The project, which has the leadership of the Marine Research of the Spanish Higher Council for Scientific Research (IIM-CSIC), aims to tackle challenges related to monitoring the distribution and health status of cetaceans, developing relevant indicators on the condition of populations in order to respond to the needs of environmental policies.

The European project “EMPHATIC - E-DNA, Microbiomes, Photogrammetry and Hormones - Assessment Techniques in Cetaceans” is a consortium of 6 partners from 4 different countries and is led by the Institute of Marine Research of the Spanish Higher Council for Scientific Research (IIM-CSIC).
With the main objective of stimulating the monitorization of the distribution and health status of cetaceans, the project aims to develop protocols and study new indicators relevant to understanding the state of cetacean populations. At the same time, it aims to make these tools and results available to meet the needs of today's environmental policies. Graham Pierce, coordinator of the EMPHATIC project and IIM-CSIC researcher, emphasizes the relevance of the project to this common goal: “We are excited to develop relevant indicators on the health and distribution of cetaceans, which will be integrated into a monitoring tool aimed at policymakers and other stakeholders.”
In addition to the IIM-CSIC, the project has the participation of the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO-CSIC, Spain), the University of La Rochelle (LRUniv, France), the Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR, Portugal), the Directorate-General for Natural Resources, Safety and Maritime Services (DGRM, Portugal) and the CIMA Research Foundation (Italy).

Innovative solutions to save the oceans

To achieve its objectives, EMPHATIC is implementing new approaches that complement traditional cetacean monitoring techniques. These include the use of environmental DNA (eDNA), hormone and microbiome analysis, as well as photogrammetry.

Using eDNA collected from environmental samples at strategic locations, it will be possible to learn about the distribution and diversity of cetacean species and assess possible variations. Photogrammetry, which uses photographs to study metric parameters such as the shape, dimensions or position of these animals, will also use unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to assess various parameters of the body condition of the species under study.

Other technologies, designed to be minimally invasive and applicable to live animals, will analyze the microbiome of the animals' respiratory tracts to determine their general state of health, as well as their hormonal status to reveal stress levels.

Protocols optimization to provide tools

The EMPHATIC project began its work in 2024 and has focused its efforts on designing and optimizing protocols. According to project coordinator Graham Pierce, “we have been optimizing the fieldwork and laboratory protocols, collecting the first sets of samples and identifying the key players. We've also formalized the project's data management, risk mitigation and dissemination plans. Our goal now is to gather all the tested protocols and training materials, as well as collect all the samples needed to validate the methodologies developed.”

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All the protocols and methodologies developed in the project will be collected into a monitoring tool for assessing the diversity, distribution and health status of cetaceans. This tool will also include capacity-building elements and will be distributed directly to relevant entities, including policy-makers and regional organizations responsible for environmental assessments, at national and European level.

Running until 2027, EMPHATIC represents a significant step in the common effort to protect the oceans, including cetaceans, contributing to a healthier planet.

The EMPHATIC project is funded under the BiodivMon 2022-2023 joint call from Biodiversa+ (European Biodiversity Partnership), with co-funding from the European Commission, the Biodiversity Foundation (FB, Spain), the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal), the National Research Agency (ANR, France) and the Ministry of University and Research (MUR, Italy).

Ends. Media enquiries to Eunice Sousa, esousa@ciimar.up.pt