A team of professionals from Valencia's Oceanogràfic has traveled to the South Shetland Islands, in Argentina, to participate in a scientific study on marine life in Antarctica and the response of various species to environmental changes. Within the framework of the PICTA project (PICTA 2010-01), the study aims to deepen the knowledge of the diet and health status of five species of Antarctic pinnipeds, such as the southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina), the seal crabeater (Lobodon carcinophaga), Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii), Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella) and leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx).
The project, called "Trophic biology and response to climate change of pinnipeds of the Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Arc", is a fundamental initiative to understand and preserve biodiversity in one of the most remote and fragile environments on our Planet.
For this study, key aspects such as diet, physical condition and large-scale population trends of these species are analyzed.
During the month of February and until the end of March, Carlos Barros and Nacho Fayos, veterinarian and caretaker of marine mammals at the Oceanogràfic of Valencia respectively, are collaborating closely with members of the Marine Mammals research program of the Argentine Antarctic Institute during the Antarctic campaign. summer.
A field work that focuses on Antarctic Specially Protected Areas (in this case ASPA No. 132 “Potter Peninsula”) of the island 25 de Mayo, in the archipelago of the South Shetland Islands.
Under the leadership of the main researcher Javier Negrete and supported by the Argentine Antarctic Institute, the National Antarctic Directorate and the Spanish Polar Committee, tasks are carried out to observe the social behavior of these animals, samples and bone materials are collected and censuses are carried out. population of marine mammals.
A research that also has the participation of several organizations that are part of the science and technology system of the Argentine state, such as national universities and Conicet, thus reaffirming the importance of the national state in the construction of knowledge. The project also involves various international organizations.
The Oceanogràfic as a transmitter of knowledge
Thanks to the work and experience that the Oceanogràfic professionals carry out with the animals in a center as controlled as the Valencia aquarium, it makes it possible to carry out veterinary and research work with the animals that live in a natural environment.
The Oceanogràfic team participates in this project and contributes with its extensive experience and knowledge in the study of the health status of wild populations. Their work focuses on identifying present and absent diseases, such as the possible transmission of avian flu from wild birds to marine mammals, with the aim of understanding how they could influence population dynamics.
In addition, aquarium technicians attach some satellite devices to elephant seals to study their behavior, habitat use or behavioral patterns. Some routes that can provide important data to the scientific community and help understand the population dynamics of these species and their possible response to climate change.
In the same way, the Oceanographic of the City of Arts and Sciences of Valencia also collaborates in the research through the carrying out of population censuses and registration of body measurements of the marine mammals present in different study locations.
Thanks to the collection of tissue samples, valuable information can also be obtained about the health and well-being of these populations and their adaptation to environmental changes.
At the same time, through biopsies, the feces and remains of animals found lifeless on beaches are collected to analyze the possible concentration of essential elements, heavy metals or the presence of microplastics, also searching for possible new threats that are affecting your well-being.
