Dive Into Your Imagination

Simon Elwen is working to save dolphin populations in Namibia! In order to save these dolphins, we need to learn about them, and he is doing pioneering research in this area.

Why are you doing research in South Africa and Namibia on Dolphins?
Due to a combination of historical factors, there has been very little research done on cetaceans in Namibia and almost nothing is known about the conservation status of the dolphin species (threats, population sizes, growth or decline) or their role in the ecosystem. There are several potential threats to the dolphin populations in Namibia including bycatch in fisheries, loss of their prey, ecosystem changes, coastal development and high levels of boat traffic in certain areas. Also, as top predators they may play a central role in the ecosystem, but to be able to understand this we need to know more about their diet and habitat, as well as the sizes of the populations and their interactions with other species. This is why I started the Namibian Dolphin Project.

Great! So what exactly is the Namibian Dolphin Project?

The Namibian Dolphin Project is a new project that I set in up 2008 (and I hope to build it into a long term research program) on cetaceans in Namibian waters. The aims of the project are to assess the conservation status of Namibian dolphin populations. The project is investigating the size of the populations, documenting habitat use and critical habitat areas for these and other dolphin and whale species, using visual surveys and novel static acoustic monitoring techniques. We work in close collaboration with local government agencies, conservation groups and members of the marine wildlife-watching industry in Walvis Bay as well as international scientists.

Many people love marine mammals. What makes them so special? Also, what is a Cetacean?
Their intelligence, diversity and flexibility, make marine mammals very interesting to study as they have such a range of responses and adaptations to the environment. There isn’t really much known about them relative to other groups of mammals, it’s fascinating watching them at sea and trying to understand the motivations behind their complex behaviour.

Cetaceans are the group of animals that include whales, dolphins and porpoises and along with dugongs and manatees, they are the only fully aquatic mammals (seals of course regularly come on to land). Despite being air breathing mammals, cetaceans are perfectly adapted to the marine environment and have populated all corners of the oceans and even some rivers. Their adaptations make them very successful predators and they play an important role in the ecosystem at multiple levels. Large whales tend to eat small food such as plankton and krill near the bottom of the food chain while the majority of dolphins are top predators preying on large amounts of fish and squid.

Which is why it is so important that people like you study them! Why is South Africa a good place for marine research?
As with most marine systems around the world, the ocean around South Africa is exposed to multiple human threats including pollution, coastal development, mining, climate change and the effects of historic overfishing. What makes it different is that South Africa has a very good track record of marine research and has very progressive legislation with respect to the protection and management of its marine resources, such as a growing network of marine protected areas. Its location at the confluence of the Indian and Atlantic Ocean, means that South Africa has phenomenally diverse marine life ranging from tropical along the north-east coast, to cold temperate in the very rich Benguela upwelling system along the west coast. The diversity of life, structure of the ecosystems, good infrastructure and ease of access to large areas of the coastline and oceans, make South Africa a fantastic place to do marine research.

What tools do you use to study marine mammals?
First and foremost are the observations of behaviour and location made during visual surveys. Other than that, I mainly apply a technique called mark-recapture, which involves taking photographs of animals and identifying them from natural marks such as injuries on the dorsal fin (dolphins) or colour patterns on the underside of the tail fluke (humpback whales). Being able to re-identify individuals over days, months and years can give us a real insight into the lives of these animals and also allows us to estimate population abundance, residency and movement patterns as well as social interactions between individuals.

You have also used models about land (terrestrial) animals to study marine mammals. What has this taught you about the ecology of marine mammals?
Heaviside’s dolphins have considerably larger home ranges than you’d expect for an animal of 40-60 kilograms (such as a leopard) based on terrestrial models. At the same time, they have much smaller home ranges than you would expect for a large predator that doesn’t defend a territory and is living in an open, unpredictable environment. Terrestrial models of animal movement and behaviour are often most enlightening in the marine environment because of what they don’t explain rather than what they do.

What is hard about studying marine mammals? What do you like the most?
Money is unfortunately the largest challenge to most research projects. Research is expensive, and with whales and dolphins spending the majority of their time underwater, the amount of data we get out of our research can be poor compared to the amount of effort we put in. I don’t care to count the number of days I’ve spent at sea not seeing much of anything. Luckily whales and dolphins are relatively abundant around southern Africa which makes studying them that much easier.

What do I love about my research? Although there is very little to beat the experience of a very large whale surfacing right next you, I really enjoy the part of the process when all the data comes together and you start to see the patterns you’ve been looking for (or maybe you haven’t been looking for!) coming out of the data.

Do you think there is hope in trying to save the planet?
Humans have made a huge impact on the environment, especially since the beginning of the 20th century. More than anything, I think we need to change the way we think about the world and how we live in it, it’s a support system and not a dumping ground. I’ve really noticed positive changes in people’s attitudes since I was a child. Almost everyone is now familiar with words like ‘ecosystem’ and ‘climate change’. Recycling and concern for the environment are becoming the norm and are not solely in the vocabulary of scientists, conservationists and militant greenies. A society with a responsible and sustainable attitude is probably the single most important thing we can create, everything else will follow from there.

Biography:
Simon Elwen grew up in South Africa, both at the coast and inland, and has had a lifelong interest in the sea. He did his undergraduate degree in Zoology at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg then moved to Cape Town in 2000 to do a Masters degree investigating the distribution patterns of southern right whales around the coast of South Africa. Simon completed his PhD work at the University of Pretoria (2002-2007) on the ecology of Heaviside's dolphins in the southern 400km of their range in South Africa, describing their movements, abundance and near-shore behaviour. He has also worked on research projects in Mozambique, South Africa, Scotland and Gabon and has recently set up the Namibian Dolphin Project (with Dr Ruth Leeney) to investigate Heaviside's and other dolphins in Namibian waters where little data exist, but human impacts are potentially high. Simon is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Mammal Research Institute at the University of Pretoria in South Africa.

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