Please see the announcement below. There are still places available. Please note: further information can be viewed and printed out from the following website: www.thebdri.com The Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute - BDRI - www.thebdri.com offers comprehensive and intensive Bottlenose Dolphin Research Courses (BDRC) during the 2008 Winter Season for motivated individuals, who are seeking thorough training in approaches to the study of free ranging wild bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). We invite you to join our ongoing study of the behaviour, habitat use and social lives of these amazing dolphins on the Emerald Coast, Sardinia Island (Italy). These intensive educational courses provide experience in specialized non-invasive research techniques, consisting of field sessions and lectures. The courses will last 6 or 13 days, and - weather permitting - we will be out on the water at least during 4 or 8 of these days respectively. Although our project focuses primarily on bottlenose dolphins, you will also experience the complex Mediterranean coastal ecosystem in which we live and work. BDRI field courses provide invaluable exposure to boat based field work, marine mammals research, intensive training and mentoring in marine ecology, and encouragement to work hard, have fun, and learn from the dolphins and each other. Learning, at its best, should be an active process, one in which the students are challenged on a daily basis with responsibilities that play a large part in the outcome of the research projects. Working with us and our staff, you will rotate between tasks on land and sea. Onboard our research vessel (Spartana) you will work together with our team in search of cetaceans. To refine details of bottlenose dolphin population biology and responses to human activities at sea, we will take identification photos, observe behaviour, and monitor vocalizations using a hydrophone. Research courses can be used for academic or vocational purposes, but students are solely responsible for making all arrangements for receiving relevant credit(s) as a result of completing the training course. BDRI's courses give an insight into the workings of a research team, and provide experience in a wide range of areas including scientific data collection, analysis and presentation; giving public talks and much more. To be successful participants in this project,students should have open minds, flexibility in changing situations, and a desire to help and to learn. All classes will be in a form of both (a) lectures that will lead to more "informal" discussion, hopefully ending with a constructive brainstorming on the specific topic, as well as (b) instructions with handon practical component, especially when it involves field techniques. Course 1. Bottlenose dolphin: Field methods in the wild (1st Team: 28 January; 2nd Team: 24 March) Course 2. Study of bottlenose dolphin behaviour (11 February) Course 3. Bottlenose dolphins Photo-identification & Social structure course (1st Team: 25 february; 2nd Team: 31 March) Course 4. Bioacoustics of bottlenose dolphins in the wild (10 March) Further information, fees and how to apply can be found on our website (www.thebdri.com) or by e-mail at info@thebdri.com Recent selected scientific publications by BDRI: 1. Díaz López B. and Shirai, J.A., In press. Marine aquaculture and bottlenose dolphins social structure. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology. 2. Díaz López B., Bunke, M. and Shirai, J.A., In press. Marine aquaculture off Sardinia Island (Italy): ecosystem effects evaluated through a trophic mass-balance model. Ecological Modelling. 3. Díaz López, B., Shirai, J.A.; Bilbao Prieto, A. & Méndez Fernández, P., In press. Diving activity of a solitary wild free ranging bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). Journal of Marine Biological Association U.K. 3. Díaz López B. and Shirai, J.A., 2007. "Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) presence and incidental capture in a marine fish farm on the noth-eastern coast of Sardinia (Italy)" Journal of Marine Biological Association U.K, 87, 113-117. 4. Díaz López, B. and Shirai, J.A., 2007. "Human activities and bottlenose dolphin's social structure". 21st Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society, San Sebastián, Spain, 2007. 5. Underhill, K., Díaz López, B., and Shirai, J.A., 2007."Boat traffic effects on the diving behaviour of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Sardinia, Italy". 21st Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society, San Sebastián, Spain, 2007. 6. Díaz López, B., 2006. "Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) Predation on a Marine Fin Fish Farm: Some Underwater Observations". Aquatic Mammals 32(3): 305 - 310 pp. 7. Díaz López, B. & Bernal Shirai, J.A., 2006. "Estudio multiescalar de la influencia de la acuicultura en la presencia de delfines mulares Tursiops truncatus (Montagu 1821)". CIVA, 2006: 282 - 290pp. 8. Díaz López, B., 2006. "Interactions between Mediterranean bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and gillnets off Sardinia". ICES Journal of Marine Science 63: 944-951 pp. 9. Díaz López, B. & Bernal Shirai, J.A., 2006. Diurnal & Nocturnal behaviour of bottlenose dolphin groups with emphasis on foraging activity on the northeastern coast of Sardinia (Italy). 20th Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society 2006 Gdynia, Polonia. 10. Bernal Shirai, J. A., Díaz López, B., Méndez Fernández, P., Bilbao Prieto, A. & Díaz da Silva, J.I., 2006. "Analysis of diving behaviour of a solitary male bottlenose dolphin in the inshore waters of Galicia (Spain)" 20th Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society 2006 Gdynia, Polonia. Bruno Díaz López Research Biologist / Marine Zoologist Chief Researcher The Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute BDRI V.Armando Diaz Nº4 07020 Golfo Aranci (SS) Italy http://www.thebdri.com info@thebdri.com Tel: + (39) 346 0815414