Dr. Aviad Scheinin

Dr. Aviad Scheinin

Apex Predators Principal Investigator

+972 52 3571193

ascheinin@univ.haifa.ac.il

Project: Marine Apex Predators

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Background:

Apart from my academic career, which I devote mainly to marine conservation science, I am involved with many conservational and environmental bodies. I have been a member of the scientific committee of ACCOBAMS, and am currently a member of IWC Strandings Expert Panel Committee. In addition to being an elected member of ECS council (my second tenure as Vice Chairperson), I was also elected to sit on the board of the Israeli Life & Environment Organization. Long-term processes and data are essential to research, and to supporting the translation of science into magic for school children, and it is under this premise that I have created the Dolphin & Sea Center, an Educational centre based in Ashdod. This center operates under Delphis, an NGO created for the conservation of marine mammals in Israel which I was one of the founders. My romance with the sea began in the coastal city of Ashkelon where I was born, after a long military service in the Navy as naval officer with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Afterwards, I spent time as a yacht skipper instructor in the Sea-Gal sailing club. A particular point of pride belongs to my passion of cycling, and I am very proud of being the Head of ‘Tel Aviv for Bike’, an NGO since 1998. We successfully initiated the push to bring cycling tracks to the streets and boulevards of Tel Aviv, and now the city is the most cyclist-friendly in Israel.



Academic Education:

Date (from-to)InstituteDegreeArea of specialization
2011-2012Lighthouse Field Station, University of Aberdeen, Scotland.Post doctorateAn abundance estimate of the population of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) along the Israeli coastline through mark-recapture analysis.
2004-2010Maritime Civilization, the Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies, University of HaifaPh.D.The population of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), bottom trawl catch trends and the interaction between the two along the Mediterranean continental shelf of Israel.
2000-2003Zoology Department, Tel Aviv UniversityMSc.Ecological and genetic characterization of the population of the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) along the Israeli coastline. The Zoology Department, Tel-Aviv University

Current Research:

Currently I am the Head of Marine Apex Predator Lab, which specializes in conservation, behavioral science, and long-term ecological research of coastal dolphins, sharks, rays, bluefin tuna. Apex predators are important for maintaining the integrity of ecosystems, yet there exists a huge knowledge gap on these predators of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea which we plan to overcome. We are continuously engaged in developing new sampling protocols and indicators for pelagic megafauna. Emphasis is placed on the function of these species as sentinels of the marine environment and their ability to inform us about human perturbations. We employ photogrammetric measurements using drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), both active and passive acoustic surveying techniques, mark-recapture methods, underwater observations, and cutting-edge technologies for molecular and stable isotope analyses, e-DNA and microbiome analysis.

Publications:

  • Morick, D., Blum, S. E., Davidovich, N., Zemah-Shamir, Z., Bigal, E., Itay, P., Rokney, A., Nasie, I., Feldman, N., Flecker, M., Roditi-Elasar, M., Aharoni, K., Zuriel, Y., Wosnick, N., Tchernov, D., & Scheinin, A. P. (2023). Photobacterium damselae subspecies damselae Pneumonia in Dead, Stranded Bottlenose Dolphin, Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Emerging infectious diseases, 29(1), 179–183. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2901.221345
  • Galili, O.; Goffman, O.; Roditi-Elasar, M.; Mevorach, Y.; Bigal, E.; Zuriel, Y.; Haitovich, Y.; Hadar, N.; Markovich, M.; Vardimon, D.; Reininger, D.; Marco, S.; Morick, D.; Ratner, E.; Tchernov, D.; Scheinin, A. Two Decades of Coastal Dolphin Population Surveys in Israel, Eastern Mediterranean. Biology 2023, 12, 328. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12020328
  • Y.E. Zuriel, N. Levi Avshalom, I. van Rijn, L. Livne, O. Galili, D. Tchernov, A.P. Scheinin, D. Kerem, (2023) Multi-year passive acoustic monitoring of coastal dolphins along the Israeli Mediterranean shallow shelf reveals the impact of marine fish farms and trawling patterns on their habitat utilization, Marine Environmental Research, Volume 188,  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.106014.
  • Gnone G, Bellingeri M, Airoldi S, Gonzalvo J, David L, Di-Méglio N, Cañadas AM, Akkaya A, Awbery T, Mussi B, Campana I, Azzolin M, Dede A, Tonay AM, Monaco C, Pellegrino G, Tepsich P, Moulins A, Arcangeli A, Labach H, Scheinin AP, Mevorach Y, Carlucci R, Santacesaria FC, Chicote CA, Gazo M, Tintore B, Alessi J, Mandich A, Bittau L, Diaz Lopez B, Azzinari C, La Manna G, Pace DS, Decandia D, Castelli A, Nuti S, Santoni M-C, Verga A, Tomasi N, Giacoma C, Costantino M, Falabrino M, Azzellino A. Cetaceans in the Mediterranean Sea: Encounter Rate, Dominant Species, and Diversity Hotspots. Diversity. 2023; 15(3):321. https://doi.org/10.3390/d15030321
  • Morick, D., Davidovich, N., Zemah-Shamir, Z. Kroin Y· Bigal E · Sierra E, ·Segura‑Göthlin S, Wosnick N, Hauser‑Davis R A, Tchernov D & Scheinin A.P. First description of a Gammaherpesvirus in a common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Vet Res Commun (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-023-10125-x
  • Bregman, G., Lalzar, M., Livne, L., Bigal, E., Zemah-Shamir, Z., Morick, D., Tchernov, D., Scheinin, A., & Meron, D. (2023). Preliminary study of shark microbiota at a unique mix-species shark aggregation site, in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Frontiers in microbiology, 14, 1027804. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1027804
  • Mevorach Y, Scheinin A, Galili O, Santostasi NL and Tchernov D (2022) Common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) in Israel: Unique dynamics of a critically endangered population. Front. Mar. Sci. 9:916950. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2022.916950
  • Morick D, Blum S, Davidovich N, Zemah Shamir Z, Bigal E, Itay P, Rokney A, Nasie I,  Feldman N, Flecker M, Roditi-Elasar M,  Aharoni K,  Wosnick N,  Scheinin A. (2023). Photobacterium damselae subspecies damselae Pneumonia in Dead, Stranded Bottlenose Dolphin, Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 29. 179-183. 10.3201/eid2901.221345. 
  • Morick D, Davidovich N, Zemah-Shamir Z, Bigal E, Rokney A, Ron M, Blum SE, Fleker M, Soto E, Heckman TI, Lau SCK, Wosnick N, Tchernov D and Scheinin AP. First Isolation and Characterization of Streptococcus agalactiae From a Stranded Wild Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis). Frontiers in Marine Science. 2022. 9:824071. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.824071
  • Zemah-Shamir, Z.; Zemah-Shamir, S.; Scheinin, A.; Tchernov, D.; Lazebnik, T.; Gal, G. A Systematic Review of the Behavioural Changes and Physiological Adjustments of Elasmobranchs and Teleost’s to Ocean Acidification with a Focus on Sharks. Fishes 2022, 7, 56. https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes7020056
  • Lampert, Y.; Berzak, R.; Davidovich, N.; Diamant, A.; Stern, N.; Scheinin,A.P.; Tchernov, D.; Morick, D. Indigenous versus Lessepsian Hosts: Nervous Necrosis Virus (NNV) in Eastern Mediterranean Sea Fish. Viruses 2020, 12(4), 430; https://doi.org/10.3390/v12040430.
  • Morick, D.; Davidovich, N.; Bigal, E.; Rosenbluth, E.; Bouznach, A.; Rokney, A.; Ron, M.; Wosnick, N.; Tchernov, D.; Scheinin, A.P. Fatal Infection in a Wild Sandbar Shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus), Caused by Streptococcus agalactiae, Type Ia-ST7. Animals 2020, 10, 284.
  • Brand, D., Edelist D., Goffman O., Hadar N., Scheinin A. Kerem D. Common dolphins, common in neritic waters off southern Israel, demonstrate uncommon dietary habits. Aquatic Conserv: Mar Freshw Ecosyst. 2019;1–7. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3165
  • Zemah Shamir, Z. Zemah Shamir, S. Tchernov, D., Scheinin A., Becker N. (2019). Shark aggregation and tourism: opportunities and challenges of an emerging phenomenon, International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 406-414.
  • Barash, A., Pickholtz, R., Nativ, H., Malamud, S., Scheinin, A., & Tchernov, D. (2018). Seasonal arrival and feeding of injured coastal sharks at fish farms in the Eastern Mediterranean. Journal of the Black Sea/Mediterranean Environment, 24(1), 86-90.
  • Diamant, R., Bigal, E., Pinhasi, A., Scheinin, A., (2018). Estimation of Shark’s biomass through active acoustics. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 144, 1912.
  • Bigal, E., Morick, D., Scheinin, A. , Salant, H., Berkowitz, A., King, R., Levy, Y., Melero, M., Sanchez-Vizcaino, J., Goffman, O., Hadar, N., Roditi-Elasar, M., Tchernov, D. (2018). Detection of Toxoplasma gondii in three common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus); a first description from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. 258, 74-78.
  • Levy, D., Belfer, Y., Osherov, E., Bigal, E., Scheinin, A. , Nativ, H., Tchernov, D., Treibitz, T., (2018). Automated analysis of marine video with limited data. CVPR,         Workshop on automated analysis of marine video for environmental           monitoring.
  • Mannocci L., Roberts J.J., Scheinin A, et Al. (2018) Assessing cetacean surveys throughout the Mediterranean Sea: a gap analysis in environmental space. Scientific Reports volume 8, Article number: 3126
  • Notarbartolo di Sciara G., Kerem D., Scheinin A.  et al. (2017). Cetaceans of the Red Sea. CMS Technical Series 33, 86 p.