Marine Biology Careership Aboard a Ship in Italy

On board there will be lectures on cetology: the research on cetaceans in the Italian seas, the key areas for the study of whales and dolphins in the Mediterranean, conservation and preservation, evolution, adaptation to the marine environment, classification, insight into the cetaceans of the Mediterranean and in particular of the studied species, bioacoustics, social behaviour and interaction with fisheries.

You will leave every day to sail, according to the project and weather conditions. Your duties onboard consist in helping researchers monitoring dolphins. Dolphin behaviour is recorded together with geographic position, group size, group composition, group formation, surface activity patterns and duration of surfacing intervals. Behavioural sampling is coupled with acoustic recording of dolphin vocalisations, in order to relate the sounds produced by the animals to different behavioural activities. Navigation data are collected in order to estimate dolphins relative sighting frequencies. The presence of sea turtles, tuna, swordfish, fish schools, mantas, moonfish and marine birds, is recorded.

Seamanship: interested volunteers can learn the main riggings to sail as steering, hoisting and striking the sails, take confidence with sheets, halyard, compass and courses... furthermore you can collaborate with the crew during the mooring