This pilot project aims at investigating how Baltic grey seals can be used as oceanographic samplers providing near real-time data on seal behaviour and movements as well as salinity and temperature data along the seals tracks.

Studies at Askö

4 CTD-GSM tags will be attached on a CTD frame, and 5 casts of about 150m depth will be performed in a sufficiently deep region of the Baltic.

Project scope

Baltic grey seals as oceanographers Baltic Sea conditions have a major effect on both species composition and distribution, however few projects have tried to link the behaviour of seals to their environment, probably because of the lack of fine scale oceanographic data. The so-called GSM-CTD tags, built by the SMRU (Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scotland), have recently been developed to track seals during their foraging trips using GPS (Global Positioning System) technology, while simultaneously recording water temperature and salinity using a miniaturized CTD (Conductivity-Temperature-Depth) device. In this pilot project, 4 grey seals will be instrumented in Falsterbo, Sweden, to observe ocean conditions along their tracks.

Contact: Fabien Roquet, Department of Meteorology, Stockholm University