Fine-scale acoustic and movement behaviour of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Cardigan Bay, Wales

The bottlenose dolphin is a qualifying feature of three Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) in the UK, two of which are in Cardigan Bay, Wales. Although the population of bottlenose dolphins in Cardigan Bay are thought to be stable over the long-term, recent monitoring suggests a decline over the last decade - the reasons for this remain unclear. It is possible that bottlenose dolphins are moving outside of the Cardigan Bay SACs, an aspect that requires further investigation. The aim of this project is to significantly advance our knowledge of how individual dolphins use habitats found in Cardigan Bay and Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau SACs in Cardigan Bay, Wales. The project will utilise acoustic monitoring techniques such as towed arrays and fixed-bottom acoustic recorders with detailed systematic behavioural observation to determine the fine-scale characteristics of how individuals within the broader population interact, range, use habitat and how these behaviours fluctuate temporally. For example, this project will quantify individual dolphin habitat preferences and movement patterns using acoustic signatures of dolphins. The findings will have implications for conservation and management that may necessitate the development of wider- or indeed more habitat-specific conservation measures within and outside of current SAC designations.