Project description and objectives

Globally, bottlenose dolphins show considerable variation in their degree of mobility; some communities may be long-term resident within highly limited ranges while others appear nomadic (moving seasonally or unpredictably). Even though occupying ecologically similar habitats, both these extremes are exhibited by two neighbouring bottlenose dolphin communities on the west coast of Scotland. Despite being fundamentally important to many aspects of spatial management, the factors that drive seemingly similar communities to have such different ranging patterns are poorly understood. Additionally, Scotland is rapidly becoming the focus for marine renewable developments as offshore wind, wave and tidal-stream energy extraction, which will require considerable construction activities with the potential to pose risks to nearby cetaceans.

Using photo-identification techniques (dedicated photo-ID trips and assembling data from broader scale community) and passive acoustic monitoring, I am investigating patterns of mobility by bottlenose dolphins and shall assess whether these techniques can be used as mitigation tools during the construction of marine renewables by timing activities to when dolphins are unlikely to be in the vicinity.

Report a bottlenose dolphin sighting...

Forward your sightings of bottlenose dolphins to: Nienke.vanGeel@sams.ac.uk and contribute to my project and the general knowledge about the local resident dolphin population!

I am particularly interested in information regarding:

• date of sighting
• time
• location
• group size
• behaviour
• direction
  
• and photographs (any quality)

Supervisors

• Dr Ben Wilson (Director of Studies) SAMS
• Dr Gordon Hastie, SMRU Ltd

Project funders

• Marine Alliance for Science and Technology Scotland (MASTS)
  
• Harper Macleod LLP

University

University of the Highlands and Islands and Aberdeen University