We investigated the presence and diversity of cetaceans in the Mediterranean Sea, analysing the data collected by 32 different research units, over a period of 15 years (2004–2018), and shared on the common web-GIS platform named Intercet. We used the encounter rate, the species prevalence, and the Shannon diversity index as parameters for data analysis. The results show that cetacean diversity, in the context of the Mediterranean basin, is generally quite low when compared with the eastern Atlantic, as few species, namely the striped dolphin, the bottlenose dolphin, the fin whale, and the sperm whale, dominate over all the others. However, some areas, such as the Alboran Sea or the north-western Mediterranean Sea, which includes the Pelagos Sanctuary (the Specially Protected Area of Mediterranean Interest located in the northern portion of the western basin), show higher levels of diversity and should be considered hotspots to be preserved. Primary production and seabed profile seem to be the two main drivers influencing the presence and distribution of cetaceans, with the highest levels of diversity observed in areas characterized by high levels of primary production and high bathymetric variability and gradient. This collective work underlines the importance of data sharing to deepen our knowledge on marine fauna at the scale of the whole Mediterranean Sea and encourages greater efforts in the networking process, also to accomplish the requirements of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, with particular reference to Descriptor 1: biological diversity is maintained.

When implementing conservation strategies involving passive acoustic monitoring, an accurate description of signal properties is crucial, especially when studying threatened and elusive vocalizing species. Misrepresentation of detected sounds can result in information loss or misclassification of species, thus compromising the management process. Distortion of the time–frequency features depends on the characteristics of acoustic propagation through sea water, sensitivity and sampling frequency of the acquisition system and distance between cetacean source and the receiving sensor (hydrophone). This study examined how the sampling frequency and the distance from the source affect the properties of burst pulsed sounds emitted by short‐beaked common dolphins in the Mediterranean Sea and how the signal is modified in relation to the recording scenarios. Burst pulses were collected at 300 000 samples/s, and down‐sampled at 192 000, 96 000, 48 000 and 44 100. Fifteen acoustic parameters were automatically measured. The median values were measured and compared among the signals sampled at different rates. Finally, a transmission loss model was applied to explore the variation of the power spectrum density during click propagation through seawater. The results showed that, even if higher sampling rates are a more accurate match with the original signal, some parameters (number of clicks, inter‐click‐interval and maximum peak) measured at 96 000 and 192 000 Hz did not display significant differences compared with 300 000 Hz, except for the frequency parameters. The transmission loss model also showed that the highest frequency components strongly attenuate within 800 m from the source. These results suggest that high recording distances and lower sampling rates do not allow an accurate analysis of burst pulsed signals. However, taking into account data storage limitations, recording at the highest frequency is not always required for an accurate description of signals and the outcomes of this study improve the accuracy of passive acoustic monitoring systems, thus enhancing the potential for conservation of short‐beaked common dolphins.