Biological Research Volunteering in Italy

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Do you want to be part of an international crew aboard and help with data collection underwater? We will teach you the necessary skillset for habitat mapping, species Identification and mapping of their distribution, and spotting Marine Megafauna, such as dolphins, whales, and turtles. As a volunteer aboard, you will be a part of the research team, which means snorkeling, measuring seagrass meadows, looking for species, taking pictures and videos of all the different organisms you see, and learning to identify them! While sailing, you will also be standing watches—spotting whales and dolphins and trying to take the best possible pictures of them for Photo Identification with our partner organizations. You will be living aboard a 21m sailing boat with up to 9 more people, giving everyone enough space to find a quiet corner when needed but also enough social areas to live and work together. During your stay, we generally move every other day for a 4-5 hour sail to the next location, which gives us enough time to map and check the underwater world in each location properly and have a look onshore as well if wanted.

This program aims to provide volunteers with knowledge on various aspects of cetacean and marine macrofauna research and vital coastal monitoring techniques. It includes a course that presents a strong theoretical component, with different lectures covering diverse topics: biology, anatomy, ecology of the main species of cetaceans and sea turtles present in the Mediterranean and Ligurian Sea, ID techniques to recognize these species, and the various oceanographic and geomorphological aspects of these basins. Furthermore, additional information is given on the main research techniques used in this field of science, as well as during the monitoring of the coastal environment and data collection. Participants take part in various practical activities to improve their familiarity with the monitoring protocols of coastal environments, data collection protocols used in the field by researchers, ID skills, and photo identification. They also conduct land-based surveys when good weather conditions allow and contribute to species monitoring within the study area.