Moniceph Project

Moniceph Project

Today we are going to introduce the most recent project that Picos de Aventura is pleased to collaborate with – the Moniceph Project.

The researcher of this project, Stephanie Suciu, in collaboration with the University of the Azores, is studying the ecology of cephalopods (octopuses and squids) in the deep ocean, as well as the diet of the cetaceans that eat them (sperm whales, pilot whales, beaked whales and risso's dolphins).

How do we help? During our trips to the sea, we sometimes find parts of these animals floating on the surface, parts that are brought by the cetaceans when they feed. The objective of the project is to collect these animal remains and take a sample, for later genetic analysis, to identify which species it belongs to.

Yesterday, during the afternoon departure and accompanied by Stephanie, we found a piece, apparently, of octopus. The surface collection was successful and a small part of the sample was placed in a vial for later analysis (Figure 1 and 2, respectively).

Let's wait to find out more about this and other samples collected, so we can get to know these deep-sea organisms even more and find out what secrets the Azores sea holds!