|
The Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute is a Sardinia, Italy-based marine science and education center focused on conserving the diversity and integrity of marine life. Founded in 2004 and directed by biologist Bruno Díaz López, researchers carry out field research projects and provide scientific and volunteer support. BDRI concentrates its efforts on research into dolphins because they are predators at the top of their food chain, so their well-being provides an excellent indication of the health of the entire ecosystem on which they, and humans, depend. Large, charismatic mammals, from elephants and pandas to whales and dolphins, also command tremendous public interest and are consequently an excellent way of generating public awareness of, and concern about, wider environmental issues. Whales and dolphins around the world are under threat from Marine pollution, over-fishing, getting entangled in nets, whaling and uncontrolled tourism. The BDRI's team of researchers carry out one of the longest ongoing research projects of a resident dolphin population in the Mediterranean Sea. BDRI is partner to ACCOBAMS, the UNEP's Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans in the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area. Bottlenose dolphins are protected by European law, but in order to develop effective protection guidelines, education and research is necessary to find out much more about the dolphins and the pressures they face. The BDRI has educational and research programmes aimed at providing extra support for scientists early in their careers, science students, local students and scientists from developing countries, including training opportunities in the field, grants, and online and field courses. ==Significance of BDRI research projects== Cetacean populations are affected by man's use of coastal waters, particularly by fisheries activities and habitat modification. A science-based response to the conservation problems created by interactions between human activities and dolphins depends critically on accurate knowledge of the impacts caused by the interactions. Pressures of commercialism and larger scale tourism activities are now increasing drastically in the Mediterranean Sea. By increasing our knowledge about dolphins and their environment, BDRI researchers will be in a strong position to protect the animals from these and other threats caused by humans. Using study techniques that neither harm nor seriously disturb the animals, BDRI researchers are engaged in the conduction of a long term study about the ecology and behaviour of a Mediterranean bottlenose dolphin population along the north-eastern coast of Sardinia, as well as collecting detailed information about their environment. BDRI research projects provide scientific data to assist environmental agencies in managing and conserving marine natural resources and to obtain fundamental knowledge about this behaviourally flexible and cosmopolitan species. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|