I’m Coral, an undergraduate in Marine Geography at Cardiff University, Wales. I chose to do an on-site internship at Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation as part of my professional placement year. I lived and worked at the Research Bases of “Archipelagos Institute” on the island of Lipsi from September 2021 to May 2022. The main

The Aegean Sea welcomes three of the seven species of marine turtles that are found worldwide, namely the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) and the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea). The leatherback’s characteristic shell makes it easily recognisable, whereas the green turtle and loggerhead turtle are more difficult to distinguish.   The

  The rapid decline of several marine mammal species such as dolphins and whales is a growing problem on a global scale. Losses in abundance have been especially important in the Mediterranean, a biodiversity hotspot which supports a diverse range of marine ecosystems. Marine mammals are threatened by various human activities and their effects, such

During the research expeditions over the Ikaria Trench, the Archipelagos’ marine mammal team aim to gather data on the species living over this important hotspot, to increase our knowledge on their behaviour, distribution and density. Weather-allowing, boat surveys extend to  further areas during multiple-day research expeditions.  The surveys usually occur between the islands of Ikaria,

My name is Liam P. Kennedy. I am from Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.A. and I am currently pursuing my Bachelors in Environmental Studies & Sciences: Geographic Information Systems (GIS) at Towson University. Currently, I am on a summer placement with Archipelagos, from June 2021 until late August 2021. My project at Archipelagos is to create maps

I’m Imogen, a 22-year-old New Zealand intern currently in the Microplastic and Marine Mammal Team at Archipelagos on Lipsi Island. I am currently completing my masters in Evolutionary Biology via the MEME programme, with the intention to study conservation genetics in combination with field work. While my current study is officially based at Ludwig Maximilian

Photo identification (Photo ID) is a method used within marine mammal research to identify individuals based on photographs. The identification of dolphins is done via the characteristics of their dorsal fins because these are as unique to each dolphin as fingerprints are to humans. The characteristics found on dorsal fins include scars, notches and variable

We have recently had the opportunity to reopen our base on the Northern Aegean Island of Samos, which has been closed since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is an exciting change of pace for Archipelagos, as this marine region is a hotspot for many species of cetaceans, creating unequalled opportunities for boat surveys

Bioacoustics is a field in biology that studies the way that sound is produced, dispersed and received by animals. Marine mammals are highly reliant on acoustics, due to the low reliability of other available senses, especially sight, in underwater environments. Furthermore, sound travels nearly five times faster in seawater than in air.    Dolphin acoustics

Besides studying marine mammals and turtles, Archipelagos’ marine mammal team also collects data on the seabirds spotted during boat surveys. The number of individuals, species, and location of encountered seabirds is recorded by dedicated observers. In 2021 only, our team has already recorded more than 3000 sightings! The most common species include the Mediterranean shearwater,

Our names are Irene and Lea. We are both fascinated by the ocean‘s complexity and therefore joined the Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation to get an insight into marine biology and conservation. Irene is completing a BSc. in Biology at the University of Sevilla and I (Lea) graduated from the University of Hamburg aftering completing

My name is Ellie and I am currently studying Biological Sciences at the University of Essex. Currently, I am on a placement year with Archipelagos, from October 2020 until July 2021. Here at Archipelagos, I have developed a marine-terrestrial based project investigating the macroinvertebrate communities living within the Posidonia oceanica wracks. Wrack can be defined

Katja Wolff, a Swiss-Greek intern from Paros island, Greece, who during her gap year worked on creating a fish ID guide based on the fish species she had been recording while on her visual-census surveys. For the creation of this guide she used photos she had collected along with some of her very own illustrations

Migle worked as a member of the Marine conservation team at Archipelagos. She chose Archipelagos after hearing what a great platform it creates for a young scientist to get experience and work on exciting projects. Migle had been with Archipelagos for 9 months, working on a variety of projects and learning different methods. Her main

I am a recent graduate of Ecological and Environmental Sciences from the University of Edinburgh and I joined the Marine Ecology team in Lipsi for a 3-month internship. My project was focused on surveying the abundance of invasive fish in different habitats and at various bays around the island, using a Remote Underwater Video (RUV)

My name is Lisa and I am studying Coastal and Marine management at Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. I joined the Marine Mammal team of Archipelagos on Lipsi Island for a 3-month internship. I have been given the opportunity to start a new project, which was a comparative study between