Pelagic cetaceans off North-Eastern Sardinia and implications for conservation

TL;DRAbstract

The all-year-round knowledge on cetaceans off Sardinia is scarce and mostly focused on the coastal species <i>Tursiops truncatus</i> in the northern waters of the island. This work aims to increase information on pelagic cetaceans in the poor studied off-shore waters from North-Eastern Sardinian coast on the basis of surveys carried out between 2010 and 2013, using dedicated and opportunistic surveys.
\n<br>First I evaluate the occurrence of pelagic cetacean species, the spatial-temporal distribution and the interactions with fixed physical variables (depth, slope and shape), non-fixed environmental variables (Sea Surface Temperature and chlorophyll <i>a</i>) which may affect their presence and distribution in the study area. The relative abundance of the cetacean species regularly inhabiting the area and the high encounter rate values, point out the significance of the Caprera Canyon for the cetaceans’ conservation, in the central Tyrrhenian Sea. Th

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