BDRI's BACKGROUND

Prior to 1999, there was very little known about wild bottlenose dolphins off Sardinia Island (Mediterranean Sea - Italy). To address this, the Italian non-profit research organisation " Accademia del Leviatano " in collaboration with Bruno Diaz Lopez, a zoologist 15 years experience as cetacean researcher, started the "Dolphin project" in 1999. Over the years the project grew to encompass a wider area and more diverse range of issues and in 2004 the Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute (BDRI) was established.

BDRI members seek to contribute to the understanding and conservation of dolphins, expand the public's knowledge and concern for our marine environment, and add to the knowledge base of bottlenose dolphins through the sharing of collected field data.

Using study techniques that neither harm nor seriously disturb the animals, BDRI's projects aims to study the surface and acoustic behaviour of Mediterranean bottlenose dolphins and the potential effects of human activities (fisheries, aquaculture and tourism) in their behaviour.

These projects will compare social and foraging strategies as adapted to habitat with land mammals that also have the flexibility to readily adapt to a variety of different ecologies, such as the great ape. This type of study, examining which animals change habitats and which do not, and looking at categories such as age, sex and relatedness, allows for an exploration of behavioural differences among members of one overall dolphin society or culture.