these (and other) dolphins in our waters for at last the next ten years.

10 let prijateljstva

Na včerajšnji dan, 30. 3. 2003, torej pred natanko desetimi leti, smo spoznali nekaj prav posebnih delfinov: Morigenos, Deinon, Foki in Alenka. Takrat še nismo vedeli, da jih bomo v naslednjih desetih letih redno videvali v našem morju in da bodo (skupaj s svojimi prijatelji, ki smo jih spoznali kasneje) postali nekakšni simboli varstva delfinov v Sloveniji. Morigenos in Deinon sta najpogosteje opažena delfina v slovenskih vodah, Foki in Alenka pa tudi ne zaostajata prav dosti. Nekatere izmed njih smo tudi letos že srečali. Danes, ko te izjemne živali poznamo že deset let, nanje gledamo kot na del naše družine. Vsak je edinstven in nekoliko drugačen, tako po videzu, kot tudi v svojem vedenju. Veselimo se vsakega novega srečanja z njimi, obenem pa nas skrbi za njihovo prihodnost. Danes vemo, da so slovenske vode zanje pomembne, saj se vanje redno vračajo že deset let. Če vas zanima več o tem, kako te delfine ločimo med seboj, si oglejte stran o foto-ID katalogu, če pa želite katerega od njih posvojiti ali jih z nekaj sreče videti tudi v živo, obiščite Posvojitev delfina in Raziskovalni tabori.

Upamo, da bomo te (in druge) delfine v naših vodah srečevali še vsaj naslednjih deset let.

Research camps 2013

Dates for this year's research camps are online! Check them out at the Research camps page and join us!