We're having a fantastic weekend at the @mammalsociety.bsky.social annual conference in Inverness. Enjoying learning about all of the fantastic work going on across the UK on mammal conservation. Not to mention the energetic ceilidh last night. Can't wait to come back next year!

🚨Special feature this week is a @seamammalresearch.bsky.social paper out last month🦭but there's more: Explore research from @jessmontabaranom.bsky.social with open access datasets and articles: 🤓👉📚 research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/persons/j... #OpenResearch #MarMam #MarineMammals

New publication! 'Headbutting Behavior Between Sperm Whales Documented Using Unoccupied Aerial Vehicles' Out in @marinemammalogy.bsky.social in collaboration with @lrendell.bsky.social, @azwhlab.bsky.social and @asociaciontursiops.bsky.social. doi.org/10.1111/mms....

🌊 Featuring a fascinating orca & elasmobranch🦈imagery dataset from @mattidcarter.bsky.social and Maeva Terrapon 🖼️🎥👉 doi.org/10.6084/m9.f... 🔓📙Read the #OpenAccess article here: doi.org/10.1038/s415... @seamammalresearch.bsky.social @uniofstandrews.bsky.social #MarMam #MarineMammals #OpenResearch

Paper alert 🚨🚨🚨 We’ve developed a remotely operated device for collecting blood samples and administering sedatives in freely moving seals 🦭 🔗 doi.org/10.1111/2041... A thread 🧵👇 @seamammalresearch.bsky.social @uniofstandrews.bsky.social

🎉Congrats to @francae.bsky.social, @lrendell.bsky.social & @ellengarland.bsky.social on their new #OpenAccess article about humpback population recovery! 🌊🐋📈 📚👉Read the research directly: doi.org/10.1016/j.cu... @seamammalresearch.bsky.social #OpenScience #MarineMammals

New paper on age-related reproductive tactics & success in humpback whales, published in Current Biology.🐳🧬 doi.org/10.1016/j.cu... #marmam @seamammalresearch.bsky.social @uniofstandrews.bsky.social @ellengarland.bsky.social @emma-carroll.bsky.social @clairenea.bsky.social @lrendell.bsky.social 1/7

The NERC Special Committee on Seals (SCOS) 2025 report is now live on the SMRU website: www.smru.st-andrews.ac.uk/files/2026/0.... Updated population trends analysis and advice to gov relating to management of UK seal populations 🦭📈📉

Another new paper led by SMRU's @izzylangley.bsky.social: First observations of grey seal cannibalism at Sable Island, inc. a comparison of carcass pathology to cases in Scotland. Collab between SMRU, DFO and @dalhousie.bsky.social with support from @oceanfrontier.bsky.social doi.org/10.1111/mms....

New publication led by SMRU's @izzylangley.bsky.social on competition between grey & harbour seals in Scotland using 20+ yrs of diet data. Many thanks to all who collected samples, and collaborators from the Lighthouse Field Station and Institute of Marine Research #OA Paper: doi.org/10.1002/oik....

🦭 We have a new paper out! We developed an accessible framework for assessing the risk of collision between seals and operating tidal turbines. ⏭️ We found that most seal tracks moved near the turbine without collision. Read it here: doi.org/10.1002/aqc.... @seamammalresearch.bsky.social

Our recent paper on grey and harbour seal transboundary distribution made the cover of @jappliedecology.bsky.social! 😀🦭Thanks to Dr Kelly Robinson of @seamammalresearch.bsky.social for the photo! Check the paper here: doi.org/10.1111/1365...

New paper on the social learning of bubble net feeding by humpbacks in British Columbia, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B 🐋 royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article... #marmam @bcwhales.bsky.social @seamammalresearch.bsky.social @lrendell.bsky.social @uniofstandrews.bsky.social [1/5]

This study provides the first comprehensive, regionally scalable distribution estimates for Seals across the Northwest European Shelf and its constituent countries 🦭 🌍 🌊 🔎 Find out more: besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Great to see the use of SMRU Instrumentation tags on grey and harbour seals published in this recent paper by SMRU researchers @mattidcarter.bsky.social and @djfrussell.bsky.social 🦭🛰️

My first research paper, "Can Hematological Biomarkers Indicate Diagnoses and Prognosis in Stranded Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina)?", has been published! Read it here: doi.org/10.1111/mms.... #publishedarticle #marinebiology #marinemammals #research @seamammalresearch.bsky.social

New #OA paper in Landscape Ecology led by SMRU researchers @mattidcarter.bsky.social and @djfrussell.bsky.social reveals scale-dependent foraging behaviour and habitat associations of grey and harbour seals across the North Sea 🦭🧭 link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Great talk by @izzylangley.bsky.social of @seamammalresearch.bsky.social at #BES2025 on intraguild predation and UK seal population trends. Check the paper here: doi.org/10.1111/1365...

Another great SMRU poster at #BES2025 by Dr Faye Moyes. Check out the paper ok UK marine mammal bycatch here: academic.oup.com/icesjms/arti...

SMRU PhD student Mia Goldman is presenting research on grey seal breeding phenology at #BES2025. Check out her poster 🦭

More interesting SMRU research being presented at #BES2025 by Georgina Whittome! 🐋

If you are attending the @britishecologicalsociety.org conference #BES2025 in Edinburgh, look out for exciting seal research from SMRU folk @izzylangley.bsky.social @mattidcarter.bsky.social @eva-mariab.bsky.social and Mia Goldman

New @jappliedecology.bsky.social paper: SMRU researchers @mattidcarter.bsky.social & @djfrussell.bsky.social led a large collaborative team to map the distribution of grey and harbour seals at sea across the Northwest European Shelf 🦭 besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

So chuffed for the newly minted Dr @eadinomahony.bsky.social who crushed their viva this week at @seamammalresearch.bsky.social and gave an awesome seminar to boot! Many thanks to @tangeolsen.bsky.social for years of support! 🐳🦑🧪

A recent SMRU paper on clinical chemistry reference intervals for health assessments in harbour seals has been featured on the cover of the journal Animals. Check out the cover story here: www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15...

New paper out today in @ecol-evol.bsky.social doi.org/10.1002/ece3.... The total size of the body’s fat stores is a crucial factor in understanding animal health, life history and conservation biology, but no established method exists to measure it in large marine animals without capturing them.

🦭 Last week, I presented our recent work on evaluating the risk of seals colliding with tidal turbines at @seamammalresearch.bsky.social, at the @mastscot.bsky.social conference. If you’re interested in hearing more, read the preprint here: shorturl.at/76VSb !

SMRU researchers, including @carolsparling.bsky.social have secured funding from Scottish Gov. Marine Fund Scotland to further develop a new "detect and deter" system in collab with the Dee District Salmon Fishery Board to prevent seal predation on critically endangered Atlantic salmon.

Check out SMRU researcher @oceangill.bsky.social appearing on Mark Evans' podcast as he undertakes an expedition along the coast of Oman to collect eDNA samples and geo-tag marine plastic: open.spotify.com/episode/5c6I...

🐋 Registration Deadline Extended 🦭 We've extended the deadline for registration until the 21st November, so there's still time to sign up if you thought you'd missed it! Head to our website or scan the QR code in the poster to get to the form. Hope to see you all in January!

Travel grants are also available to help keep conference costs down!

Another fantastic postdoc opportunity....

Great albeit exhausting fun representing @seamammalresearch.bsky.social on the Developing Young Workforce/Hope the Whale roadshow this with colleagues from WDC. 3 days, 3 schools, ~900 students ... aaaaand breath...🤣🐳

Amazing opportunity for a post doc, fantastic team to work with, and a brilliant project... opportunities like this don't come up every day ......

New study, collab with @uniofaberdeen.bsky.social: reduced adult survival for harbour seals in areas of pop. decline in Scotland. tinyurl.com/ys4hc3jw Mark-recapture models applied to photo-ID data from 3 sites with contrasting pop. trajectories to generate concurrent survival and fecundity rates.

A much nicer day today for some #marine #science with @uniofstandrews.bsky.social students at the @seamammalresearch.bsky.social. @smruinstrument.bsky.social tags being used again. Learning about #oceanography and #ecosystem #management.

New study led by SMRU's @izzylangley.bsky.social in collaboration with @strandings.bsky.social: evidence for grey seal predation of grey seals, harbour seals and harbour porpoises across Scotland, at levels that could prevent recovery of depleted populations. tinyurl.com/4r3wka6a

🐬 Registration is now OPEN for the UKIRSC 2026 Marine Mammal Conference hosted @plymuni.bsky.social 🎓A FREE event bringing together students from across the UK & Ireland to share research, connect, and learn from leading marine mammal scientists. 👇Link below #UKIRSC2026 #MarineMammals

First trip out with students of @uniofstandrews.bsky.social as part of their #marine #ecology training this semester. Dry but windy. We might even have collected some useful data 😊 Thanks to @seamammalresearch.bsky.social for letting us use their boat. @smruinstrument.bsky.social tags as CTDs 😳

Had an amazing weekend at the '100 Years of RRS Discovery' celebrations in #Dundee Thanks for the support from @seamammalresearch.bsky.social and @smruinstrument.bsky.social #RRS100 #Discovery100

Help us @seamammalresearch.bsky.social #dolphin #ocean #scotland #conservation #smru

FINAL CALL FOR ABSTRACTS! Want to share your marine mammal research at one of Scotland's biggest scientific conferences? Submit an abstract to present a poster or talk at the MASTS Annual Science Meeting, in Glasgow in November. Deadline for submissions: 29th August (tomorrow!) lnkd.in/eihhpB3j

🚀 Upcoming Talk! 🚀 Dr Lars Boehme from SMRU (@seamammalresearch.bsky.social) will share how SMRU Instrumentation tags and seals can help advance marine science. 🦭 📍 Discovery Point, Dundee. 📆 Sat 13 & Sun 14 September 🕧 12:30 pm both days More info: www.dundeeheritagetrust.co.uk/event/how-se...

Important new analysis of bycatch patterns in UK fisheries by @fayehelenmoyes.bsky.social continuing the legacy of the late Professor Simon Northridge. An unexpected result: 'pinger' use, although decreasing cetacean bycatch, may actually increase seal bycatch academic.oup.com/icesjms/arti...

A very special humpback whale field season in Mo'orea with the best team @michaelpoolewhales.bsky.social @renee4cetaceans.bsky.social Mike Noad 🐳🎶 @seamammalresearch.bsky.social @uniofstandrews.bsky.social

Fascinating new research led by @smruecophys.bsky.social researcher @chrismcknight.bsky.social

Spotting whales for the boat team at the lighthouse in the Southern Lagoon, New Caledonia 🐳 🎶 @solenederville.bsky.social @francae.bsky.social @seamammalresearch.bsky.social @uniofstandrews.bsky.social @entropie-marinelab.bsky.social

Humpback whale fieldwork 2025: the season is well underway in the Southern Lagoon, New Caledonia @solenederville.bsky.social @seamammalresearch.bsky.social @uniofstandrews.bsky.social @entropie-marinelab.bsky.social @francae.bsky.social

New paper alert... abundance estimates for O'ahu spinner dolphins now published. Full text available: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author...

📣Announcing the launch of SealMAP: Seal Mapping & Analysis Platform. This SMRU app allows you to explore & download the latest grey & harbour seal distribution maps for Scotland. You can also get estimates of density for your area of interest. Happy mapping! arts.st-andrews.ac.uk/shiny/smru/s... 🦭🗺️