Distribution and resources division of two coastal water: dolphins present in the southern Israeli Mediterranean coast

Ph.D. candidate 

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yotam_zu@yahoo.com

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Distribution and resource partitioning of the two coastal dolphins present in the southern Israeli Mediterranean coast

Abstract
Two coastal species of dolphins are present off the southern Israeli Mediterranean coast: the common bottlenose dolphin (CBD; Tursiops truncatus) and the common dolphin (CD; Delphinus delphis). The unique geographic overlap and resource partitioning patterns of the two species, as also impacted by anthropogenic activities, are the main interest of this research.
Unlike other areas in the world, the two species reside in an ultra-oligotrophic region, with CD tending to inhabit shallower waters than CBD and the main prey item of both species appears to be the same, most probably obtained while foraging behind bottom trawlers.
This research combines diverse methods in order to collect a variety of data, including passive acoustic monitoring, stable isotope profiles, stomach content analysis, underwater photography of trawl-nets and visual surveys in the general research area and around focal points of anthropogenic activities.