Our past projects

The Megalodon project is a collaboration between the Diving & Whale Watching industry, NGOs and local scientists from the Azores Islands, mainly located on Pico and Faial. Its aim is to create awareness and collect evidence through science to motivate politicians to extend and connect existing marine reserves, establish a more effective management strategy and protect endangered species. Therefore, various programs and activities were established to collect funds to finance the ongoing scientific work and to change the minds of people and decision-makers.

We both joined the project through the summer season of 2022 and worked together closely with one of the dive centers on Pico Island.

The Azorean Archipelago is an absolute hot spot for many migrating marine species. Its unique geomorphology provides important feeding, mating and nursery areas and throughout the year different marine megafauna gathers in surrounding waters. Throughout the year many different types of whales, mobular rays and pelagic sharks such as shortfin-mako, blue and whale sharks can be observed.

Accompanying diving and freediving trips during the months of July, August and September, we collected biological data of encountered sharks and mobular rays as well as recorded specific environmental conditions such as current, water temperature, plankton and weather. All the collected information was shared with Jorge Fontes and his team at the University of Faial, who is the leading researcher when it comes to shark conservation in the Azores.

Laser-Photogrammetry

To collect measurements of blue sharks, mako sharks and mobular rays we used a non-invasive method called laser-photogrammetry. Two lasers were mounted on a metal frame spaced 25 cm apart and a camera was placed In the middle of the frame. The lasers work as a reference, the same as a ruler or tape measure for example, that we can “put on” the shark. Using the  (as we know they are 25 cm apart) to later calculate 25 cm as a reference, we can then calculate the total length of a shark or mobular ray.

Education & Awareness

The second part of our work- and arguably equally important to collecting scientific data – was to share our knowledge and passion for our ocean, especially for sharks and rays. Throughout the season we gave talks and presentations on the importance of the Azores and surrounding seamounts for many resident and migrating megafauna species, about current threats and potential solutions. From giving presentations to joining shark dives with customers – our ambition was not only to simply share knowledge and facts but to help create positive emotions and relationships when it comes to the ocean and some of its most charismatic animals.

What does mesophotic mean?

Mesophotic reefs are deep coral reefs located 30-70 meters deep. In the last decades thanks to diving technology advances, it has been made easier to directly encounter them and pursue research. But why study them? Well, there is little that we know about deep corals. In fact, almost nothing. The environmental conditions are quite different than the usual shallow coral reefs we see when we snorkel and on the wonderful TV images. Studying them will help better understand the overall coral reef ecosystem, if there are links between shallow and deep waters, and therefore improve their conservation and protection.

Studying mesophotic corals

End of 2022, Juliette’s work consisted of helping a PhD student from IRD and ENTROPIE laboratories to better understand the demographics aspect of the mesophotic corals of La Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean. Demography aspects are characteristics such as growth, health, size, age and recruitment (amount of baby corals). Thus she measured the growth of mesophotic corals and assessed their health by analysing 2D data (underwater pictures) in order to find if there was a difference with the shallower reefs from Réunion island. You can read more about the project here!

A mesophotic reef around 150 meters deep in Hawaii!

What is the red coral?

The red coral (Corallium rubrum) is a type of soft coral, more commonly called a “gorgonian” in the Mediterranean Sea. Yes, there are corals in Europe! They are just not the tropical hard-building corals that are often pictured. Gorgonians are extremely important for the marine ecosystem as they build underwater marine forests, like trees, offering a 3D structure for other marine species to live, hide and feed. They usually have a soft skeleton but the red coral is special: it builds a hard carbonate skeleton, making it very unique! So unique that it has been harvested for millennia by humankind to produce brilliant red jewellery and sculptures. Unfortunately, red coral grows very slowly… Therefore this constant high pressure heavily impacted the species and nowadays red coral populations are in serious decline. That’s why several researchers are trying to find ways to restore and protect this coral. Juliette’s master’s thesis was done under this research aspect in the Ligurian Sea in Italy.

Transplantation research

One aspect of Juliette’s master thesis research focused on studying different transplantation techniques used on red coral and assessing the effectiveness of each one. Transplanting is like gardening: you select a little piece of coral and attach it somewhere else with the hope it will grow and create another healthy colony. The tricky part with red coral is that it naturally grows upside down in crevices and caves, hence the challenge and the study! Four different techniques were tried and evaluated, mainly comparing upside-down and erected transplantation. The results of attaching pieces to the roof of crevices were promising and had the advantage of being more removed from sedimentation and anthropogenic disturbance! You can read the results in this scientific paper.

Adaptative mechanism of red coral against climate change

But the exciting observation made during this research was the resizing of some red coral transplants. Instead of growing, some pieces shrunk. And at the same time, we observed on certain natural colonies the loss of the tip of the branches. How and why you ask? We guess that this could be induced by climate change as a thermal stress coping mechanism. It is commonly observed in terrestrial and aquatic animals. As if harvesting pressure was not enough for red coral, the sea temperature is only increasing every summer in the Mediterranean Sea affecting all marine life. The red coral might have a special way to deal with it by reducing its size and thus needing less energy to survive. But all good, it can regenerate! Just like a lizard’s tail. We call that autotomy, and the red coral shows us a perfect strong way to adapt under harsh conditions. You can read more in this scientific paper.

Master thesis script download

Scientific publications

• Villechanoux, J., Bierwirth, J., Mantas, T.P., Cerrano, C. (2022) Testing Transplantation Techniques for the Red Coral Corallium rubrum. Water, 14, 1071. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14071071
• Roveta, C., Pulido Mantas, T.P, Bierwirth, J., Calcinai, B., Coppari, M., Di Camilo, C.G., Puce, S., Villechanoux, J. et Cerrano, C. (2023) Can colony resizing represent a strategy for octocorals to face climate warming? The case of the precious red coral Corallium rubrum. Coral Reefs, 42, 535–549. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-023-02365-9