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| Citizen scientists tune in to Shetland's rich underwater soundscape |
Community-driven research, led by the University of Cumbria, is creating an underwater sound monitoring programme to better understand and protect Shetland’s coastal waters.
Partnering with local people, groups and businesses on the islands, the Shetland Community Acoustic Research Forum (SCARF) will use small underwater acoustic recorders deployed on salmon cages, mussel farms and fishing creels to collect information on Shetland’s rich wildlife and ecology under the sea’s surface.
Professor Volker Deecke, Professor of Wildlife Conservation at University of Cumbria, and a world authority on killer whales, is leading the 12-month project as Principal Investigator, working with colleagues from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, University of St. Andrews, UHI Shetland – a partner of the University of the Highlands and Islands, and University of Aberdeen.
Other partners involved in the SCARF project are NatureScot, Seafood Shetland, Shetland Community Wildlife Group, Shetland Cetacean Group, and island-based sound artist and musician, Dr Jenny Sturgeon, who will compose a piece from the underwater recordings collected.
By combining scientific data, local knowledge and artistic interpretation, SCARF will support decision-making related to coastal conservation and promote Ecological Citizenship and engagement with marine ecosystems among Shetland’s communities.
The new research will complement ongoing marine conservation and management initiatives in Shetland by helping to understand seasonal variation in environmental sound like wind, wave and rain noise; occurrence of sound-producing animals such as killer whales and harbour porpoise; and how human activities such as shipping and other industrial activity feature in the underwater soundscape.
The Shetland Community Acoustic Research Forum is funded by an Ecological Citizen(s) Network+ (ECN+) grant, ECN+ being funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research & Innovation (UKRI).
Image: Members of the project team joined by conservation students at Sumburgh Head, Shetland. Left to right - Dr. Saana Isojunno, Dr. Emily Doolittle, University of Cumbria Conservation students Melissa McKenzie and Lucy Hall, Prof. Volker Deecke, and Dr Andrew Whitehouse