Whales are a group of unique mammals that belong to the family Cetacea. This family includes the largest animal in the world; the Blue whale as well as other large whales such as the Humpback whale, Sperm whale, Omura’s whale and Bryde’s whale, all of which can be found in the tropical waters off Sri Lanka’s coast. Despite the prominence of these creatures, there is much to still be learnt about them.
Lanka Environment Fund is proud to be supporting Oceanswell in bridging this knowledge gap, by funding their project which aims to understand the composition of whale species off the Southern coast of Sri Lanka. To do this, ten years of field survey data gathered by Oceanswell will be analysed for number of sightings of whale species, shifts in species composition, as well as potential drivers of these shifts. The findings obtained from this analysis will be presented to the International Whaling Commission (IWC), and will be published in a peer reviewed journal.
The data gathered by Oceanswell on these whale populations is the only data of its kind in the Northern Indian Ocean, and therefore the findings that come out of its analysis are bound to have far reaching implications in the conservation of whales and in understanding how their populations are influenced by various factors over time.
In summation, the objectives of this project are:
The success of this project would lead to deeper insights into a key aspect of Sri Lanka’s marine biodiversity, allowing us to understand their population dynamics and ecology. This information can in turn be used to make informed decisions regarding their conservation as well as in understanding how human activity may potentially impact them. At the same time, the outcomes of this project will contribute to the development of the science surrounding whales as a whole, potentially paving the way for more research in the future.
Picture credits: Adam Moore
