14 January 2010

Cetacean records in the northern Adriatic Sea


A study encompassing 20 years of cetacean sightings in northern Adriatic waters has just become available.

The study intends to complement existing knowledge and it is based on sightings made during visual survey conducted by Tethys in collaboration with CNR-ISMAR (Institute of Marine Sciences) as well as records collected opportunistically by a variety of observers, including biologists and pleasure boaters.

The only cetacean species observed between 1988 and 2007 was the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus).

Encounter rates of bottlenosed dolphins in this part of the Adriatic are also reported, and were thought to be generally low as well as highly variable.

SB

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Bearzi G., Costa M., Politi E., Agazzi S., Pierantonio N., Tonini D., Bastianini M. 2009. Cetacean records and encounter rates in the northern Adriatic Sea during the years 1988-2007. Annales Ser. hist. nat. 19(2):145-150.

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