Dear friends from FFC,

My name is Manu Esteve, I am a marine biologist from Barcelona, Spain currently working as a postdoc at the University of Toronto, Canada. We use a remote underwater video system to monitor salmonids during spawning. We are making an effort to compare the behaviour of different species in order to try to build their evolutionary history based on their behaviour. Further details about our research can be seen at http://www.zoo.utoronto.ca/manuesteve/UTphylogeny.html

Apart from scientifically progressing towards the understanding of the evolution of the Salmoninae subfamily members we are doing an effort to divulge and show to anyone interested how this group of fish behaves during spawning. This we do by posting photos, videos clips and short movies on YouTube (see below). Such movies have no commercial purposes but only the intention of raising the awareness of the dramatic times that salmonids face at the beginning of the 21st century (many of the species have already vanished from most of their historical range). The causes of salmon decline are all related to humans. Locally, River pollution, deforestation and dam construction has caused a reduction in the length and quality of the salmon habitat. Globally, over fishing and pollution in the ocean and global warming is contributing to drive wild salmon populations towards total extinction.

Manu Esteve

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=NYV3xyUW8n4
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=L0CRS46XGUc
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=C-eZjG8PhkE
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=oBDjg8o_QEc
http://www.zoo.utoronto.ca/manuesteve/index.html