The Earth’s oceans cover 70% of the surface of the planet, providing more than half of the oxygen that we need to breathe and absorbing 50 times more carbon dioxide than the atmosphere.  The ocean regulates climate and we depend upon it for numerous things such as food, transportation, recreation, and other essential goods like oil, gas, mineral ores, and medical agents.

However, while the ocean may provide livelihoods for millions of people around the world and contribute hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of GDP annually it is unfortunately often perceived as a bottomless resource. Healthy ocean ecosystems are imperative for human life to persist and we should do whatever we can to prevent their uncontrolled exploitation. Quite simply, terrestrial life as we know it will perish without healthy oceans, so we need to learn as much as possible about them in order to protect them for generations to come.

With only about 5% of the ocean having been properly explored scientists estimate that more than 90% of ocean species are yet to be discovered, let alone described, and sadly many of these species are almost certainly being driven to extinction. At the Mammal Research Institute (MRI) we are particularly keen on one specific group of ocean inhabitants – the marine mammals, which consist of well over a hundred different species.

We have conducted top quality research on South African, Subantarctic and Antarctic species for nearly 50 years! Our staff and students are deeply passionate about the work they do, spending many months at sea or on isolated islands and even digging deep into rotting carcasses in order to discover and record new and exciting information. We run acoustic, genetic and physiological research projects, and monitor diet, distribution and growth of marine mammal populations, even deploying instruments on animals to track their movements and record oceanographic parameters wherever they may go.  Results of these studies are used to advise environmental managers, thus informing the conservation and protection of these charismatic species that we are fortunate to work on. If you are interested in learning more about the work that we do, please visit our Marine Mammal Ecology Theme or follow the links to the Marion Island Marine Mammal Programme (MIMMP) and the MRI Whale Unit.

I spoke to Associate Professor Nico de Bruyn of the MIMMP who said that he was devastated not to be allowed to send this year’s overwintering research team to Marion Island as result of the SARS-CoV-2 lockdown regulations in South Africa. This means that there are only essential personnel currently on the island and no field staff present. He said that this is a real blow to his projects because after a 39 year period of uninterrupted research the data series will now have a gap, resulting in missing information on several aspects, such as the reproductive success of the three seal species breeding on the island.

The lockdown also affects the work of the MRI Whale Unit back on the mainland of South Africa. Chris Wilkinson, Technical Manager of the Unit said that unfortunately all but one of their field projects have been put on hold for the rest of this year but that this quiet period is being well-utilised by the students to write up their research. Encouraging news is that the Whale Unit have applied to have the annual aerial survey for southern right whales to be listed as an essential service and they will be flying the 41st consecutive photo-ID survey in October this year.  This is one of the longest running databases of its kind in the world and is essential for monitoring the population dynamics of this intriguing species. The MRI’s long term data series are of immeasurable value as a benchmark when investigating trends over time for studies on both ecosystem and climate change.

Should you be interested in supporting any of our research projects please email us here.

Join the international 30X30 movement to protect 30% of the oceans by 2030!

#WorldOceansDay #protectourhome

Meredith Thornton, Science Communicator

Mammal Research Institute