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With bottlenose dolphins at dawn
3:10
Being surrounded by dolphins in the stunning light of an Adriatic sunrise. |
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In the wake of a beam "rapido" trawler
2:23
A rare encounter with bottlenose dolphins behind a beam trawler fishing with multiple dredges. |
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In the wake of a bottom otter trawler
4:34
On a cloudy morning, we photo-identify bottlenose dolphins that follow a trawler for several hours. |
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For lunch? Polystyrene
4:09
We try to find out why seagulls peck at the styrofoam boxes we find at sea. |
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Dolphins behind midwater pair trawlers
5:14
We track bottlenose dolphins as they forage in the proximity of twin trawlers
towing a large net called "volante". |
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Sea turtles adrift
2:22
While navigating in search for dolphins in the waters off Veneto, we encounter quite a few dead loggerhead sea turtles. |
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Breakfast on a trawl net
4:18
A group of thirty bottlenose dolphins approaches a bottom otter trawler to forage in its wake. |
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Photo-identification at sunrise
2:50
We encounter bottlenose dolphins at dawn and photograph them, taking note of changes in group size and composition. |
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Logs adrift and collision risks
2:15
On some days, while we search for dolphins off the estuary of large rivers, we must pay much attention to avoid crashing into semi-submerged logs. |
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The emotions of a naturalist
3:52
Our friend Mauro Caldana describes his first experience with bottlenose dolphins off Veneto, Italy. |
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The first encounter with a fin whale
2:05
Silvia recalls the exciting sighting with a fin whale in Greece, twenty years earlier. |
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Seagulls on sea turtles adrift
3:04
Dead sea turtles floating adrift can become a perch and a food source for seagulls. |
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Surrounded by dolphins
4:23
A special morning: bottlenose dolphins bowriding and all around our research boat. |
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Silvia and dolphins twenty years earlier
4:12
Silvia, in her twenties, explains why she decided to study dolphins and what she likes about this job. |
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Bottlenose dolphins of the north-east
1:58
In a sultry August day, we encounter a group of dolphins in the northernmost sector of the Adriatic, off Bibione, Italy. |
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Plastic in offshore waters
3:18
In the summer, off beaches crowded by bathers, the sea fills up with plastic items floating adrift. Short-lived inflatable stuff that adds to the impact of fisheries and aquaculture debris. |
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Photography: between science and communication
1:56
A good camera is an essential research tool when at sea: it allows us to collect good scientific data, but also to share emotions and "tell stories". |
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Dolphins and fishing boats: individual specialization
2:44
When following trawlers, bottlenose dolphins display different feeding patterns, indicative of individual preferences or talents. |
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Calm sea, but no dolphins?
1:59
Doing research at sea is nothing like going to the dolphinarium: sometimes the animals are not found at all, and in fact the sighting frequency is a proxy to assess their abundance and distribution. |
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Approaching the dolphins and reducing disturbance
2:37
In the presence of dolphins, one must avoid maneuvering the boat in invasive ways and allow the dolphins to approach on their own initiative. |
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Research boat: basic equipment
3:21
The fundamental equipment for studying dolphins offshore: from GPS to sunscreen. |
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Dolphins and fishing boats: intensive fishing and adaptation
4:52
The waters off the coasts of Veneto are intensively exploited by trawlers: bottlenose dolphins have adapted and learned to forage behind different types of these fishing boats. |
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Dolphins and fishing boats: foraging and dangers
4:08
Bottlenose dolphins have become accustomed to foraging in the wake of trawlers: a risky behavior that is culturally transmitted to the young. |
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Spot and photo-identify dolphins
4:01
The difficulties of spotting dolphins in the distance, and how to identify them with good photographs of their dorsal fins. |
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Becoming a dolphin researcher
4:26
Silvia, who has been working as a dolphin researcher for 20 years, offers ten pieces of advice that might help in case you want to walk this path. "Are you ready?" :-) |
