Blood Slide Data

Blood Slide Data
Blood from a Shark

As part of our long-term monitoring of sharks in Hadera, we take blood from the caudal fin through venipuncture. Around 10 μl of blood is used to make a blood slide (also called smear), which is stained using Diff Quick. The cells are then analysed through a microscope at 40 or 100x resolution, and a simple White Blood Differential (WBC count) is calculated (types and amount of wbc in the blood). If…

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Summarizing Guitarfish season 2023

Summarizing Guitarfish season 2023
Summarizing Guitarfish season 2023

Summarizing Guitarfish season 2023We are very pleased to finish the 2023 G. cemiculus (Blackchin guitarfish) season with 107 neonates measured, tagged, and sampled along both the Israeli and Cypriot coastline. Blackchin neonates are most prevalent from the end of August to the beginning of November in what is referred to as 'hot spots'.Thanks to a collaboration with Blue Marine Foundation and MER Research Institute  we organized a research expedition in…

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Guitarfish Project’s first expedition to Cyprus 

Guitarfish Project’s first expedition to Cyprus 
Guitarfish Project's first expedition to Cyprus

https://youtu.be/r0ZO_eo8YO8A collaboration between the Apex Marine Predator lab of The Morris Kahn Marine Research Station, MER research institute , and ISea , funded by the Blue Marine Foundation executed a seven-day expedition to Larnaca in Cyprus.Sightings of blackchin guitarfish (Glaucostegus cemiculus) neonates from both the Israeli and Cypriot coastal waters brought the two research teams together to better understand the biology and population connectivity of this critically endangered species in…

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Physeter macrocephalus

Physeter macrocephalus
Kim

The largest-toothed whale. The Mediterranean population is thought to include fewer than 2,500 mature individuals that face numerous threats and are in decline. They are known to inhabit offshore and continental-slope waters, foraging almost exclusively on squids. There have been Anecdotal reports of sperm whales to the north of the Israeli EEZ on social media, but their distribution is still unknown in our region. Deep sea acoustic surveys started in…

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Delphinus delphis

Read more about the article Delphinus delphis
54

The common dolphin population inhabits the southern region of the coastline. They are mainly observed in the coastal waters off Ashdod and Ashkelon, at water depths of 15-30 meters. Data collection started in 2016 when the group included up to 37 mature individuals, though since 2020 only the same 15 adults have been observed. Overall, 64 individuals have been documented. According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species the…

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Tursiops truncatus

Read more about the article Tursiops truncatus
Duke

The bottlenose dolphin population inhabits the entire coastline, mainly observed between bottom depths of 30-60 meters. Since 2005, when data collection began, 396 individuals have been documented. The local population's body size is relatively small, and their diet is mainly composed of fish. According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species the Mediterranean population is listed as “least concern.” Tursiops truncatus Adi First seen: 2000, Last seen: 2016, area:…

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The Israeli Dolphins and whales’ catalogue

The Israeli dolphins and whales' catalogue collates data from our surveys since 2005 when digital cameras were incorporated into our protocols in Israel. Dolphins are classified as residents when they have been sighted on five or more occasions. Visitors are classified as being sighted less than five times.The study area is divided into three regions- North (N), from the Israeli-Lebanon maritime border to Hof-HaCarmel; Centre (C), from Hof-HaCarmel to Palmachim; and…

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