Marine Mammal Research & Conservation

Overview

The conservation and protection of marine life has been at the forefront of the Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation since its foundation in 1998. The Aegean Sea is home to some of the most important remaining populations of marine mammals and turtles in the Mediterranean Sea, including:

Four species of dolphins: bottlenose dolphins, striped dolphins, common dolphins and Risso’s dolphins
Three species of whales: sperm whales, Cuvier’s beaked whales and occasionally fin whales
Three species of sea turtles: loggerhead, leatherback and green turtles
One species of seal: the highly endangered Mediterranean Monk seal

These species can reside in the Aegean permanently as resident populations, or migrate through in search of food or breeding areas. However, research into these populations and how they use the Aegean Sea is severely lacking, even with the increasing threats they face from climate change and anthropogenic stressors. Anthropogenic stressors in the Aegean Sea include: high levels of marine traffic, pollution (including noise, chemical and plastic), interactions with fisheries, effects of overfishing and habitat destruction. The research conducted by the Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation aims to understand the distribution, dynamics and abundance of marine mammal populations in response to the effects of anthropogenic activities in the north eastern Mediterranean.

Despite the existence of national and international legislation for the protection of marine mammals, including EU laws to limit cetacean by-catch and 4.6% of Greece’s marine area designated as protected, there is a lack of effective and enforced action to conserve marine life in the Aegean. Overfishing has diminished prey availability; noise pollution has impacted cetacean communication and sociality; while coastal development has destroyed beaches used as turtle nesting sites and seal resting grounds. The Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation, in cooperation with local communities, aims to contribute to the development and establishment of long-term solutions to address and mitigate the threats faced by these charismatic creatures.

The Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation has been active in the protection and study of marine mammals for over two decades, with a year round presence in the open sea.

Research & Conservation

Research into Marine Mammal Populations

In order to develop effective conservation actions, such as establishing marine protected areas to protect essential habitats and managing fishing activities, it is important to understand the characteristics, dynamics and trends of cetacean populations.

Archipelagos Institute collects data on the biodiversity and abundance of cetaceans in the Aegean Sea. With the use of three research boats, active year round, these populations can be monitored for changes over time and their use of important habitats.

In recent years, Archipelagos’ observers have recorded the presence of common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, striped dolphins, Risso’s dolphins, sperm whales, Cuvier’s beaked whales and Mediterranean Monks seals in the North Eastern Mediterranean Sea. The Marine Mammal Team’s constant and committed research has revealed this area as an important hotspot for marine mammal biodiversity.

Bioacoustics Research

Photo Identification

Behavioural Research

Research into Fish Stock Availability

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Monitoring the Mediterranean Monk Seal

Research into Anthropogenic Stressors

Aegean Marine Life Sanctuary

Species

Dolphins & Porpoises

Whales

Monk Seal

Scientific Publications

Habitat Overlap and Resource Competition between Fisheries and Delphinus delphis in the central Aegean Sea

Tintoré, B., Gardijan, M., Miliou, A., Troisi, G., (2025). Habitat Overlap and Resource Competition between Fisheries and Delphinus delphis in the central Aegean Sea, Greece. Proceedings of the 36th Conference of the European Cetacean Society, Ponta Delgada, Azores, 14-16 May, pp. 1 – 1.

Correlation of Sea Surface Temperature and Bottom Water Temperature with the presence of Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus) and Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) in the NE Aegean Sea

Tintoré, B., Moss, P., Tomé, A., Ingrosso, M., Tsimpidis, T., Troisi, G. (2024). Correlation of Sea Surface Temperature and Bottom Water Temperature with the presence of Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus) and Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) in the NE Aegean Sea, Greece, Proceedings of the 35th Conference of the European Cetacean Society, Catania, Sicilly, Italy, 8-12 April, pp. 1 – 1

Implementation of Machine – Learning Models to study Habitat Suitability for Deep-Diving Cetaceans in the Ikarian Basin

Tintoré, B., Troisi, G., Cigarroa, M., & Tsimpidis, T. (2025). Implementation of Machine – Learning Models to study Habitat Suitability for Deep-Diving Cetaceans in the Ikarian Basin. 220–224

Optimizing automated photo identification for population assessments

Patton, P. T., Pacifici, K., Baird, R. W., Oleson, E. M., Allen, J. B., Ashe, E., Athayde, A., Basran, C. J., Cabrera, E., Calambokidis, J., Cardoso, J., Carroll, E. L., Cesario, A., Cheney, B. J., Cheeseman, T., Corsi, E., Currie, J. J., Durban, J. W., Falcone, E. A., … Bejder, L. (2025). Optimizing automated photo identification for population assessments. Conservation Biology, 39(4).