PHYSALIA

RTPA reports that the University of Oviedo has developed biomimetic replicas of the Portuguese man o’ war, which will be deployed at sea within the PHYSALIA project to study drifting patterns and improve understanding of its navigation and coastal arrival dynamics. [rtpa.es]

👉 Full article:
https://www.rtpa.es/noticias-ciencia/2026-05-31/La-Universidad-de-Oviedo-dise%C3%B1a-replicas-de-carabelas-que-lanzara-al-mar-para-investigar_111780227192.html

The PHYSALIA project will be represented at the III workshop “Investigaciones doctorales a la mar: tesis en curso sobre el cambio climático marino”, to be held on 4 June 2026 at the BIOPARC Aquarium of Gijón, which also participates in the project.

Within the programme, two PHYSALIA-related talks will be presented: “La llegada de las carabelas portuguesas (Physalia physalis, L.) a la costa de Asturias durante el verano de 2025” by Gemma Capeans García and “Dinámicas estacionales y latitudinales del Neuston en el Atlántico Nororiental (2014–2025)” by Yago Iván Baragaño, highlighting ongoing research on the ecology and distribution of Physalia physalis.

The PHYSALIA project contributed to the “Cultura Cercana” programme of the University of Oviedo with the talk “Sea travellers: discovering the Portuguese man o’ war on our coasts”, delivered by Yago Iván Baragaño and Gemma Capeans García.

The event took place on 20 May at the Centro de Mayores y Centro Social in Gijón, bringing marine science closer to the public and highlighting the biology and distribution of Physalia physalis along our coasts.

The PHYSALIA project participated in FIMAR 2026 (International Maritime Fair), held from 22 to 24 May in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. This event is a key meeting point for marine science, innovation, and the blue economy, bringing together researchers, institutions, and the general public.

Through its involvement alongside ECOAQUA (University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria), PHYSALIA contributed to the programme of open-access outreach talks, which covered a wide range of topics related to marine ecosystems, ocean sustainability, and current challenges such as climate change and marine pollution.

As a special highlight of the event, PHYSALIA also featured what could be described as the “world premiere” of its very own song, presented during the fair as a creative way to engage the public. This light-hearted initiative brought a different perspective to scientific outreach, combining marine research with music to share the story of Physalia physalis in an accessible and memorable way.

FIMAR once again provided an excellent opportunity to share scientific knowledge with society, highlighting the importance of understanding and protecting the ocean.

The PHYSALIA project, with the participation of colleagues from IEO Gijón (Spanish Institute of Oceanography, IEO-CSIC), took part in the Asturias Science Fair 2026, held at the Magdalena Pavilion in Avilés. Together with other research groups, the team shared a day of science, outreach, and education with visitors of all ages.

We thank everyone who visited our stand for their curiosity and interest in marine science.

Read the full story on the IEO-Gijón Facebook

The PHYSALIA project, which includes researchers from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO-CSIC), participated in the 1st “Anillo Azul” STEAM Hackathon, organized by Fundación Mar de Niebla with support from the Local Employment Agency of Gijón/Xixón and Economic Promotion. The event also featured an Employability Forum attended by the centre’s director.

We were delighted to welcome many students and curious minds interested in ocean life, who took part in our experiments and hands-on activities.

Read the full story on the IEO-Gijón Facebook

The PHYSALIA project took part in an outreach activity ahead of Feijoornadas 2026 (IES Padre Feijoo), welcoming 4th-year secondary students to the Oceanographic Centre of Gijón. During the visit, students learned about researchers’ work and conducted interviews on various marine science topics, including the Portuguese man o’ war (Physalia physalis), climate change, and phytoplankton.

Read the full story on the IEO-Gijón Facebook

Within the PHYSALIA project, marine science research is reaching primary school classrooms through the Blue Schools initiative, connecting laboratory and fieldwork with education and raising awareness of the marine environment from an early age.

👉 Read the full story on the Ecoaqua blog

Throughout this first quarter of 2026, the #PhysaliaProject has moved from the laboratories into the classrooms. Through the educational talk titled “Physalias in the Classroom”—part of the De Gira con la Ciencia initiative by the University of Oviedo—we have shared our research on the Portuguese Man-o’-War (Physalia physalis) with the next generation.

Inspiring Scientific Vocations

Our colleagues Verónica, Deva, Gemma and Yago have been leading these sessions, explaining how we study this fascinating organism and promoting ocean conservation. Thanks to this joint effort, we will reach approximately 200 students across various educational levels:

• 4th Grade Primary students.
• 1st and 2nd Year Secondary students (ESO).
• Higher Vocational Training (FP Superior) students.

Participating Schools

We would like to express our deepest gratitude for the interest and warm welcome from the following centers that made these encounters possible:

• CEIP Poeta Antón de Mari Reguera (Candás)
• IES Nº1 (Gijón)
• CODEMA (Gijón)
• CP Rey Pelayo (Gijón)

We will soon share more project details and upcoming outreach activities. A huge thank you to all the teachers for their invaluable collaboration! 🌊🔬

The PHYSALIA Project continues its mission to understand the complex navigation patterns of the Portuguese Man O’ War. In this new 2026 campaign, our research team is deploying cutting-edge technology in Canarian waters to monitor this species—whose extreme fragility prevents the use of direct on-body sensors.

Key Actions of the 2026 Campaign

• Drone Monitoring: We are performing high-resolution tracking to determine navigation trajectories, recording position, sail orientation, and colony behavior.
• Oceanographic Sensors: We utilize specialized buoys equipped with wind and current sensors to analyze the physical mechanics driving their movement across the ocean.
• Statistical Rigor: Moving beyond historical studies (some dating back 70 years which only analyzed two specimens), our team monitors 11 specimens per outing, ensuring the statistical replicability of our observations.
• Predictive Modeling: The data collected will feed Agent-Based Models (ABM) in a “virtual ocean,” combining biological variables with wind and current data to simulate population dynamics.

“The tracking we are performing in this campaign is vital for understanding how they move and at what speeds. This will allow us to develop prediction models to foresee when and exactly where they will reach our coastlines.” — May Gómez, Lead Researcher.

Interdisciplinary Science for Coastal Safety

This joint effort by oceanographers, evolutionary ecologists, engineers, and modelers aims to shed light on a little-known species while providing scientific tools to improve beach safety and the management of our marine biodiversity.

Project Details The “Evolution of Biological Sailing Navigation” project (PHYSALIA) is funded by the State Research Agency (Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities) and will run until August 2027. It features a collaborative team from the University of Oviedo, the Gijón Oceanographic Center, and the Institute of Marine Sciences of Andalusia (ICMAN-CSIC), with support from the REDPROMAR sighting network.