Where are the great marine animals of the Mediterranean, such as the fin whale, the sperm whale or the bottlenose dolphin? How does their distribution change over the course of a few weeks? All indications suggest that these species shift between marine areas in a remarkably short time and over relatively small spatial scales. Some species, such as the striped dolphin, maintain a relatively stable presence in certain areas, while others, such as the fin whale, move and concentrate in different areas between one observation campaign to the next.
These are some of the main conclusions of the Synoptic Ferry Observation Network ( SYNFONY ) project, an initiative for monitoring marine megafauna in the Mediterranean carried out with the support of ferry lines and shipping companies. As part of the project, the Barcelona-Tanger-Barcelona route is coordinated by professors Odei Garcia-Garin and Manel Gazo of the Faculty of Biology and the Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio) at the University of Barcelona. More than 20 volunteers have also taken part in the project, mainly students from the UB's degree programmes in Biology, Marine Sciences and Environmental Sciences.
A total of 707 sightings of marine megafauna
Between June and July, three scientific campaigns recorded 707 observations of marine megafauna, mainly of the eight species of cetaceans commonly present in the Mediterranean: the fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris), the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), the striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba), Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus) and the long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas). Two species of sea turtle were also recorded: the loggerhead seaturtle (Caretta caretta) and the green seaturtle (Chelonia mydas).
