Simone Panigada

TL;DR: Exposure to microplastics because of direct ingestion and consumption of contaminated prey poses a major threat to the health of fin whales in the Mediterranean Sea, according to this study.

TL;DR: The high likelihood of unreported fatal strikes combined with other anthropogenic threats suggests an urgent need for a comprehensive, basin-wide conservation strategy, including ship strike mitigation requirements, like real-time monitoring of whale presence and distribution to re-locate ferry routes to areas of lower cetACEan density, and reducing ship speed in high cetacean density areas.

TL;DR: Based on genetic studies, fin whales from the Mediterranean Sea are distinct from North Atlantic conspecifics, and may constitute a resident population, separate from those of the North Atlantic, despite the species' historical presence in the Strait of Gibraltar.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used generalized additive models (GAMs) with multidimensional smoothers to model the distribution of fin whales and striped dolphins in relation to these variables, and classification and regression trees were used for habitat characterization and predictive models.

TL;DR: Habitat use of seven different species of cetaceans inhabiting the Pelagos Sanctuary was studied using 18-year summer shipboard surveys data, using stepwise Logistic Regression Analysis to develop presence/absence predictive models.