Took a while but the report into the 2023 long-finned pilot whale mass stranding event at Tolsta, Isle of Lewis in July 2023 is now published: www.gov.scot/.../investig...

🐬🐳 Check out our new paper lead by our @sbohvm.gla.ac.uk PhD student @rachlenn.bsky.social which looks at trends in cetacean strandings over the past 30 years. 👇 www.nature.com/articles/s41... All thanks to decades of reports from volunteers and the public!

An approach to using stranding data to monitor cetacean population trends and guide conservation strategies - Scientific Reports

Scientific Reports - An approach to using stranding data to monitor cetacean population trends and guide conservation strategies

nature.com

Rachel Lennon@rachlenn.bsky.social · 12mo ago

📢 New paper out! Cetacean strandings in Scotland have risen 125% over the past 30 years. Our study gives the first comprehensive picture of when, where, and which species strand, providing a baseline to guide conservation. 👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41... @sbohvm.gla.ac.uk @strandings.bsky.social

🐋 New PhD opportunity: Fully-funded MASTS PhD with SMASS investigating cetacean energetics & thermogenesis - a critical knowledge gap in marine mammal physiology. Excellent opportunity to advance our mechanistic understanding of thermoregulatory strategies in marine megafauna tinyurl.com/2s3udwd3

Bring BeachTrack 📱 with you on your coastal walks and contribute valuable data to marine ecosystem monitoring projects! 🐋🐦🪼🦀🦭 @strandings.bsky.social www.beachtrack.org

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Marine Forum 💙 We're so grateful to our speakers & attendees for making it such an inspiring day of conversations on the marine environment. What a community! 🌊✨ #MarineForum2025 @uofgmvls.bsky.social @sbohvm.gla.ac.uk @whalesorg.bsky.social

🚨 Marine Forum Programme is LIVE! 🚨 A jam-packed schedule of expert talks, panels & networking awaits! 🌊🐬 Only a few tickets left so don’t miss out! 🎟: eventbrite.co.uk/e/wdc-smass-... #MarineForum2025 #OceanConservation #LastTickets @whalesorg.bsky.social @uofgsbohvm.bsky.social

🚨 Marine Forum Programme is LIVE! 🚨 A jam-packed schedule of expert talks, panels & networking awaits! 🌊🐬 Only a few tickets left so don’t miss out! 🎟: eventbrite.co.uk/e/wdc-smass-... #MarineForum2025 #OceanConservation #LastTickets @whalesorg.bsky.social @uofgsbohvm.bsky.social

✨ First paper of the year out ✨ Describing fatal systemic bacterial infections in harbour porpoises following bite wounds from grey seals 🦭 Check it out! 👇 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... @uofgsbohvm.bsky.social @uofglasgow.bsky.social

Fatal systemic bacterial infections in two harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) secondary to bite wounds from grey seals (Halichoerus grypus)

Mycoplasma phocicerebrale, the causative agent of seal (‘speck’) finger, a zoonotic disease, is a common commensal in the oral cavity of various seal …

sciencedirect.com

Three weeks to go if you are interested in applying for a www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate... fully funded PhD looking to answer vital questions about the prevalence and epidemiology of viral pathogens in Scotland’s marine mammal populations: www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate.... Get in touch if interested!

🐾Turn your beach walk into a conservation tool with Beachtrack! Record your walk, report stranded animals & log marine litter to help identify patterns and quantity effort! 🦭🌊 📲 Download now, and lets protect our seas together! www.beachtrack.org

🌊The Marine Forum is back!🌊 We’re excited to announce that this year we will be at NMS, Edinburgh, on 1st March 2025! Organized by WDC and SMASS, this year’s theme, "Sea Change” will focus on the evidence and action we need to drive meaningful progress. Tickets: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wdc-smass-...

WDC & SMASS Marine Forum 2025

A day of talks & workshops focusing on citizen science data collected from across Scotland to aid the protection of the marine environment.

eventbrite.co.uk

Many thanks to all who helped with the Balmedie minke whale necropsy yesterday: moderate body condition, trauma related to the stranding but no indication of boat strike, entanglement, or severe infection, no feeding prior to death, fatty changes in the liver and a possible underlying meningitis.