Despite the recognized important ecological role that cetaceans play in the marine environment, their protection is still scarcely enforced in the Mediterranean Sea even though this area is strongly threatened by local human pressures and climate change. The piecemeal of knowledge related to cetaceans' ecology and distribution in the basin undermines the capacity of addressing cetaceans' protection and identifying effective conservation strategies. In this study, an Ecosystem-Based Marine Spatial Planning (EB-MSP) approach is applied to assess human pressures on cetaceans and guide the designation of a conservation area in the Gulf of Taranto, Northern Ionian Sea (Central-eastern Mediterranean Sea). The Gulf of Taranto hosts different cetacean species that accomplish important phases of their life in the area. Despite this fact, the gulf does not fall within any area-based management tools (ABMTs) for cetacean conservation. We pin down the Gulf of Taranto being eligible for the designation of diverse ABMTs for conservation, both legally and non-legally binding. Through a risk-based approach, this study explores the cause-effect relationships that link any human activities and pressures exerted in the study area to potential effects on cetaceans, by identifying major drivers of potential impacts. These were found to be underwater noise, marine litter, ship collision, and competition and disturbance on preys. We draw some recommendations based on different sources of available knowledge produced so far in the area (i.e., empirical evidence, scientific and grey literature, and expert judgement) to boost cetaceans' conservation. Finally, we stress the need of sectoral coordination for the management of human activities by applying an EB-MSP approach and valuing the establishment of an ABMT in the Gulf of Taranto.

Many gregarious species require complex patterns of communication for maintaining coordinated behaviors, articulated social structure and group cohesion. In mammal species, social complexity has been considered the driving force for the development of advanced acoustic communication systems. Striped dolphins are highly social, showing large group size with females maintaining strong bonds with kin. Here, we tested the hypothesis that more complex acoustic pattern plays a key role in social activity in the striped dolphins. The production rate of clicks, whistles and burst pulses, and the acoustic features of whistles have been related to the activity context (feeding, traveling, resting, and socializing). Furthermore, complex calls, consisting of a combination of frequency-modulated, and/or pulsed components were detected. Higher whistles and burst pulses production rates were recorded during socializing. Also, the social activity can be discriminated basing on the modulation of the whistle contour. Biphonic calls were especially recorded during social interaction events, suggesting that these phenomena can encode information about individual or group identity to conspecifics. Outcomes indicate the pivotal role of vocal complexity during social context and elicit further investigations of the communication system of small odontocetes from local to wider spatial scale.

Relatively scant information is available on the Risso’s dolphin in comparison to the other species regularly present in the Mediterranean Sea. Recently, its conservation status has been updated to Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in this Sea. Therefore, the need to increase information on its biology and ecology is even more urgent. This study reports the first preliminary information on the behavioral traits of the species occurring in the Gulf of Taranto (Northern Ionian Sea). Data on predominant behavioral activity states and on a set of group composition variables (group formation, cruising speed, dive duration and interaction between individuals) were collected from April 2019 to September 2021, applying the focal-group protocol with instantaneous scan sampling. Group size, depth and group composition variables were compared between activity states. Results highlight that both the group size and the several variables considered varied significantly depending on activity state. The group size was significantly smaller during feeding than resting and traveling and a characterization in terms of group formation, cruise speed, dive duration and interaction between animals is provided for the different activity states. Moreover, a list of behavioral events which occurred, as well as their relative frequency of distribution among activity states, is reported. Finally, details on the sympatric occurrences between Risso’s and striped dolphins, as well as the repetitive interaction observed between adult individuals and plastic bags floating on the sea surface, are reported and discussed.

The ecosystem functioning of two marine food webs covering the north‐eastern (Salento) and south‐western (Calabria) sectors of the North‐Western Ionian Sea (NWIS) (Central Mediterranean Sea) was investigated through a food‐web model. Data inputs covered a wide set of ecological information applied to 58 functional groups (FGs). The sum of consumption and the mean predation mortality rate were calculated for benthic, demersal, and pelagic subsystems indicating the predator and prey roles of the FGs. A complex system of energy and biomass exchanges characterized the investigated food webs indicating an important benthic‐pelagic coupling. In the food webs of both areas, the regulation of flows between the benthic‐pelagic coupling seems to occur through the benthopelagic shrimps and the small pelagics due to their wasp‐waist control role. Differences were observed concerning the top predators. Odontocetes play this keystone role in the Salento food web. Anglers, bathyal squids, and sharks assume this functional role in Calabria. The geomorphology and hydrography in the NWIS could affect the biomass and energy exchanges in this coupling. The higher flows of consumption of the benthic system observed in the Calabria food web could be influenced by a widespread presence of canyons along the continental edge which increase the benthic productivity. In contrast, the flows of consumption in the Salento food web seem to be driven by the planktonic productivity supporting the pelagic, benthopelagic, and demersal compartments. This condition could be favored by the large extension of the shelf break zone. The food‐web models realized for the NWIS represent ideal platforms for the development of analysis with dynamic simulations. The comparative analysis of the two food webs by means of the FGs and their functional traits allowed the general pattern of ecosystem structure and functioning in the NWIS to be identified, making it an interesting approach to investigate the marine ecosystem.