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| Cetaceans of the Mediterranean Sea | |
Founded in 1986, the Tethys Research Institute is a NGO specialized in cetacean
research.
Exclusively based on autonomous fundraising, Tethys has generated one
of the largest datasets on Mediterranean cetaceans and over 200 scientific
contributions.
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Tethys first conceived and proposed the creation of the Ligurian
Sea Pelagos Sanctuary, based on extensive information collected in the field.
Data collected by Tethys since 1990 in the Corso-Ligurian-Provençal basin
contributed to show that fin whales are endemic in the Mediterranean.
On November 25th 1999, Italy, France and Monaco signed the Agreement that officially gave birth
to the Ligurian Sea Cetacean Sanctuary.
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Tethys has conducted longitudinal studies of bottlenose dolphins in the northern
Adriatic Sea since 1987, and on both common and bottlenose dolphins in the
eastern Ionian Sea.
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Following a proposal made by Giovanni Bearzi (the President of Tethys) in 2003, the Mediterranean
Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis) population was listed as "Endangered" in the IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species.
| | | How does Tethys study and help whales and dolphins? | |
Research methods used by Tethys included remote sensing and
telemetry, relative abundance and line-transect population studies, the
combined use of laser range-finding binoculars and GPS to passively track and
record the horizontal movements of whales, bioacoustic research, photo-identification
and behavioural sampling, remote biopsy sampling for genetic and toxicological
analyses, and historical research.
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Tethys manages one of the largest collections of scientific literature on
cetaceans in Europe, currently including 15,000 entries. Comprehensive reviews
of Mediterranean fin whale and common dolphin populations were produced.
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Tethys is a "partner" to the UNEP's Agreement on
the Conservation of Cetaceans in the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and
Contiguous Atlantic Area (ACCOBAMS).
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Tethys owns photographic archives exceeding
50,000 cetacean images, that have resulted in the identification of over 1,200
individuals of seven Mediterranean species. This expertise has granted to
Tethys a role as regional coordinator for the EC-funded Europhlukes
project.
| | | Whale and Dolphin Field Courses | |
Participants are involved in all activities conducted in the field, including whale and dolphin
sightings, data collection at sea with advanced methodologies, and informal
lectures held by Tethys researchers.
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