Lead institution:
Loughs Agency – Ireland
The DTOTrack project aims to map the movements and distributions of marine life in the North Sea and use that data to create a digital twin (DT) of the area.
DTs are gaining popularity across fields of research as digital tools for continuous monitoring and the sustainability agenda. They offer great potential for ecology, particularly with the ongoing global digitalisation, including various ecological databases, and the pressure for evidence-based decision-making in the conservation of biodiversity.
One salient aspect missing from existing DTs, however, is the ‘animal movement’ component. DTOTrack aims to address this through a test case of the North Sea, using animal tracking data. The DTOTrack team is made up of 10 leading organisations in the study of animal movement. Together, they will advance our understanding of the impacts of offshore infrastructure and development on animal movements, providing tools for addressing ‘what if’ questions, contributing to conservation and policy initiatives.
Start Date: 27/05/2024
End Date: 27/05/2027
Lead Contact: Ross McGill (ross.mcgill@loughs-agency.org), Dr Kim Birnie-Gauvin (kbir@aqua.dtu.dk)