Sometimes Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus) Cannot Find Their Way Back to the High Seas: A Multidisciplinary Study on a Mass Stranding
BackgroundMass strandings of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) remain peculiar and rather unexplained events, which rarely occur in the Mediterranean Sea. Solar cycles and related changes in the geomagnetic field, variations in water temperature and weather conditions, coast geographical features and human activities have been proposed as possible causes. In December 2009, a pod of seven male sperm whales stranded along the Adriatic coast of Southern Italy. This is the sixth instance from 1555 in this basin.Methodology/principal findingsComplete necropsies were performed on three whales whose bodies were in good condition, carrying out on sampled tissues histopathology, virology, bacter…
An insight into the status of the striped dolphins, Stenella coeruleoalba, of the southern Tyrrenian Sea
Drift-nets are known to result in high incidental catches of some cetacean species. Despite a UN moratorium on their use in the high seas and a ban in the Mediterranean by all European Union countries, including Italy (EC Reg. 1239/98), some fisheries continue to operate illegally. In 2002 and 2003 three line-transect surveys were conducted in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea around the Aeolian archipelago. These transects were designed to assess the presence, distribution and population size of cetacean species likely to be affected by accidental captures in this area. Data were only sufficient to estimate abundance for the striped dolphin. The best estimate (and first such estimate for this ar…