EMPHATIC Project

The project EMPHATIC will address challenges in cetacean monitoring, related to distribution range and health; and respond to policy needs by developing relevant indicators of cetacean population status. EMPHATIC combines several emerging research topics, applying non-invasive techniques applicable to live animals: environmental DNA (eDNA) to assess distribution; study of the respiratory tract microbiomes; images collected with drones for photogrammetry to evaluate body condition; and hormone content to derive stress levels. Specifically, EMPHATIC aims to: 1. Generate and implement monitoring tools and analytical methodologies, addressing cetacean distribution and health. 2. Deliver solutions to relevant policy actors, and regional stakeholders, including the monitoring toolbox for environmental assessments at the national and European levels. 3. Engage citizens by training them for sample collection, thus increasing spatio-temporal coverage of available data. 4. Enhance methodologies and develop indicators to report cetacean distribution and health and support policy-makers. 5. Utilise and make available biodiversity data in appropriate repositories for integrated data assessments.