Dear MARMAM community, My co-author and I are very happy that a new peer-reviewed article is published in the Mediterranean Marine Science, with the title: Nautical tourism affects common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus M.) foraging success in a NATURA 2000 site, North-Eastern Adriatic Sea Views: 429 Downloads: 22 DARJA RIBARIC, JACK CLARKSON DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681/mms.24475 Link to the article: https://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/hcmr-med-mar-sc/article/view/ 24475

From the abstract:

Several studies indicate that unregulated nautical tourism can have negative implications on cetacean behaviour. In recent years, dolphin watching activities (DWA) have increased off the West coast of Istria, Croatia, a region in which the NATURA 2000 site: "Akvatorij zapadne Istre" that has been proposed to be designated for bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus M.). . Between 2016 and 2019, we compared dolphin group behaviours from this region during impact (presence of nautical tourism boats - NTBs) and control (absence of NTBs) scenarios: - 48.5% of NTBs were observed within 15m of the dolphin focal groups and - 97% were observed within 50 m distance. . The greatest rates of displacement in dolphin focal groups occurred when NTB numbers were greatest per individual dolphin. . Markov chain analyses were used to quantify the short-term effects of NTB presence on dolphin behaviour. In the presence of NTBs, dolphins were more likely to spend time milling and less time foraging. Cumulative behavioural budgets indicated that vessel exposure levels of already 14% were enough to statistically affect milling and foraging behaviours, respectively. . To lessen the lack of sustainable DWA, the implementation of relevant guidelines, e.g., Global Best Practice Guidance for Responsible Whale and Dolphin Watching (50 m no approach and 300 m caution zone) is therefore crucial to mitigate any long[1]term consequences the actions of NTBs may have on this key species. . To date, 162 bottlenose dolphins have been photo-identified off West coast of Istria and cumulative interference to this population could affect direct ecosystem functioning. Keywords: Common bottlenose dolphin; dolphin watching; nautical tourism; behavioural transitions; NATURA 2000 site; North-Eastern Adriatic cid:image002.jpg@01D51B94.BBC57F50 mag. DARJA RIBARIČ, MPhil in Biological Sciences <mailto:darja.ribaric@vivamar.org> darja.ribaric@vivamar.org President and Head researcher <https://www.vivamar.org/> VIVAMAR Society for the Sustainable Development for the Sea Dolphin Research & Conservation / Marine Wildlife Awareness FIRST NATURA 2000 scientific publication on dolphins off Istria logo_manjse Recognised by the Ministry of the Environment for the public interest 215-10/2007/4