Join our cetacean research courses!

The Tethys Research Institute announces its 2007 courses on cetacean research and conservation, held in the Ligurian Sea Cetacean Sanctuary, Italy, and in the eastern Ionian Sea, Greece.

The courses are intended for anyone wishing to practice cetacean research in the field and contribute to ongoing conservation efforts. Activities will include data collection at sea and lectures by experienced researchers.

The 6-day courses take place between April-October at a cost of 575 - 880 Euro. Fees include room&board, insurance and Tethys membership. Discounts for students.

Information: http://www.tethys.org

or contact: tethys@tethys.org

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About Tethys
Founded in 1986, the Tethys Research Institute is a private non-profit organization specialized in cetacean research. Exclusively based on autonomous fundraising, Tethys has generated one of the largest datasets on Mediterranean cetaceans and about 300 scientific contributions. Back in 1992, Tethys conceived and proposed the creation of the Pelagos Sanctuary. Tethys has conducted longitudinal studies on fin whales and several other cetacean species in the Corso-Ligurian-Provencal basin, on common bottlenose dolphins in the Adriatic Sea, and on short-beaked common dolphins and common bottlenose dolphins in the Ionian Sea. Tethys has also done research on cetaceans in the Messina Strait and in several other Mediterranean and Atlantic areas. Research methods used by Tethys include the use of remote sensing and telemetry data, the combined use of laser range-finding binoculars and GPS to passively track and record the horizontal movements of whales, population studies, bioacoustic research, photo-identification and behavioural sampling, remote biopsy sampling for genetic and toxicological analyses, and historical research. Tethys owns photographic archives exceeding 100,000 cetacean images, that have resulted in the identification of over 1,300 individuals of seven Mediterranean species. This expertise has granted to Tethys a role as regional coordinator in the former EC-funded project “Europhlukes”. Tethys is a partner to the UNEP's Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans in the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area (ACCOBAMS).