Seasonal and diel patterns in Black Sea harbour porpoise acoustic activity in 2020-2022.

ABSTRACT: The Black Sea is a semi-enclosed inland sea with an unevenly distributed extensive coastal shelf area and anoxic deep waters. It is inhabited by common and bottlenose dolphins, as well as harbour porpoises, all represented by local subspecies. Between September 2020 and October 2022, 19 F-PODs deployed by research teams from Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Türkiye and Ukraine collected data on acoustic activity of Black Sea harbour porpoises. Strong seasonal and diel patterns were found, which varied in three regions. In the south-eastern part of the Black Sea, harbour porpoise acoustic activity was higher from January to May, with a peak in April. This pattern agrees with the seasonal anchovy migration from the winter spawning grounds in warmer waters in the south-eastern region to feeding gr

SUBMITTER: Ivanchikova J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11464542 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature