Mid-distance movements of common bottlenose dolphins in the coastal waters of Greece

• DOI: 10.1007/s10164-010-0245-x
• Publication Date: 2010-11-05T05:37:00Z
• Authors: Giovanni Bearzi; Silvia Bonizzoni; Joan Gonzalvo
• Keywords: Animal ecology; Bottlenose dolphin; Home range; Marine protected area

While bottlenose dolphins in Mediterranean waters often display a high degree of site fidelity, movements across distant areas can occur. Such movements have important implications in terms of population viability, particularly in basins with low bottlenose dolphin densities. We report movements of nine individuals photo-identified up to 265 km apart in western Greece. Four showed a certain degree of site fidelity to one area across several years, but were also found elsewhere, with two individuals moving between two areas. This study provides further evidence that animals appearing to be “resident” within a given area can temporarily leave and range widely.