Nova Atlantis Foundation

04/10/2026

Happy World Animal Day with a group of flying common dolphins, August 2026.

17/09/2026

Perhaps it is because we have been working lately in our smaller RIB, but the short-finned pilots whales we encountered looked massive! Their presence close to shore is normally not the best for our Risso’s sightings, since they seem to “clean up” the bay, after which they hang out offshore...

07/09/2026

Just me and my mother🐣

Aɴɴɪᴋᴀ da.re
Pieter van der Harst
Karin Hartman

07/09/2026

After a very long process we got our backup boat “Easy” legalized last week. Now the brand-new engine (supplied by Brouwer Watersport in Almere, the Netherlands) needs to be run in for a few more hours. However, autumn seems to have arrived, and our fieldwork will only last 2 more weeks... It is quite a change to be back in a 5-meter rib, after having worked with our larger vessel Moleiro. But in the Easy we have way more “contact” with the animals, working closer to the surface. It allows for some low angle portraits of our most sighted and best studied male group IKB.☘

Aɴɴɪᴋᴀ da.re
Pieter van der Harst
Karin Hartman

30/08/2026

It is time to give Boefje’s Remora fish some attention. This creature seems to have found his spot on the left side of this calf. The left flank and saddle area are completely covered in suction mark scars. Also, we think it may have left an open wound at his head and the center of the dorsal fin. The fish starts to become visible in our behavioural data, using terms like “Boefje has remora”, or “Boefje-no remora”.

12/08/2026

On June 21, 2026, we saw our first newborn of the season, just one or two days old. Over the following weeks its mother seemed to have a strong preference to hang out with the big boys from the IKB pod. So, the baby spent his first weeks among 9 rather white “uncles”.

Over time, the baby was getting curious and seemed to get used to our presence, coming closer every time, and checking us out. It became naughtier every day, and we could often observe crazy little headbangs, spyhops, breaches and tail slaps. Sometimes it was corrected and collected by its mother, but often she just let him do his thing.

With the drone we caught the baby circling around his mother, in eh.. mating position, and we could s*x the baby. And Helen appeared to be a Henry… Here you can see a compilation of several encounters with this beautiful golden and coppery coloured Risso’s baby.

*Footage collected under permit number LMAS/DRPM/2026/07, issued by Direção Regional de Políticas Marítimas, Horta, Faial island. (Drone DJI Air 3S and GoPro 12).

*Music by Oxsener, Song: “Reflections in a Broken Mirror”, from the EP “ Lives To Be Lived” © Oxsener 2025.

09/08/2026

This curious turtle was missing a part of his left flipper.
But it was nice to meet him/her yesterday in that big blue ocean,
and to see his pilotfish friends, including one Atlantic triggerfish.

04/08/2026

New paper out! Azorean samples were used in this study.

📢 New Paper Alert: -
My co-authors and I are delighted to announce the publication of our paper 'Genetic data indicate a lack of population structure of Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus) around the British Isles' in the Journal of Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom (JMBA).

Abstract
Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus) is a widely distributed oceanic species; its global and regional population structure remains poorly understood. To assess their genetic diversity and connectivity in British waters, we analysed tissue samples from stranded individuals collected between 1992 and 2016 using 15 nuclear microsatellite loci and a 433-bp mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence. Microsatellite analyses (STRUCTURE, AMOVA, and PCA) consistently indicated a single genetic cluster with no significant geographic differentiation among sampling sites, suggesting a panmictic population. BayesAss results further supported high gene flow and limited isolation among regions. The mtDNA dataset identified six haplotypes with low haplotype and nucleotide diversity, showing no spatial structuring within the British Isles. Phylogenetic reconstruction revealed that all British haplotypes were endemic and formed a monophyletic clade closely related to haplotypes from the Azores in the North Atlantic. Together, the nuclear and mtDNA data indicate low genetic diversity and a lack of population subdivision among British Risso’s dolphins. These findings imply recent colonization and high dispersal capability, consistent with patterns observed in other wide-ranging marine mammals. Continued monitoring, broader geographic sampling, and large-scale photo-identification are needed to refine understanding of Risso’s dolphin population dynamics and to inform conservation management.

Hodgins NK*, Chen I*, Bizzozzero MR, the Doeschate, MTI, Dolman, SJ. Kannan, V, Davison, NJ, Deaville, R, Penrose, R, Hartman, K, and Krützen, M. Genetic data indicate a lack of population structure of Risso’s dolphins (Grampus griseus) around the British Isles. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. 2026;106:e50. doi:10.1017/S0025315426101386

18/07/2026

THEY ARE BACK!

04/06/2026

The first trip and test ride with our own boat went well today and straight to Risso's- who were hanging out in front of our harbour. Very happy to see the youngster "Boomer" entering his 3rd summer under the wings of his mother M1h2 . We saw some other females following this leading pair, while being consorterd by the 5 resident males of the "Tomar" pod.