Support of the species Tursiops truncatus along the Ionian Sea

The Tursiops truncatus, commonly known as the bottle-nosed dolphin, is an odontocete cetacean belonging to the Delphinidae family, one of the rare species of dolphins that endures captivity and, because of this, the most commonly studied. In Italy it is quite frequent to see them along the Sicilian and Calabrian coasts. The Marine Environment Study and Research Centre is a non-profit association with social utility purposes, operating in the area of the protection and valorisation of nature in general, and of the marine environment in particular, with the aim of promoting study, research and scientific publications regarding this dolphin species. Thanks to this project, the Association has carried out a study and analysis of the species Tursiops truncatus (or common bottlenose dolphin), an odontocete cetacean belonging to the Delphinidae family, with the aim of developing conservation programs for cetaceans in the Mediterranean, and programs to inform and educate the public, reduce the dangers for these animals and improve knowledge on cetaceans, in particular in the Ionian Sea stretch between Brancaleone (RC) and Botricello (CZ), where there are no constant distribution data on this species. This stretch includes the Site of Community Importance "Fondali di Stalettì" which, in addition to being a strategic area for the passage of the Tursiops truncatus, is home to the Posidonia oceanica, a marine phanerogam considered a good indicator of the quality of marine-coastal waters, due to its sensitivity to changes in environmental conditions. For this reason, the project also provides for the extraordinary removal of waste on the seabed of the Site of Community Importance "Fondali di Stalettì". This allows to eliminate pollution in the marine environment and to reduce the negative impact that litter has on bottlenose dolphins (entrapment in abandoned fishing nets, ingestion of plastic, etc.); it also helps keeping Posidonia oceanica healthy (discharge and deposit of materials causes a regression of the extension of this marine phanerogam).