Delfini e balene all'Orto Botanico di Padova

DELFINI E BALENE: mostri da massacrare o esseri senzienti da tutelare?

Attraverso immagini di grande impatto visivo, Giovanni Bearzi illustrerà gli stupefacenti cambiamenti che hanno trasformato in nostro modo di percepire i cetacei. Per secoli "pesci" mostruosi e maligni, animali nocivi da sterminare, prede; oggi "giganti gentili", simpatici cugini acquatici dalle mirabili capacità intellettive, esseri senzienti. Un percorso codificato in termini moderni da Jeremy Bentham e Charles Darwin, che sta entrando a far parte del pensiero scientifico e del sentire comune (con molte contraddizioni). L'evolversi di questa "biofilia marina" sarà in grado di rallentare il degrado ambientale e la perdita di biodiversità? Di certo alcune popolazioni di cetacei sono state decimate e versano in grave pericolo, anche nei nostri mari. Come è possibile evitarne la scomparsa? Bearzi, veneziano, svolge ricerche sui cetacei del Mediterraneo da trent'anni—di solito da piccole imbarcazioni. Parlerà dello studio dei cetacei in natura, spiegando i suoi metodi di indagine preferiti e come le informazioni acquisite su campo possano contribuire alla tutela di questi affascinanti mammiferi marini.

Giovanni Bearzi, Ph.D., Pew Marine Conservation Fellow, è Presidente di Dolphin Biology and Conservation

Striped elegance

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

Two striped dolphins (in and out)

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

Bottlenose dolphin mother and calf

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

Close your eye

A bottlenose dolphin closes her eye while surfacing in a tight formation with two others.

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

Dolphins-fisheries interactions

Giovanni during a seminar at the University of Ferrara, talking about competitive and food-web interactions between dolphins and Mediterranean fisheries (including coastal aquaculture).

Dolphins in Ferrara

Giovanni Bearzi and Stefano Mazzotti, Director of the Ferrara Museum of Natural History, with a crowd of interested participants and a supervising skeleton. The event, part of the Darwin Day celebration series, focused on shifting perceptions of whales and dolphins, the difference between conservation and animal welfare, dolphin research in the Gulf of Corinth, and the greatness of Charles Darwin.

Thank you Giorgio Bertorelle (University of Ferrara) and Stefano Mazzotti for a lively evening.

(Photos by S. Bonizzoni)

Mediterranean monk seal near bather

This photo, taken in July 2013, shows a Mediterranean monk seal near an unaware bather. The seal foraged in the area for a relatively long time, unnoticed by several bathers and people on the beach. Sometimes, lack of monk seal reports may not relate to lack of animals (as scientists would put it: "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence").

(Photo by G. Bearzi, Northern Evoikos Gulf, Greece)

Full splendor

Striped dolphin in full splendor.

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

Common dolphin babysitting a newborn striped dolphin

A short-beaked common dolphin babysitting a newborn striped dolphin?
Join us in the Gulf of Corinth and discover why.

DOLPHIN BIOLOGY WEEKS

(Photo by M. Silveira Da Ferreira, Gulf of Corinth, Greece)

Lively eyes

A surfacing striped dolphin with beautiful lively eyes.

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

Flying bottlenose dolphins

These spectacular leaps, often considered "play", are often related to aggressive behaviour.

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

DBC core team

Dolphin Biology and Conservation's core team during a meeting in Cordenons, Italy. Left to right: Nina, Giovanni, Lavinia and Silvia.

Hop

Bottlenose dolphin in the Bay of Itea.

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

Dolphin Biology Weeks: June, July or August 2017

You can join us for a Dolphin Biology Week in June, July or August 2017.

For information: www.dolphinbiology.org/weeks/

Dolphin Biology Weeks - 2017

You can join us in the field for a “Dolphin Biology Week”.

A Dolphin Biology Week will provide you with opportunities of monitoring dolphins and other fauna in the Gulf of Corinth, together with experienced marine biologists who have been studying Mediterranean dolphins for a long time.

This one-week programme includes informal seminars on marine conservation and data collection during boat surveys. Through a direct involvement in field activities you will learn how the researchers manage to locate, track and photo-identify individual dolphins at sea. You will discover how a regular monitoring of the study area can contribute to the understanding of dolphin ecology and conservation needs.

For more information: www.dolphinbiology.org/weeks/

Breaching striped dolphin

A striped dolphin breaches close to our research boat.

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

Juvenile striped dolphin

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

Grey herons

Grey herons Ardea cinerea flying over the Bay of Itea, Greece.

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

Striped dolphin close-up

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

White belly

A well-known male bottlenose dolphin shows his belly while jumping.

(Photo by L. Eddy, Gulf of Corinth, Greece)

Seabird trio

Two seagulls and one shearwater try to catch fish as tuna keep the fish school close to the surface.

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

Fetal creases

A newborn bottlenose dolphin. Fetal creases are still present.

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

Marked flukes

A bottlenose dolphin's highly marked flukes.

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

Dolphins and clouds

A bottlenose dolphin group travels under a beautiful cloudy sky.

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