Dear colleagues,

My co-authors and I are pleased to share with you the release of the following 
paper, which will be one of the chapters for the book “Mediterranean Marine 
Mammal Ecology and Conservation”, to be published at Advances in Marine Biology 
Volume 75. Editors: Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara, Michela Podestà, Barbara 
E. Curry. It is now available on-line at 
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0065288116300062 
<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0065288116300062>

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 
Advances in Marine Biology Volume 75; Mediterranean Marine Mammal Ecology and 
Conservation. doi:10.1016/bs.amb.2016.07.002

Abstract
The common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is the only cetacean present 
in the semiclosed waters of the Gulf of Ambracia, Western Greece. This 
increasingly degraded coastal ecosystem hosts one of the highest observed 
densities in the Mediterranean Sea for this species. Photo-identification data 
and tissue samples collected through skin-swabbing and remote biopsy sampling 
techniques during boat-based surveys conducted between 2006 and 2015 in the 
Gulf, were used to examine bottlenose dolphin abundance, population trends, 
site fidelity, genetic differentiation and toxicological status. Bottlenose 
dolphins showed high levels of year-round site fidelity throughout the 10-year 
study period. Dolphin population estimates mostly fell between 130 and 170 with 
CVs averaging about 10%; a trend in population size over the 10 years was a 
decline of 1.6% per year (but this was not significant). Genetic 
differentiation between the bottlenose dolphins of the Gulf and their 
conspecifics from neighbouring populations was detected, and low genetic 
diversity was found among individuals sampled. In addition, pesticides where 
identified as factors posing a real toxicological problem for local bottlenose 
dolphins. Therefore, in the Gulf of Ambracia, high dolphin density does not 
seem to be indicative of favourable conservation status or pristine habitat.

A .pdf copy can be requested to [email protected] 
<mailto:[email protected]>

Best regards,

joAn

============================
    Joan Gonzalvo, PhD  
    Program Manager - Ionian Dolphin Project
        
   TETHYS RESEARCH INSTITUTE      
    Viale G.B. Gadio 2, 20121 Milano, Italy
    
    Spanish Mobile: +34 650434808    
    Greek Mobile: +30 6979428717
   Skype: idp_amvrakikos



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