Insights into Environmental Variables Affecting Seasonal Cetacean Behaviors

The identification of Cetacean's Critical Habitats requires in-depth knowledge of the areas usually used, for example, for feeding, reproduction and socialization. However, their identification is currently even more difficult due to climate changes which can influence their distribution and extension depending on the variability of various environmental parameters. This case study aimed to investigate whether a set of 20 environmental variables can be used to characterize the main behavioural activities (feeding, resting, socializing and travel) exhibited by three species of toothed whales regularly present in the Northern Ionian Sea, Central Mediterranean Sea: the striped dolphin, the common bottlenose dolphin and the Risso's dolphin.