Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1214775
13 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 26 FEBRUARY 2020 ENVIRONMENT DOLPHINS, whales, turtles, sharks, rays and other marine biodiversity have been under the dedicated long-term and year-round research focus of the Conservation Biology Re- search Group (CBRG-UM) at the Department of Biology. Pro- fessor Adriana Vella, lead re- searcher of CBRG-UM, has seen her 100,000km2 research area around the Maltese Islands ex- pand over 20 years of research to areas in Greek waters and south- ern Italy waters where projects have been possible through her supervision. Though most of these animals are not seen easily by the gen- eral public and necessary con- servation work on these species is very costly in time and funds, they still deserve being pro- tected as essential part of ma- rine life and the much-needed resources and functions they contribute to. CBRG-UM Researchers are out there themselves for hours and days on end to gather the much-needed data and this has been carried out by Prof. Vel- la and her team of researchers, including BICREF NGO volun- teers using boat and plane sur- veys. Through this extensive experience, she has also man- aged to inspire and supervise work in other Mediterrane- an regions where no previous conservation research on ceta- ceans had been carried out be- fore. Additionally, being asked by foreign students to come over to the University of Mal- ta for their MSc/PhD research work or internships under her supervision also reflects the spreading interest in acquiring the scientific skills for this de- manding but useful conserva- tion research. Locally various sea-users have been of support in this work by forwarding their own sightings out at sea and additionally con- tribute toward long-term and focused conservation efforts that have been ongoing since 1997. Thanks are therefore also due to fishermen, yachtsmen, AFM, maritime Transport Malta and general public. The valuable work being achieved by the Conservation Biology Research Group at the Department of Biology may effectively address conserva- tion plans and measures for endangered species through scientific knowledge based on thorough long-term data sets. The integrative research meth- ods adopted, where relation- ships between genetics, ecolo- gy, fisheries and environmental conservation management are considered, allow the disciple of conservation biology to pick up the vital momentum nec- essary for the current urgent needs. Maltese marine conservation research efforts extend in time and space