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Archipelagos Intern Experience

An insight into conservation at Archipelagos

bioacoustics internship

Creating a bioacoustics catalogue for click recordings relative to the species of Tursiops truncatus, Stenella coerueolalba, Delphinus delphis, Physeter macrocephalus and Ziphius cavirostrum

My name is Cecilia, and I have spent the past 3 months as an intern at the Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation. During my internship, I have deepened my knowledge in the field of bioacoustics through assisting other interns with their personal projects. The reason as to why I chose to not start a new
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collecting samples of Posidonia oceanica and Halophila stipulacea seagrass

Collecting samples of Posidonia oceanica and Halophila stipulacea seagrass for DNA analysis

My name is Alexandra Gimblett, and I am currently studying Marine and Freshwater Biology BSc at Aberystwyth University. While on my year in industry I chose to spend six months with Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation collecting samples of Posidonia oceanica and Halophila stipulacea seagrass in order to later perform DNA analysis at my university.
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intern experience marine conservation

Mapping and investigating coralligenous habitats in the mesophotic zone (30-150m)

As a marine researcher recently receiving my B.Sc. in Marine Science, I was eager to get more experience in the field. When I graduated, I discovered Archipelagos and knew it would provide me with the perfect remote location where I can research an area that is not well understood or explored. Therefore, I made the
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Archipelagos International School of the Sea Marine Ecology Team

Monitoring the artificial reefs implemented by Archipelagos Institute

My name is Okke Schraa, 3rd-year student of Applied Biology at Aires College of Applied sciences, Almere, Netherlands. I joined the Marine Ecology team of Archipelagos between April and June 2022 to study the artificial reef designs implemented by Archipelagos Marine Life Institute. During my internship, I did underwater snorkel surveys by placing cameras to
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Microplastics Workshop

The Archipelagos Institute participates at the Microplastics Workshop 2022

At the Microplastics Workshop 2022 which took place a few days ago at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, the PhD candidate, Hayley Mcilwraith presented one of our most recent researches on microplastic pollution- a collaboration between Plymouth Marine Lab, the University of East Anglia and Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation. Research on microplastic
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Archipelagos international school of the sea

Understanding fish community structures in shallow coastal habitats

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

Assessment of the butterfly biodiversity in Lipsi during spring

My name is Lieza and I am currently in the final year of my studies in Agro – and Biotechnology, specialising in Plant Management. All the way from Belgium, I joined the Terrestrial Research and Conservation at Archipelagos on the island of Lipsi from mid-February until mid-May 2022. My project was to assess the butterfly
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Sperm whales

Sperm whales in the northern and central Aegean, as we keep up the continuous research in the Greek seas

For several years now, we recognize one of the two sperm whales in the photo from the big part missing from its tail. The sperm whale is the largest toothed whale in the world, with females measuring 8 – 12 meters and males 16 – 18 meters and weighing 24 and 57 tons respectively. It
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Sea turtles of the Aegean Sea

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

Marine Mammal Behaviour Research

  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

Research Expeditions over the Ikaria Trench 

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,

Kayak based-mapping of Posidonia seagrass meadows

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

Assessment of microplastic accumulation on Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows

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 – An invaluable tool in cetacean research

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

Great Data from 11 Boat surveys in 15 days by the Archipelagos’ Marine Mammal Research Team

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

Bioacoustic Research – Understanding Underwater Sounds

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

Monitoring Seabird Populations

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,

Monitoring Diurnal Variation in Marine Macroinvertebrates

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

Comparison of Microplastic Accumulation in Native and Invasive Sea Urchins of the Aegean Sea

There are many problems facing the Mediterranean Sea. We have all heard of the issues with overfishing, warming water temperatures, invasive species, and plastic pollution. But how much do we know? And what is being done about it? Archipelagos is a Greek non-profit organisation founded in 1998, focused on conservation and research in the Aegean

Investigating the Macroinvertebrate Communities Living within the Posidonia oceanica Wracks

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

Creation of a Guide for Identification of the Aegean Sea Fish Species of the Littoral Zone

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

Comparison of fish biodiversity and invasive fish species presence in different marine habitats, using remote underwater video method (RUV)Comparison of fish biodiversity and invasive fish species presence in different marine habitats, using remote underwater video method (RUV)

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

Assessment of the abundance of invasive fish with the use of a Remote Underwater Video (RUV) method

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)

Working towards an improving seagrass mapping methodology

I am a recent graduate student from the University of Birmingham, UK, with a BSc in Geography. The GIS and Remote Sensing internship at Archipelagos stood out to me as it combined independent field projects using a variety of remote sensing techniques with interesting data analysis on research that focus on the most vulnerable ecological

Assessing Seagrass Health

My name is Roos and I’m studying Coastal and Marine management at Van Hall Larenstein, University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. During the 3 months I joined Archipelagos as an intern I was part of the marine ecology team on Lipsi Island. During my internship I worked on the data collection on Seagrass Health

Assessing the Biodiversity of Zooplankton in the Aegean Sea

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

Remote Internship – a photo-identification study of the short-beaked common dolphin, Delphinus delphis

I study Animal Sciences at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the United States. When I first started my remote internship, I thought it would be like learning like I am at the university. I was extremely wrong where I had the freedom and flexibility to customize my remote internship – how I learn,
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