Posts by Vicki James
The power of harbour porpoise poo
We know we need to save the whale to save the world. Now we are funding a pioneering project that’s proving that porpoises are our underwater climate allies too. We are uncovering more and more evidence showing how essential whales are for a healthy marine ecosystem. They are helping us to fight the climate and…
Read MoreWhat have dead whales ever done for us?
When dead whales wash up on dry land they provide a vital food source for many species, but fewer whales means fewer carcasses and that’s bad news. It may seem strange to talk about the benefit of dead whales, but even in death whales are a vital part of healthy ecosystems, and not just marine…
Read MoreTalking crap and carcasses to protect our planet
We know we need to save the whale to save the world because they are our allies in fighting the climate and biodiversity crises. We also know that a lot of amazing people are doing incredible work to gather the evidence we need to convince climate policymakers of this. But research into the climate role…
Read MoreClimate giants – how whales can help save the world
We know that whales, dolphins and porpoises are amazing beings with complex social and family lives, and we are leaning more about them all the time. But we are only beginning to understand that whales are essential in ensuring a healthy ocean and helping us combat climate change. The ocean is our largest carbon sink,…
Read MoreLooking out for dolphins and porpoises in Wales
Have you ever fancied yourself as a dolphin researcher? If you think you’ve got what it takes, you could join us on the remote Welsh island of Bardsey (Ynys Enlli) next year. I have just returned from Bardsey Island with my colleague Pine Eisfeld-Pierantonio. We spent the last two weeks of August looking out for…
Read MoreA lovely end to my sabbatical with more humpback whales
My time at the WDC North American office has come to an end; it has flown by and has been a wonderful experience. In my previous blog I wrote about the humpback studies that I have been assisting on whilst I have been here. Since then the weather has continued to be unseasonably good and…
Read MoreA Whale of a welcome
It’s been two weeks since I arrived at the WDC North America office here in Plymouth, Massachusetts. I’m normally based at the UK office, but I’m lucky to be here on sabbatical assisting on the studies of the whales in Cape Cod, particularly humpback whales. After being taught the data collection techniques, which is very…
Read MoreThe windy watch – Bardsey Island Survey 2017
Another Bardsey Island (Ynys Enlli) field season is over, this time a little earlier than planned as the strong winds, some of which were over 50 mph, made it impossible for us to survey. However in the short time we were there we were treated to some dolphin delights. The waters around Bardsey Island are…
Read MoreWhales could help save Arctic Seed Vault
Recently, Norway announced that the entrance to the Global Seed Vault in the Arctic was flooded after very high temperatures caused the permafrost to melt. The vault, a storage facility deep inside a mountain on the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, is designed to preserve the world’s crops from future disasters. The store holds seeds from c.5,000 crop…
Read MoreRisso’s dolphins in North Wales – Bardsey Fieldwork 2016
It seems that this year’s Bardsey fieldwork has been and gone in a flash, it felt like I was only on the island for a few days when in fact 2 weeks had flown past, and I now find myself back in the office. Thanks to funding from Natural Resources Wales (NRW), we were able…
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