Dolphins and turtles of the Aeolian islands sea.. Nature of Sicily, Italy

content:
photos:
Vote this travel review

Aeolian research program 2011 edition Cetacean Research: Studying dolphins, whales, sperm whales and sea turtles in the waters of the Aeolian archipelago.

The Marine Research Society Necton, starting from 'April 1, 2011 gives everyone the opportunity to participate in courses organized on cetaceans in the only program of long-term research on cetaceans in the waters of the Aeolian Islands. The basic logistics of the project is located on the island of Salina, one of seven pearls of the archipelago of the Aeolian Islands. The island was chosen because apart from being beautiful, with lush vegetation (the island is the greenest and the tallest of the 'whole Archipelago), with the presence of numerous plant and animal species, endemic in some cases, you located in the center of the archipelago, and the strategic position allows for the monitoring throughout the area.


The Aeolian Cetacean Research is a research program that aims to know the best way possible the linking habits of marine mammals in this ecosystem. Monitoring is carried out in a very broad and engaging human resources not only to examine the best two habitats critical for sperm whale, fin whale, common dolphin, striped dolphin, pilot whale, bottlenose and Risso's dolphin species subject of research, as well as the sea turtle Caretta caretta.

- The environment pelagic area in which are mainly observed the sperm whale, the dolphin, the fin whale, Risso's dolphin, common dolphins and pilot whales, represents the largest part of the marine waters of the Aeolian Islands which are very steep with depth that quickly reach and exceed a thousand meters.
- The coastal environment, very large and almost exclusively limited to the immediate neighbor to the coast, represents the ideal place to study the presence of the bottlenose dolphin and the phenomenon of the interaction between this species and fisheries.

The rationale of the project
The need to understand the dynamics that bind to the marine turtles and cetaceans of the Aeolian islands, their behavior and areas of greater concentration in these waters, combined with long experience in the field of applied research activities at sea and directly carried out by the Marine Research Society Necton are the inspiring lines of a research program that also stems from the desire to give the 'opportunity to those who have an interest and a passion for marine mammals and turtles to study them directly in their natural environment. Since the birth of this project in 2004 to date, the project has been further improved thanks to the valuable collaboration of the non-profit DELPHIS Aeolian Dolphin Center is the study of the marine ecosystem of the Aeolian Islands.

The choice of site
The research project takes place between Capo Milazzo and the Aeolian archipelago waters of the whole. The archipelago is made up of 7 islands of volcanic origin: Vulcano, Lipari, Salina, Stromboli, Filicudi Alicudi and Panarea. The islands are surrounded by a sea of ??very deep and rich, an area of ??considerable importance for the study of cetaceans. Few people know for example that many sperm whales congregate in these waters to breed.
The deep waters of the Archipelago are particularly rich in nutrients, which causes a considerable presence of plankton, fish and cephalopods. These species are the prey of cetaceans elective, which in this area are in very high concentrations.

The logistics base is represented by the island of Salina, Aeolian archipelago nestled in the center is definitely one of the best places to approach the entire Mediterranean Sea to the sea turtles and cetaceans. The central location of the island from the archipelago offers the ability to move easily from one point to another of the same in search of these wonderful animals and represents an excellent starting point for those who have decided to begin a journey to discover this sea ??and its most fascinating inhabitants, and for those who (for study or work) have the interest to deepen their knowledge on cetaceans. Since the project began today, the all-important data are allowing us to better understand the population dynamics of cetaceans and turtles, for reasons of trophic or reproductive permanently live or are passing through these waters.
In addition to cetaceans in the waters of the archipelago come across other marine species: birds such as herons, egrets, gulls, shearwaters major and minor, common gulls and coral, many species of birds of prey. Fish: tuna, swordfish, sunfish, dolphin, pilot fish, mobulas, pelagic sharks.
Constant is the presence of sea turtles. In fact, during the monitoring cetaceans you encounter a number of individuals of Caretta caretta and also in this case are collected data on geographical location, surface water temperature, size, presence of signs, scars, parasites, and love are taken tiny samples of skin that need genetic testing.

Research
Among the most important goals of the project include the monitoring of the different species of cetaceans that live or are passing through the waters of the Aeolian islands, the study of the phenomenon of interaction between cetaceans and fishing activities, the photo identification of three species more frequent these waters that the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), which is reproduced here, the striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) that represents the species involved in the phenomenon of interaction with fishing activities. Also important is the monitoring of the species Caretta caretta sea turtles, and many in the area on which the Necton started a few years a study on the relationship between the presence of this species and the surface temperature of water in different areas of the Mediterranean.
To carry out the research under this project using several techniques:

Photo ID: This technique allows the recognition of individuals with photographs of some morphological characters that vary from species to species and from individual to individual. To recognize some dolphins like dolphins, pilot whales, common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins or, on special photo opportunity is the fin
dorsal as well be different depending on the species, varies from individual to individual due to the presence of scratches, scars, skin discoloration, and often also because of the shape. To recognize and Risso zifi another important addition to the distinctive dorsal fin are the classic white streaks on the body. In the case of fin whales, as well as photographs of the dorsal fin, it pays particular attention to the lighter areas in the right side of the head and behind the blowhole, called chevrons, and blaze. For the recognition of individuals of a sperm whale, the contours are photographed instead of the tail and the different colors present in the ventral and lighter patches and / or whitish and often found on the body near the mouth.
Acoustic Survey: All cetaceans to communicate, prey, mating, etc. ... emit sounds. Listening, recording and analysis of sounds is one of the techniques that can allow the recognition of individual species. As for the dolphins, like the dolphin, the common dolphin and bottlenose dolphins, are recorded vocalizations.