12 March 2025: Blog – The V International Orca Symposium by Clare Advink
The V International Orca Symposium
2025 was an exciting year for those of us who love orcas (“orca-holics”, if you will!), as from 16-21 February 2025 orca scientists from around the world gathered in Tarifa, Spain for the V International Orcas Symposium. Thanks to support from NAMMCO, I was able to be a part of the largest EVER gathering of orca scientists!
My PhD
My name is Clare Andvik, and I am PhD Candidate at the University of Oslo. I am part of the MULTIWHALE project, that studies the effect of multiple stressors in Norwegian killer whales, on both individuals and the population. As part of my PhD, I am analysing the interaction between pollution, possible disturbance from whale watching boats, and prey availability on various effect parameters in killer whales in Norway, like hormones, transcriptomics and metabolomics.
Presenting at the Orca Symposium
I was granted a 10-minute oral presentation at the Orca Symposium, and presented results from my PhD. I also presented posters on behalf of two MULTIWHALE master students, Carl Fagerlund and Stephanie Milne. It was inspiring and humbling to present my research to the top orca scientists, and invaluable to discuss and receive feedback on my work. The symposium consisted of short presentations as
well as longer workshops on specific topics – so lots of space to discuss research developments and challenges in orca science. With the last symposium over 20 years ago, there was lots to catch up on! I particularly enjoyed the workshops on orcas in the North Atlantic, and of human interactions (which included discussing the motivations of the famous boat-sinking Iberian orcas!)
It was a fantastic experience to present results from my PhD!
Networking
Attending the symposium in person meant that I could finally meet so many inspiring scientists. As the end of PhD draws closer, having the opportunity to discuss possible future collaborations or projects was invaluable for my career. And despite a busy scientific schedule, there were many possibilities for sunset drinks, long Spanish lunches, dinners, whale watching trips and horse riding with fellow attendees in beautiful Tarifa. And it is those social interactions where the real collaborations and bonds get made! <3
“The girl gang”: I met an incredible group of early career orca scientists, and it was inspiring to see the shift from a traditionally male dominated field to today so many passionate female scientists!
Thank you!
Thank you to the organisers of the orca symposium for a fantastic week (including my MULTIWHALE colleague Eve Jourdain), to all my fellow participants (both early career researchers like me, and the senior scientists who were so inclusive!) and especially to NAMMCO for supporting me. I learnt so much, got a much needed inspiration-injection and can’t wait to share my results with you all soon.
Some snippets from a great week!