El océano de los delfines: Al oeste de las Rías Baixas

The Rías Baixas (Galicia, NW Spain) are home to a great diversity of cetaceans, including several dolphin species that use these waters for feeding, migration, and reproduction. This video shows images of different dolphin species in their natural habitat and presents the scientific work carried out by the MegaMAR group of the Spanish Institute of Oceanography within the framework of the EMPHATIC project, which focuses on the study and conservation of cetaceans. The team combines direct observation methods with innovative tools to better understand the biology and ecology of these populations. Using drones, they obtain aerial images that allow for precise biometrics, body condition assessment, and analysis of morphological differences between individuals and populations, as in the case of the bottlenose dolphin, providing new information on their population structure and units. In addition, non-invasive techniques are used to study the respiratory microbiome, collected from exhaled air, which provides information on the animals' health status. These approaches are complemented by the analysis of environmental DNA (eDNA) in water samples, which allows for the detection of species and improves our understanding of their distribution and connectivity. The knowledge generated in this project contributes to expanding the available information on these species and on the ecological dynamics of Galician waters. This advance is especially relevant in a context where dolphins are subjected to various human-caused pressures, including bycatch in fisheries, considered one of the main threats to several cetacean species in European waters. All of this is fundamental to strengthening the scientific basis for their conservation and supporting more effective management of marine biodiversity within the framework of European policies for the protection of the marine environment. Links: Instagram MegaMAR Recorded west of the Rías Baixas. Galicia. Spain. Northeast Atlantic.