Dear MARMAM readers, I am pleased to announce the publication of the following article in the proceedings of the IV Iberoamerican Congress about Aquaculture (CIVA2006) (abstract bellow, this article is only in spanish language): Díaz López, B.& Bernal Shirai J. A., 2006. Multivariate analysis to determine the influence of aquaculture on the presence of Bottlenose Dolphins Tursiops truncatus (Montagu, 1821). CIVA 2006 (http://www.civa2006.org), 282-290 Summary Notable increases in coastal aquaculture make it vital to study the environmental effects associated with their presence. Increase in organic material, resultant from aquaculture activities, acts as an attractant for fish species and consequently their predators. Many studies have examined the effects of aquaculture on marine fauna in general, but there is a paucity of studies examining, more specifically, the impacts of aquaculture on dolphins. In 12 consecutives months of study, we realized 1 324 samples in a marine fin fish farm off the northeastern coast of Sardinia, Italy. The objective of this study was to determine the variables that may influence the presence and abundance of dolphins in the fish farm area. Dolphins were observed year round during the study period, 37% of the samples analyzed, but there was a clear seasonal trend in their presence. Based on the results obtained in this study we can discriminate two factors that influence the seasonal presence of dolphins: water temperature and anthropogenic impacts (i.e. presence of recreational boats and/or fishing boats). These results can be useful for aquaculture management, in particular for the implementation of anti-predator methods in marine fin fish farms similar to the one in our study. A pdf file is available and can be sent on request (bruno@thebdri.com), the article will be available shortly from the BDRI's website www.thebdri.com This paper is one in a series of studies that have been published over the past years about the relationship between bottlenose dolphins and aquaculture. Best wishes, Bruno Díaz López Zoologist & Chief Director The Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute - BDRI V.Diaz 4, Golfo Aranci 07020 Italy www.thebdri.com bruno@thebdri.com Tel: 00 39 346 0815414 --------------------------------- Don't pick lemons. See all the new 2007 cars at Yahoo! Autos.