Getting social

Striped dolphins getting social: breaches and much physical contact among group members.

(Photo by S. Bonizzoni, Gulf of Corinth, Greece)

Sea turtle stranded in Galaxidi

Today we found a stranded loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta... right in the port of Galaxidi.

(Photo by G. Bearzi, Gulf of Corinth, Greece)

Survey effort in the Gulf of Corinth

While the Gulf of Corinth is a relatively large area (2,400 km2) to be surveyed with small boats, and often wavy, we try to cover it as best we can searching for dolphins and other fauna. Survey effort in this area has reached 34,000 km. The map shows our navigation tracks in years 2011–2015.

For more information about our dolphin research in the Gulf of Corinth, click HERE.

(Photo by G. Bearzi)

Neither striped nor common

Neither a striped dolphin nor a short-beaked common dolphin: an individual of intermediate pigmentation breaches in the Gulf of Corinth. 

(Photo by S. Bonizzoni)

Basilico 3 (and last)

http://dolphinbiology.blogspot.it/2015/07/basilico.html

http://dolphinbiology.blogspot.it/2015/07/basilico-2.html

Same boat, different catch

In 1973 Argyris Andressakis could still catch big groupers with his rowing wooden boat, right off the port of Galaxidi, Greece.

Fourty-two years later, boat, area and fishing gear have remained the same. However, for Dimitris Andressakis – Argyris' son – catching a grouper has become unimaginable. A small cuttlefish is a more likely catch.

It doesn't take a scientist to notice that baselines, here and elsewhere, have shifted tremendously in just a few decades.

(Top photo courtesy of D. Andressakis, bottom by S. Bonizzoni)

Striped dolphin calf

(Photo by S. Bonizzoni, Gulf of Corinth, Greece)

Dolphin mosaic

Teacher Alexandra Kaliva gives to Silvia a beautiful dolphin mosaic made by the school children of Itea.

(Photo by G. Bearzi)

Dolphins at school

Yesterday Silvia presented our dolphin research to an audience of approximately 110 children at the school of Itea, with much help from teacher Alexandra Kaliva.

(Photos by G. Bearzi)

One more dolphin and inflatable

(Photo by G. Bearzi, Gulf of Corinth, Greece)

Dolphin and inflatable

A striped dolphin surfaces close to our inflatable.

(Photo by G. Bearzi, Gulf of Corinth, Greece)

Seminar in Patras

Today we presented dolphin research results at the University of Patras, Greece, to a very interested audience including approximately 70 students, researchers and faculty.

(Photos by S. Bonizzoni)

Moving together

A fast-moving group of striped dolphins.

(Photo by S. Bonizzoni, Gulf of Corinth, Greece)

On a golden surface

A bottlenose dolphin jumps at twilight, on a golden surface.

(Photo by S. Bonizzoni, Gulf of Corinth, Greece)

Striped dolphin close-up

(Photo by S. Bonizzoni, Gulf of Corinth, Greece)

Twilight

On the inflatable at twilight: a special moment.

(Photo by G. Bearzi, Gulf of Corinth, Greece)

Striped dolphin mother and calf

(Photo by S. Bonizzoni, Gulf of Corinth, Greece)

Fish farm specialists

Giovanni photographing bottlenose dolphins near the Galaxidi Marine Farm.

Bottlenose dolphins in the coastal waters of Greece have become 'fish farm specialists':

Bonizzoni S., Eddy L., Würsig B., Bearzi G. 2015. Fish farm specialists: bottlenose dolphins in the Southern Evoikos Gulf, Greece. Proceedings of the 29th Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society. St. Julians, Malta, 23-25 March 2015.

Bonizzoni S., Furey N., Pirotta E., Valavanis V.D., Würsig B., Bearzi G. 2014. Fish farming and its appeal to common bottlenose dolphins: modelling habitat use in a Mediterranean embayment. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 24(5):696–711.

(Photo by S. Bonizzoni, Gulf of Corinth, Greece)

Not just another pretty face

Not just another pretty face. This old bottlenose dolphin wears the markings of a lifetime spent looking for prey and engaging in occasional fights with cospecifics.

(Photos by S. Bonizzoni, Gulf of Corinth, Greece)

Sighting #101

Yesterday we made our 101st sighting of the year: a group of eight bottlenose dolphins near the Galaxidi Marine Farm.

Since the beginning of the study in the Gulf of Corinth this would be sighting #645, for a total of 515 hours spent tracking dolphin groups (four species).

(Photos by G. Bearzi)

Dolphins in Patras, Greece

Giovanni has been invited by the University of Patras to present dolphin research findings in the Gulf of Corinth and elsewhere in Greece.

(Top photo by G. Bearzi, bottom by D. Knäbel)

Young common dolphin

A young common dolphin surfacing by the side of their mother. These animals survive in the Gulf of Corinth in the low tens, and are facing local extinction.

(Photo by S. Bonizzoni)

Delphi dolphin

A bottlenose dolphin surfaces near Kirra, the ancient port of Delphi, in the Gulf of Corinth.

(Photo by S. Bonizzoni)

Seaman and bowriding dolphins

A seaman embarked on a cargo ship observs and films striped dolphins bowriding.

(Photo by S. Bonizzoni, Gulf of Corinth, Greece)

Dolphinfish is no dolphin

Giovanni filming a school of juvenile common dolphinfish Coryphaena hippurus with a GoPro camera. Dolphinfish often congregate under floating objects, in this case an old plastic bucket.

While being one of the most beautiful fish around, "dolphinfish" (also called dorado, green dolphin or mahi-mahi) clearly have nothing to do with "true" dolphins.

(Photo above by S. Bonizzoni, below by G. Bearzi, Gulf of Corinth, Greece)

Bowriding a cargo

Yesterday striped dolphins were observed bowriding a 90-m cargo ship for a pretty long time.

(Photo by G. Bearzi, Gulf of Corinth, Greece)

Lavinia at work

Lavinia Eddy at the field station, busy matching one of the 60,000+ dorsal fin photos of striped and common dolphins in our digital catalogue.

(Photo by G. Bearzi)

Playing with the sun

A striped dolphin breaching at sunset seems to be attempting a headshot with the sun.

(Photo by S. Bonizzoni, Gulf of Corinth, Greece)