Environmental variables and machine learning models to predict cetacean abundance in the Central-eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Although the Mediterranean Sea is a crucial hotspot in marine biodiversity, it has been threatened by numerous anthropogenic pressures. As flagship species, Cetaceans are exposed to those anthropogenic impacts and global changes. Assessing their conservation status becomes strategic to set effective management plans.

Dolphins and sea turtles may host zoonotic parasites and pathogenic bacteria as indicators of anthropic pressure in the Gulf of Taranto (Northern Ionian Sea, Central-Eastern Mediterranean Sea).

The occurrence of protozoan parasites Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. such as the pathogenic bacteria Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli was molecularly investigated in the following free ranging species of striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba), Risso's dolphins (Grampus griseus) as well as loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtles living in the Gulf of Taranto (Mediterranean Sea).

Managing multiple pressures for cetaceans' conservation with an Ecosystem-Based Marine Spatial Planning approach.

Despite the recognized important ecological role that cetaceans play in the marine environment, their protection is still scarcely enforced in the Mediterranean Sea even though this area is strongly threatened by local human pressures and climate change. The piecemeal of knowledge related to cetaceans' ecology and distribution in the basin undermines the capacity of addressing cetaceans' protection and identifying effective conservation strategies. In this study, an Ecosystem-Based Marine Spatial Planning (EB-MSP) approach is applied to assess human pressures on cetaceans and guide the designation of a conservation area in the Gulf of Taranto, Northern Ionian Sea (Central-eastern Mediterranean Sea).

Cytochrome b marker reveals an independent lineage of Stenella coeruleoalba in the Gulf of Taranto.

Heterogeneity in geomorphological and hydrographical conditions throughout the Mediterranean Sea could be the driving factors behind the significant differences between putative sub-populations, although the existence of a large panmictic population of striped dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba (Meyen 1833) in this marine region could not be excluded. However, understanding the ecological implications of such genetic differentiation is difficult, as inferences about gene flow are usually made on evolutionary time scales and not along the ecological time frame over which most management and conservation practices are applied. In fact, as stated by the IUCN Red List, in the case of species assessed as vulnerable, the degree of genetic exchange between populations within a biogeographic region and its ecological implications represent a fascinating challenge that should be very deeply explored.

DolFin: an innovative digital platform for studying Risso's dolphins in the Northern Ionian Sea (North-eastern Central Mediterranean).

The Risso's dolphin is a widely distributed species, found in deep temperate and tropical waters. Estimates of its abundance are available in a few regions, details of its distribution are lacking, and its status in the Mediterranean Sea is ranked as Data Deficient by the IUCN Red List. In this paper, a synergy between bio-ecological analysis and innovative strategies has been applied to construct a digital platform, DolFin.