Research

A multidisciplinary research approach

The research at the Ionian Dolphin Project is focused on the collection of data on our target marine mammal species in order to produce population estimates, investigate their distribution and habitat preferences, alongside studies on behavioural ecology and fisheries interaction.

Research methods

Sea surveys to monitor marine mammals in the coastal waters of Greece are conducted from our 7-m long inflatable boat with fibreglass keels, equipped with a 200HP outboard engine.
Individual photoidentification is used to catalogue individual dolphins and obtain information on their abundance, movements, habitat use, social organisation and reproductive success. The group size and behaviour of the dolphins is recorded during long-lasting observation sessions and analysed by means of GIS software. Photoidentification is also applied to Mediterranean monk seals; during our behavioural observations their positions are recorded at regular 1-min intervals on the GPS plotter installed onboard.

Marine species including sea turtles, tuna, mobulas, swordfish and seabirds observed during the surveys at sea are also recorded. Dead dolphins found stranded or adrift in the study area are inspected, and causes of death identified whenever possible. Biological samples are taken for further investigations. Occurrence of dolphin bycatch in fishing gear is also recorded.

The project includes investigations aimed to assess the interactions between marine mammals and fisheries.

Research effort

Our 30 years of research effort in this part of the Mediterranean would have not been possible without the contribution and efforts of many. Over these three decades, about 100 collaborators, some of them currently leading their own projects and marine conservation organizations, worked enthusiastically to make the IDP the project it is today.

135300

km surveyed

148700

Photographs

2557

Days at sea

3964

Hours with dolphins

2860

Dolphins groups

119

Monk seal sightings

Results

See list of scientific papers based on, or including, research conducted by Tethys with the Ionian Dolphin Project.

Please note that this list does not include work done by Tethys in other areas.

  • Agazzi S., Bearzi G. 2005. Diet overlap between short-beaked common dolphins and large tuna in eastern Ionian Sea inshore waters: insight from scales of fish prey sampled during surface foraging. European Research on Cetaceans 19 (on CD-ROM).
  • Agazzi S., Bearzi G., Costa M., Bonizzoni S., Politi E. 2008. Abundance trend of short-beaked common dolphins in the eastern Ionian Sea: one of the lest central Mediterranean stocks is vanishing. Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society. Egmond aan Zee, The Netherlands, 10-12 March 2008.
  • Agazzi S., Bearzi G., Politi E. 2004. Short-beaked common dolphin prey species in the eastern Ionian Sea: insight from fish scales sampled during surface foraging. European Research on Cetaceans 15:351-353.
  • Andrés C., Gonzalvo J. 2019. Common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) interaction with fish farms in the Gulf of Ambracia, Western Greece.. World Marine Mammal Conference WMMC. Barcelona (Spain) Dec 9-12. 2019
  • Bearzi G. 2000. First report of a common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) death following penetration of a biopsy dart. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 2(3):217-221.
  • Bearzi G. 2001. What threatens coastal dolphin populations in the Mediterranean Sea? Insight from interdisciplinary research in key areas. Proceedings of Pew Fellows Program in Marine Conservation Annual meeting. 10 pp. White Point, Nova Scotia, Canada, 30 May – 2 June 2000.
  • Bearzi G. 2003. Delfini costieri del Mediterraneo: le possibili ragioni di un declino. 4th Italian Teriological Conference. Riccione, Italy, 6-8 November 2003.
  • Bearzi G. 2004. Investigating food-web interactions between Mediterranean coastal dolphins and fisheries in “natural laboratories”. CIESM Workshop Monographs 25:71-76.
  • Bearzi G. 2006. Endangered Mediterranean common dolphins: the story so far. Paper submitted to the 58th Annual Meeting of the International Whaling Commission, St. Kitts and Nevis, West Indies, 23 May – 20 June 2006. 3 pp.
  • Bearzi G. 2006. Preliminary report on the impact of fishing on common dolphins in the area of Kalamos, Greece (eastern Ionian Sea). 4th Meeting of the ACCOBAMS Scientific Committee. Monaco, 5-8 November 2006. 12 pp.
  • Bearzi G. 2006. Priority actions for the conservation of short-beaked common dolphins in the Mediterranean Sea. 4th Meeting of the ACCOBAMS Scientific Committee. Monaco, 5-8 November 2006. 9 pp.
  • Bearzi G. 2006. Short-beaked common dolphin Delphinus delphis (Mediterranean subpopulation). 2003 Assessment. Pp. 130-136 in Reeves R., Notarbartolo di Sciara G. (compilers and editors). The status and distribution of cetaceans in the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea. IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation, Malaga, Spain.
  • Bearzi G. 2007. Marine conservation on paper. Conservation Biology 21(1):1-3.
  • Bearzi G. 2007. Science-based management of coastal dolphins in the eastern Ionian Sea. 8th Meeting of Focal Points for Specially Protected Areas (SPAs). Palermo, Italy, 6-9 June 2007.
  • Bearzi G. 2007. The endangered Mediterranean common dolphins: is there anyone interested in their conservation? 3rd Meeting of the Parties to the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area (ACCOBAMS), Dubrovnik, Croatia, 22-25 October, 2007.
  • Bearzi G. 2008. Delfini e pesca in Mediterraneo: depredazione e interazioni trofiche in aree marine soggette a varie misure di tutela. Proceedings of the Workshop ‘Pesca e gestione delle Aree Marine Protette’. Porto Cesareo (Lecce), Italy, 30-31 October 2008.
  • Bearzi G. 2009. Delfini e pesca: interazioni trofiche e depredazione in aree marine costiere del Mediterraneo. Thalassia Salentina 32:5-11.
  • Bearzi G., Agazzi S., Bonizzoni S., Costa M. 2005. Ecosystem structure and dolphin-fisheries interactions in a “natural laboratory”: the Amvrakikos Gulf, Greece. Report to the Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas (RAC/SPA) on the activities conducted between July 2001 – November 2005 (MOU #17/RAC/SPA/2005). Tethys Research Institute. 23 pp.
  • Bearzi G., Agazzi S., Bonizzoni S., Costa M., Azzellino A. 2008. Dolphins in a bottle: abundance, residency patterns and conservation of bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus in the semi-closed eutrophic Amvrakikos Gulf, Greece. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 18:130-146.
  • Bearzi G., Agazzi S., Gonzalvo J., Bonizzoni S., Costa M., Petroselli A. 2010. Biomass removal by dolphins and fisheries in a Mediterranean Sea coastal area: do dolphins have an ecological impact on fisheries? Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 20(5):549-55.
  • Bearzi G., Agazzi S., Gonzalvo J., Costa M., Bonizzoni S., Politi E., Piroddi C., Reeves R.R. 2008. Overfishing and the disappearance of short-beaked common dolphins from western Greece. Endangered Species Research 5:1-12.
  • Bearzi G., Bonizzoni S., Gonzalvo J. 2011. Mid-distance movements of common bottlenose dolphins in the coastal waters of Greece. Journal of Ethology 29(2):369-374.
  • Bearzi G., Costa M. 2005. Population status of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the central Mediterranean: insight from studies in the northern Adriatic and eastern Ionian Seas. Workshop “How can science best inform managers: the role of field studies in the conservation management of European bottlenose dolphin populations”, 19th Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society. La Rochelle, France, 7 April 2005.
  • Bearzi G., Costa M., Photopoulos T. 2005. High human-related mortality of dolphins in the area of Kalamos, western Greece. A report to the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area (ACCOBAMS). Tethys Research Institute, August 23rd, 2005.
  • Bearzi G., Entrup N., Lüber S. 2010. Disappearing dolphins: does conservation action stand a chance of becoming common practice? Abstract for special event organised during the 4th Meeting of the Parties to the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area (ACCOBAMS), Monaco, 9-12 November 2010. 1 p.
  • Bearzi G., Fortuna C.M. 2006. Common bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus (Mediterranean subpopulation). Pp. 64-73 in Reeves R., Notarbartolo di Sciara G. (compilers and editors). The status and distribution of cetaceans in the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea. IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation, Malaga, Spain.
  • Bearzi G., Fortuna C.M., Reeves R.R. 2008. Ecology and conservation of common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus in the Mediterranean Sea. Mammal Review 39(2):92-123.
  • Bearzi G., Mussi B., Politi E., Notarbartolo di Sciara G. 2002. Short-beaked common dolphins around Ischia, Italy, and Kalamos, Greece: relict population units of primary conservation importance in the Mediterranean Sea. European Research on Cetaceans 16.
  • Bearzi G., Notarbartolo di Sciara G., Reeves R.R., Canadas A., Frantzis A. 2004. Conservation Plan for short-beaked common dolphins in the Mediterranean Sea. ACCOBAMS, Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area. 90 pp.
  • Bearzi G., Politi E., Agazzi S., Azzellino A. 2006. Prey depletion caused by overfishing and the decline of marine megafauna in eastern Ionian Sea coastal waters (central Mediterranean). Biological Conservation 127(4):373-382.
  • Bearzi G., Politi E., Agazzi S., Bruno S., Costa M., Bonizzoni S. 2005. Occurrence and present status of coastal dolphins (Delphinus delphis and Tursiops truncatus) in the eastern Ionian Sea. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 15:243-257.
  • Bearzi G., Politi E., Agazzi S., Bruno S., Costa M., Bonizzoni S., Gonzalvo J. 2005. The decline of short-beaked common dolphins Delphinus delphis in Eastern Ionian Sea coastal waters. P. 29 in K. Stockin, A. Vella and P.G.H. Evans. Proceedings of the Workshop “Common dolphins: current research, threats and issues”. European Cetacean Society Newsletter Special Issue 45.
  • Bearzi G., Politi E., Agazzi S., Costa M., Bonizzoni S., Azzellino A., Bruno S., Gramolini R. 2005. Report on short-beaked common dolphin studies in the area of Kalamos, Greece, 1993-2004. ACCOBAMS, Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area. 100 pp.
  • Bearzi G., Quondam F., Politi E. 2004. Bottlenose dolphins foraging alongside fish farm cages in eastern Ionian Sea coastal waters. European Research on Cetaceans 15:292-293.
  • Bearzi G., Reeves R.R., Notarbartolo di Sciara G., Politi E., Canadas A., Frantzis A., Mussi B. 2003. Ecology, status and conservation of short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) in the Mediterranean Sea. Mammal Review 33(3):224-252.
  • Bearzi G., Reeves R.R., Remonato E., Pierantonio N., Airoldi S. 2010. Risso’s dolphin Grampus griseus in the Mediterranean Sea. Mammalian Biology. DOI: 10.1016/j.mambio.2010.06.003
  • Bräger Z., Gonzalvo J., Agazzi S., Bearzi G. 2016. Identification of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) prey using fish scale analysis. Aquatic Mammals 42: 63–73.
  • Bräger Zs., Moritz T., Tsikliras A.C., Gonzalvo J., Radulovic M., Staszny Á. 2016. Scale morphometry allows discrimination of European sardine Sardina pilchardus and round sardinella Sardinella aurita and among their local populations. Journal of Fish Biology 88: 1273–1281.
  • Consales G., Gonzalvo J., Genov T., Orlandi F., Amico C., Marsili L. 2018. First Assessment of organochlorine levels in three different cetacean species in the Greek Ionian Sea. 32nd Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society, La Spezia, Italy 8-10 April, 2018.
  • Bruno S., Politi E., Bearzi G. 2004. Social organisation of a common dolphin community in the eastern Ionian Sea: evidence of a fluid fission-fusion society. European Research on Cetaceans 15:49-51.
  • Centelleghe C., Carraro L., Gonzalvo J., Rosso M., Esposti E., Gili C., Bonato M., Pedrotti D., Cardazzo B., Povinelli M., Mazzariol S. 2019. The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to sample small cetaceans blow microbiome. World Marine Mammal Conference WMMC. Barcelona (Spain) Dec 9-12. 2019
  • Ferretti S., Bearzi G., Politi E. 1999. Comparing behaviour of inshore bottlenose and common dolphins in the eastern Ionian Sea through focal group surfacing pattern analysis. European Research on Cetaceans 12:209.
  • Fossi M.C., Marsili L., Casini S., Savelli C., Notarbartolo di Sciara G., Zanardelli M., Lorenzani J., Castello H., Junin M., Focardi S. 1999. Skin biopsy as a nondestructive tool for the toxicological assessment of marine mammal populations. European Research on Cetaceans 12:362-367.
  • Fossi M.C., Marsili L., Casini S., Savelli C., Zanardelli M., Notarbartolo di Sciara G., Focardi S. 1997. Utilizzo della biopsia cutanea come metodo non invasivo per lo studio ecotossicologico dei mammiferi marini. III National Meeting on Cetaceans, Napoli, Italy, 5-6 December 1997.
  • Fossi M.C., Marsili L., Neri G., Bearzi G., Notarbartolo di Sciara G. 2004. Are the Mediterranean cetaceans exposed to the toxicological risk of endocrine disrupters? European Research on Cetaceans 15:338.
  • Fossi M.C., Marsili L., Neri G., Casini S., Bearzi G., Politi E., Zanardelli M., Panigada S. 2000. Skin biopsy of Mediterranean cetaceans for the investigation of interspecies susceptibility to xenobiotic contaminants. Marine Environmental Research 50:517-521.
  • Fossi M.C., Marsili L., Neri G., Casini S., Bearzi G., Politi E., Zanardelli M., Panigada S. 1999. Use of Mediterranean cetaceans skin biopsies in the investigation of interspecies susceptibility to xenobiotic contaminants. PRIMO 10, Williamsburg, VA, 25-29 April 1999.
  • Fossi M.C., Marsili L., Neri G., Natoli A., Politi E., Panigada S. 2003. The use of a non-lethal tool for evaluating toxicological hazard of organochlorine contaminants in Mediterranean cetaceans: new data 10 years after the first paper published in MPB. Marine Pollution Bulletin 46(8):972-982.
  • Frantzis A., Alexiadou P., Paximadis G., Politi E., Gannier A., Corsini-Foka M. 2003. Current knowledge on the cetacean fauna of the Greek Seas. The Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 5(3):219-232.
  • Frantzis A., Alexiadou P., Politi E., Gannier A., Corsini-Foka M. 2004. Cetacean fauna of the Greek Seas: unexpectedly high species diversity. European Research on Cetaceans 15:421-425.
  • Giovos I., Gonzalvo J. 2013. Prevalence of a particularly severe skin condition among common bottlenose dolphins from the Amvrakikos Gulf, western Greece. Proceedings of the 27th Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society. Setúbal, Portugal, 8–10 April 2013.
  • Giovos I., Ganias K., Garagouni M., Gonzalvo J. 2016. Social Media in the Service of Conservation: a Case Study of Dolphins in the Hellenic Seas. Aquatic Mammals 42: 12–19.
  • Giovos I., Ganias K., Garagouni M., Gonzalvo J. 2016. Devils or saints: disentangling fishermen vs. public perceptions towards cetaceans in the Greek society. Historic.l Ecology of Semi-Enclosed Basins: Past, Present And Future of Seas at Risk, 3-4 October, Chioggia Venice, Italy.
  • Giovos, I., Moutopoulos, D.K., Charitou, A., Gonzalvo, J., 2018. Primary school students’ awareness about cetaceans in Greece. Applied Environmental Education & Communication 23, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/1533015X.2018.1523694
  • Giovos I., Drougas A., Komnenou A., Gonzalvo J. 2018. The alarming case of the dolphin-fisheries interaction in Thermaic Gulf, Greece. 32nd Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society, La Spezia, Italy 8-10 April, 2018.
  • Gonzalvo J. 2007. Marine conservation as a common goal: the benefits of communication between marine biologists and artisanal fishermen. Pp. 15-16 In: D. Maldini, D. Meck Maher, D. Troppoli, M. Studer, J. Goebel (Eds.), Translating scientific results into conservation actions: new roles, challenges and solutions for 21st Century scientists. Earthwatch Institute, Maynard MA, USA.
  • Gonzalvo J. 2011. Delphinus delphis: Terms of reference of a common workshop with GFCM. 7th Meeting of the ACCOBAMS Scientific Committee. Monaco, 29-31 March 2011.
  • Gonzalvo J. 2011. A steering committe for the Mediterranean short-beaked common dolphin. 7th Meeting of the ACCOBAMS Scientific Committee. Monaco, 29-31 March 2011.
  • Gonzalvo J. 2011. Ionian Dolphin Project: Research, Education and Public Awareness. 3rd capacity building workshop organized by MedPAN on “Planning for sustainable Tourism in MPAs” for MedPAN South Countries. Split, Croatia. 3-9 October 2011.
  • Gonzalvo J. 2012. ToR for a Steering Commimittee for the Mediterranean Short-beaked common dolphin and Review of Ongoing Projects/Activities Concerning D. delphis in the Mediterranean and/or Future Initiatives. 8th Meeting of the ACCOBAMS Scientific Committee. Monaco, 12-15 November 2012.
  • Gonzalvo J., Bearzi G. 2010. Bottlenose dolphins in the Amvrakikos Gulf, Greece, qualify as Endangered based on IUCN Red List criteria. 6th Meeting of the ACCOBAMS Scientific Committee. Casablanca, 11-13 January 2010.
  • Gonzalvo J., Bearzi G. 2010. Vanishing of short-beaked common dolphins from one of their last Mediterranean strongholds: the announced result of fisheries mismanagement. 6th Meeting of the ACCOBAMS Scientific Committee. Casablanca, 11-13 January 2010.
  • Gonzalvo J., Bearzi G. 2011. The Challenges of Dolphin Conservation in the Eastern Ionian Sea Coastal Waters, Greece. 2nd. International Marine Conservation Congress. Victoria, BC, Canada. 14-18 May 2011.
  • Gonzalvo J., Bearzi G., Agazzi S., Piroddi C. 2008. Fisheries and the decline of short-beaked common dolphins in western Greece. Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society. Egmond aan Zee, The Netherlands, 10-12 March 2008.
  • Gonzalvo J., Moutopoulos D.K., Bearzi G., Stergiou K.I. 2011. Fisheries mismanagement in a Natura 2000 area in western Greece. Fisheries Management and Ecology 18(1):25-38.
  • Gonzalvo J., Giovos I., Moutopoulos D.K. 2014. Fishermen perceptions in support of sustainability of small-scale fisheries and dolphin conservation in two increasingly fragile coastal ecosystems in Western Greece. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. doi:10.1002/aqc.2444
  • Gonzalvo J., Giovos I., Mazzariol S. 2015. Prevalence of epidermal conditions in common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Gulf of Ambracia, western Greece. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 463: 32–38
  • Gonzalvo, J., Lauriano G., Hammond P.S., Viaud-Martinez K.A., Fossi M.C., Natoli A., Marsili L. 2016. The Gulf of Ambracia’s Common Bottlenose Dolphins, Tursiops truncatus: A Highly Dense and yet Threatened Population. In: Giuseppe Notarbartolo Di Sciara, Michela Podestà and Barbara E. Curry, editors, Advances in Marine Biology, Vol. 75, Oxford: Academic Press, 2016, pp. 259-296.
  • Gonzalvo J., Giovos I. 2017. The last Samurai: who said bottlenose dolphins are not tough? 31st Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society, Middelfart, Denmark 1-3 May, 2017.
  • Gonzalvo J., Notarbartolo di Sciara G. 2017. The importance of safeguarding the presence of Mediterranean Monk Seal in the Inner Ionian Sea Archipelago. 22nd Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals: “2017: A Marine Mammal Odyssey, Eh!”, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada 22-27 October 2017.
  • Gonzalvo J., Agazzi S. 2018. A Finless Common Bottlenose Dolphin Successfully Coping with Its Twist of Fate. 32nd Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society, La Spezia, Italy 8-10 April, 2018.
  • Libralato S., Moutopoulos D., Piroddi C., Gonzalvo J., 2016. Integrating environmental, climatic and human processes on a Mediterranean semi-enclosed embayment (Amvrakikos Gulf, Greece): a food web modelling approach for assessing ecosystem status. MSEAS 2016, Understanding marine socio-ecological systems: including the human dimension in Integrated Ecosystem Assessments, 30 May – 3 June 2016, Brest, France.
  • Marsili L., Caruso A., Fossi M.C., Zanardelli M., Politi E., Focardi S. 2001. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in subcutaneous biopsies of Mediterranean cetaceans. Chemosphere 44(2):147-154.
  • Marsili L., Fossi M.C., Neri G., Airoldi S., Bearzi G., Panigada S. 2000. Skin biopsies for cell cultures from Mediterranean free-ranging cetaceans. European Research on Cetaceans 14:231-233.
  • Marsili L., Fossi M.C., Neri G., Casini S., Bearzi G., Airoldi S., Panigada S. 1999. Colture cellulari di fibroblasti da biopsie cutanee di cetacei de Mar Mediterraneo. IV National Meeting on Cetaceans, Milano, Italy, 11-12 November 1999.
  • Marsili L., Fossi M.C., Neri G., Casini S., Bearzi G., Politi E., Zanardelli M., Panigada S. 1999. Skin biopsies for cell cultures from Mediterranean free-ranging cetaceans. PRIMO 10, Williamsburg, VA, 25-29 April 1999.
  • Marsili L., Fossi M.C., Neri G., Casini S., Gardi C., Palmeri S., Tarquini E., Panigada S. 2000. Skin biopsy of for cell cultures from Mediterranean free-ranging cetaceans. Marine Environmental Research 50:523-526.
  • Marsili L., Fossi M.C., Neri G., Gardi C., Palmeri S., Tarquini E., Panigada S., Zanardelli M., Politi E., Bearzi G. 1999. Skin biopsies for cell cultures from free-ranging cetaceans of the Mediterranean Sea. 9th Annual Meeting of SETAC-Europe. Leipzig, Germany, 25-29 May 1999.
  • Moutopoulos D.K., Libralato S., Piroddi C., Gonzalvo, J. 2016. Linking environmental, climatic and human-induced impacts on a Mediterranean semi-enclosed embayment (Amvrakikos Gulf, Greece): a food-web modelling approach. Second Mares Conference on Marine Ecosystems Health and Conservation, 1-5 February 2016, Real Marina Hotel and Spa, Olhão, Portugal
  • Natoli A., Aguilar A., Lopez-Fernandez A., Birkun A., Hoelzel A.R. 2003. Phylogeography of the Mediterranean, Black Sea and East North Atlantic bottlenose dolphin populations. European Research on Cetaceans 17.
  • Natoli A., Birkun A., Aguilar A., Lopez A., Marsili L., Fortuna C., Hoelzel R. 2003. Population differentiation among bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and eastern North Atlantic. European Research on Cetaceans.
  • Natoli A., Birkun A., Aguilar A., Lopez A., Hoelzel A.R. 2005. Habitat structure and the dispersal of male and female bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B Biological Sciences 272(1569):1217-1226.
  • Natoli A., Canadas A., Vaquero C., Politi E., Fernandez-Piqueras J., Hoelzel A.R. 2004. Phylogeography of Mediterranean and North Atlantic common dolphin populations. European Research on Cetaceans 15:315.
  • Natoli A., Hoelzel A.R. 2000. Genetic diversity in a Mediterranean population of the bottlenose dolphin in the context of world-wide phylogeography. European Research on Cetaceans 14:343.
  • Natoli A., Peddemors V.M., Hoelzel A.R. 2004. Population structure and speciation in the genus Tursiops based on microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA analyses. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 17(2):363-375.
  • Natoli A., Cañadas A., Vaquero C., Politi E., Fernandez-Navarro P., Hoelzel A.R. 2008. Conservation genetics of the short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) in the Mediterranean Sea and in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean. Conservation Genetics DOI 10.1007/s10592-007-9481-1.
  • Notarbartolo di Sciara G., Bearzi G. 2010. National Strategy and Action Plan for the conservation of cetaceans in Greece, 2010-2015. Initiative for the Conservation of Cetaceans in Greece, Athens. 55 pp.
  • Notarbartolo di Sciara G., Venturino M.C., Zanardelli M., Bearzi G., Borsani J.F., Cavalloni B. 1993. Cetaceans in the central Mediterranean Sea: distribution and sighting frequencies. Italian Journal of Zoology 60:131-138.
  • Notarbartolo di Sciara G., Venturino M.C., Zanardelli M., Bearzi G., Borsani J.F., Cavalloni B., Cussino E., Jahoda M., Airoldi S. 1990. Distribution and relative abundance of cetaceans in the Central Mediterranean Sea. European Research on Cetaceans 4:41-43.
  • Pedrotti D., Centelleghe C., Bonato M., Gonzalvo J., Gili C., Esposti E., Mazzariol S. 2018. The Possible Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drone) to Collect Informations on Wild Cetaceans Health Status. 32nd Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society, La Spezia, Italy 8-10 April, 2018.
  • Pereszlényi Z., Bearzi G., Agazzi S., Gonzalvo J. 2009. Feeding behaviour of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Amvrakikos Gulf, Greece. Poster presented at the 5th “Ecology & Behaviour” Meeting, Lyon, France, 6-10 April 2009.
  • Pesante G., Politi E., Bearzi G. 2003. Opportunistic sightings of Mediterranean monk seals in the eastern Ionian Sea (1993-2002). European Research on Cetaceans 17.
  • Pfyffer J., Gonzalvo J., Georges C. Open source, autonomous, camera system to facilitate the monitoring of Mediterranean monk seal caves. World Marine Mammal Conference WMMC. Barcellona (Spain) Dec 9-12. 2019
  • Pierantonio N., Gonzalvo J. 2019. UAV derived photogrammetric assessment of Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus body-length and condition. World Marine Mammal Conference WMMC. Barcelona (Spain) Dec 9-12. 2019
  • Piroddi C., Bearzi G., Christensen V. 2010. Effects of local fisheries and ocean productivity on the northeastern Ionian Sea ecosystem. Ecological Modelling 221(11):1526-1544.
  • Piroddi C., Bearzi G., Christensen V. 2011. Marine open cage aquaculture in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea: a new trophic resource for bottlenose dolphins. Marine Ecology Progress Series 440:255–266.
  • Piroddi C., Bearzi G., Gonzalvo Villegas J., Christensen V. 2011. From common to rare: the case of the Mediterranean common dolphin. Biological Conservation 144(10):2490-2498.
  • Piroddi C., Moutopoulos D.K., Gonzalvo J., Libralato S. 2015. Ecosystem health of a Mediterranean semi-enclosed embayment (Amvrakikos Gulf, Greece): Assessing changes using a modeling approach, Continental Shelf Research, Available online 17 October 2015, ISSN 0278-4343, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2015.10.007 (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278434315300807)
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  • Politi E., Bearzi G., Airoldi S. 2000. Evidence for malnutrition in bottlenose dolphins photo-identified in the eastern Ionian Sea. European Research on Cetaceans 14:234-236.
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  • Sciancalepore G., Gonzalvo J., Pierantonio N., GriggioM., Bonato M. 2018. First characterization of whistles produced by common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) of the Gulf of Ambracia, Greece. 32nd Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society, La Spezia, Italy 8-10 April, 2018.

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