On the scientific expeditionary vessel "Mikhail Somov" two lectures were held by the staff of the Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who are in charge of the expedition for the "Narwhal" project. Ilya Murashev spoke about the ecology and bird diversity of the high-latitude Arctic. Svetlana Artemieva - about marine mammals.
Svetlana, a research associate of the Narwhal project and a leading engineer at the Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, has been studying marine mammals for many years and is capable of, almost by a wave surge, distinguishing who is under the water: a humpback or a killer whale, a porpoise or a bowhead whale. Seals, walruses, beluga whales, ringed seals, polar bears (also marine mammals), narwhals - each species has its own characteristics and mysteries. Why do narwhals have teeth yet walruses tusks? Who is ready to eat their seal relative? What whales run away from the ship by swimming on their backs? Where are the "carding places" of marine life? Is it necessary to save the seal pups caught on the ice during the ice drift? And how to become a marine biologist?
These two lectures have more purposes than education. Members of the Arctic Floating University can help the Narwhal project with the observation of birds and marine mammals. Students and their supervisors are constantly observing for their projects, divided into watches: the weather, the ice, the sea debris, the birds ... And it may well turn out that they will spot a whale or even a narwhal. The information and photos derived from their observation will be of great value to the colleagues as well.