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

宽吻海豚是英国三个特殊保护区（SAC）的合格特征，其中两个位于威尔士的卡迪根湾。尽管卡迪根湾的宽吻海豚的数量被认为是长期稳定的，但最近的监测显示，在过去的十年里，它们的数量有所下降——原因尚不清楚。有可能宽吻海豚正在迁徙到卡迪根湾sac之外，这方面需要进一步调查。这个项目的目的是大大提高我们对海豚个体如何利用卡迪根湾和威尔士卡迪根湾的潘·林纳·萨尔诺SACs栖息地的了解。该项目将利用声学监测技术，如拖曳阵列和固定底部声学记录仪，并进行详细的系统行为观察，以确定更广泛的种群中个体如何相互作用、范围、使用栖息地以及这些行为如何随时间波动的精细特征。例如，该项目将利用海豚的声音特征量化海豚个体的栖息地偏好和运动模式。研究结果将对保护和管理产生影响，可能需要在目前的SAC指定范围内外制定更广泛或实际上更具体的生境保护措施。

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.