MARE-Madeira

SPLASH-EU is a winning initiative of the 2024 #EU4Ocean Challenge of the Year, aiming to build a strong civic community advocating for #ocean protection. MARE-Madeira is proud to be part of this growing network of empowered #BlueCitizens!

+ Moreover, the opportunity to expand my network and the people I met along the way made this experience truly special. Without a doubt, this project helped me grow as a Youth Ambassador for MARE-Madeira!"

As Martim shared: "The SPLASH-EU Ambassador Training allowed me to learn skills I hadn’t acquired until now, such as digital advocacy, and to further develop others, such as #communication and #leadership. +

From July 16 to 18, Martim, one of our Youth Ambassadors, and Patrícia, our Community Engagement Officer, participated in the #SPLASH-EU Ambassador Training in Figueira da Foz, Portugal.

Way to go, Rita!!!! Rita was supervised by Prof. Dr. Manfred Kaufmann and Dr. Filipe Alves and supported by an FCT grant.

Her work indicated female #philopatry and female defence #polygyny in Blainville’s beaked whales and demonstrated clear niche partitioning between generalist and specialist forging toothed whales.

She found that Madeira is an important area for many Bryde’s whales that move regularly to and from the Canaries. Our island is also frequented by ¼ of the sperm whale population in Macaronesia.

She also investigated the social structure of the elusive Blainville’s beaked whales and performed stable #isotope analysis to better understand the dietary habits of toothed whales in Madeira.

Rita succeeded in collecting and analyzing an immense amount of data on the site fidelity and residency of both #baleen and #toothed whales in Madeira – namely, Bryde’s whales, sperm whales and Blainville’s beaked #whales.

Congratulations to our new doctor!!

Rita Ferreira conducted a doctorate degree exploring the #biogeography, population and trophic #ecology of #cetaceans around Madeira and wider #Macaronesia, and she was approved after an excellent defense yesterday at @U_Madeira!

👉 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Image © Fisheries and Oceans Canada

This finding reveals another type of #symbiosis where methane-based carbon from microbes is directly incorporated into deep-sea animal tissues, showing how life can cleverly adapt to scarce resources.

These spiders don’t just hang out with these #microbes; they harvest and eat them as a unique food source. Scientists confirmed this by tracking #carbon from methane as it made its way into the spiders’ bodies.

Did you know some #sea #spiders are actually #methane farmers?

Along methane seeps in the Pacific Ocean, tiny sea spiders of the genus 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘢 grow special #bacteria right on their shells — bacteria that munch on methane, a powerful #greenhouse gas!

Temos um sonho... (We have a dream...)

mare-madeira.pt/campus-azul-...

🔗 This study reminds us: #marine #conservation is stronger when everyone is involved, especially those who work at #sea every day.

📖 Read the full article: www.mdpi.com/2076-3298/12...

+ — With targeted training, they can support science and conservation through their observations;
— Madeira’s younger-than-average workforce opens up new opportunities for digital citizen science tools.

Key takeaways:
— Workers in fish farms are daily observers of marine life, perfect for spotting biodiversity
— Their sightings matched scientific data in key aspects of seal activity
— 75% of fish farm workers and 89.3% of maritime workers showed no animosity toward monk seals
+

Set in Madeira Island, the research focuses on the endangered Mediterranean #monk #seal (𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘴) and its interactions with fish farms.

How can 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 contribute to #marine #conservation?

A new study by Ana Cecília Amaral and Carlos Andrade explores 𝐡𝐨𝐰 #fish 𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 can become players in 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.

🍽️ The highlight? The 𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 at the Madeira School of Hospitality and Tourism: a true culinary experience featuring creative products made from fish by-products, #seaweed, and low-commercial-value species. Proof that zero waste can be delicious!

During the event, 𝐰𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐛𝐚í𝐚’𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐥𝐡𝐚𝐏𝐞𝐢𝐱𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭 — diving into the innovation already happening on the ground.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝟒𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 #AQUAFISH 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟐𝟔–𝟐𝟕, bringing together partners to review progress and set the course for a more #sustainable #aquaculture.

Thank you to Gabrielle Riera and David Holberton at the Ma'at Environment Fund for introducing us to the Changing Seas team, starting this great collaboration!

Please give a thumbs up to help celebrate the hard work of the Changing Seas team, our MARE-Madeira researchers and collaborators, who all committed many hours over the last year to make this episode a reality! We're really pleased and proud of the outcome. 🩵

YouTube video by ChangingSeasTV Whales in a Plastic Ocean - Full Episode

If you missed our release party, don't worry(!) you can still watch the episode on YouTube here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OLe...

We'll also be joining the US screening on 30 July online to answer more questions there! Go to Changing Seas to learn more: www.changingseas.tv/events/

After showing the episode, a US public television documentary series produced by South Florida PBS, our Youth #Ambassadors Alex and Luana led a Q&A with featured #researchers in the episode - Pedro Sepúlveda, João Monteiro, Ana Dinis, Laura Redaelli and João Canning Clode.

Our Changing Seas 'Movie Night' was a hit! We had a full house to celebrate the launch of ' #Whales in a #Plastic #Ocean' with us, with many new faces from our community! Thank you so much to everyone who came out!

Ciência Viva no Verão - na Madeira! - MARE-Madeira O verão já chegou, o que significa que atividades interativas para crianças, jovens e famílias aprenderem mais sobre ciência na Madeira estão de volta!

📍 Atividades para todas as idades
📅 Julho a setembro
📌 Locais: Várias zonas costeiras da Madeira
🔗 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢çõ𝐞𝐬 𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐡𝐞𝐬: mare-madeira.pt/ciencia-viva...

Com o apoio da 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚 𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐢ê𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚 𝐕𝐢𝐯𝐚 𝐧𝐨 𝐕𝐞𝐫ã𝐨, vamos explorar a biodiversidade #marinha da Madeira, partilhar conhecimento científico e aproximar a comunidade da investigação que desenvolvemos todos os dias. @cienciaviva.bsky.social #CienciaVivaNoVerao #CienciaViva