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Population Structure, Mobility and Conservation of Bottlenose Dolphins in the South West of England from Photo-identification studies 2007 - 2013 (RP01679)

This report was commissioned by Natural England to get a better understanding of the inshore bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus in the South West of England. The work undertaken by Marinelife, focussed on analysis of of a photo-identification database to gain an understanding of the population structure and abundance of bottlenose dolphins in the region. Three likely sub-populations were identified in (1) South West England – inshore Cornwall to Devon, (2) offshore English/French waters and (3) inshore France from Brittany to Normandy. Maximum abundance estimates for South West England ranged between 83 and 113 (range 87-142 95% CL)

Project details

Start date2013-11-27
End date2016-08-24
Project spend£0.00

Closing statement

The outputs of the study are considered by Natural England to represent the most up to date understanding of the distribution of common bottlenose dolphins off the South West of England. However it remains clear there are still significant gaps in our evidence and understanding of the patterns in behaviour of this species, particularly around differences in movement between offshore and inshore populations.

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ERP01679 Population Structure, Mobility and Conservation of Bottlenose Dolphins in South West England from Photo-identification studies Ed 1, PDF, 981.5 kB 2016/09/08

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Related Access to Evidence records

Title
Photo-identification Analysis of White-beaked Dolphins off South West and North East England 2007-2014 (RP03082)