Since 2018, the Octopus Foundation has had the privilege of working in the Ionian Islands, for a better understanding and protection of the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus). Remember, in the beginning, we had the crazy project of installing electronic equipment on a Greek coast, to autonomously and continuously observe the rare pinnipeds of this…
Articles posted by Julien Pfyffer (page 12)
On the Italian island of Lampedusa, scientists are helping turtles by caring for them and collecting valuable information about these marine animals. Divers from the Octopus Foundation are leaving at the end of the week to install low-cost GPS beacons developed jointly with Octanis Instruments. Listen to the interview (in French) of Julien Pfyffer, president…
For its fourth and final mission of 2022, the Octopus Foundation team returned to the shores of Lake Neuchâtel, in Switzerland. The main objective of these 10 days was to study the underwater remains of a pile-dwelling village from the Final Bronze Age (850 BC), under the scientific direction of Neuchâtel archaeologist Fabien Langenegger. This…
During the month of October, some caves in the Ionian Islands become nurseries for the Mediterranean monk seal. Thanks to the autonomous cameras that the Octopus Foundation has installed, biologists are able to follow remotely, and therefore without disturbing the animals, some of the long-awaited new births of this particularly endangered species. Indeed, because of…
Posidonia oceanica, also known as Neptune grass, exists only in the Mediterranean. This ancient plant plays one of the most important roles in the local fragile ecosystem. Not only does it absorb 15 times more carbon dioxide every year than a similar sized piece of the Amazon rainforest, but it also produces vast amounts of…
After two weeks of diving in the cold waters of Lake Neuchâtel, the Octopus Foundation team has just returned from a field mission particularly rich in discoveries. This time we had the immense privilege of accompanying archaeologists from the canton of Neuchâtel in the study of a ancient village (final Neolithic period – around 2500…