Nova raziskava v kateri je sodelovalo društvo Morigenos I New study participated by Morigenos

 

Društvo Morigenos je sodelovalo pri raziskavi prehranjevalne ekologije delfinov v zalivu Ambracia v Grčiji, ki je bila ta teden objavljena v uveljavljeni reviji Marine Mammal Science (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/mms.12725), vodili pa so jo raziskovalci Univerze v Barceloni ter raziskovalnega inštituta Tethys. V skoraj povsem zaprtem zalivu Ambracia na severozahodu Grčije živi ogrožena skupnost približno 150 velikih pliskavk, ki jo preučujejo raziskovalci raziskovalnega inštituta Tethys in ki je skorajda popolnoma ločena od sosednjih populacij v Jonskem morju. Do sedaj so informacije o njihovih prehranjevalnih navadah izhajale izključno iz vzorcev lusk rib, naključno zbranih na vodni gladini, ko so se delfini prehranjevali tik ob površini. V tej raziskavi pa so znanstveniki prehrano delfinov ugotavljali s pomočjo stabilnih izotopov ogljika in dušika v vzorcih tkiva delfinov in njihovega plena. Rezultati so pokazali, da se delfini na tem območju prehranjujejo predvsem s šuri, špari, ovčicami, sipami, sardoni, sardelami in glavači. Raziskava je podala nova spoznanja o prehranjevalni ekologiji velikih pliskavk, saj se le-ta med posameznimi populacijami lahko zelo razlikuje. Raziskava pa je pomembna tudi z vidika boljšega razumevanja medsebojnih interakcij med morskimi sesalci in ribiškimi aktivnostmi, saj so nekatere prehransko pomembne vrste za delfine tudi komercialno pomembne za ribištvo.

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Morigenos participated in a study investigating the feeding ecology of dolphins in the Gulf of Ambracia in Greece, led by researchers from the University of Barcelona and Tethys Research Institute and published this week in the journal Marine Mammal Science (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/mms.12725). The almost completely enclosed Gulf of Ambracia, in northwestern Greece, hosts a threatened community of about 150 bottlenose dolphins, which are largely separated from neighbouring populations in the Ionian Sea and are being studied by Tethys Research Institute. Until now, information on their feeding habits was derived exclusively from fish scale samples collected during surface‐feeding events by dolphins. But in this study, scientists determined the diet of dolphins using stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in the tissue samples of dolphins and their prey. Results showed that the dolphin diet was mainly based on Atlantic horse mackerel, annular and striped sea bream, cuttlefish, European anchovy, European pilchard, round sardinella and gobies. The study provides new insights into the feeding ecology of bottlenose dolphins, which can vary substantially among different populations. The study is also important for a better understanding of interactions between marine mammals and fisheries, as some dolphin prey species are also commercially important to fisheries.