Melis Basmaci’s scientific contributions

Introduction The delineation of critical habitats forms an important step in the implementation of marine protected areas (MPAs). Whilst MPAs have been shown to be an effective conservation strategy, they cover just 5% of the Adriatic, with no MPAs in Montenegro and a single MPA, Karaburun Sazani, in Albania. The Adriatic Sea has been identified as a cetacean hotspot , yet is under ever increasing anthropogenic threats which have caused population declines of up to 50% in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and regional absences of common dolphins (Delphinus delphus).The current study runs the first dedicated continuous cetacean research into critical habitat identification in the southern Adriatic.

The delineation of critical habitats forms an important step in the implementation of marine protected areas (MPAs). Whilst MPAs are known as one of the strongest conservation strategies, they cover only 6% of the Adriatic with a single MPA of KaraburunSazaniin the Southern Adriatic. Similarly, only 4% of Turkish waters have been designated MPAs. The Adriatic and LevatineSeas have been identified as cetacean hotspots, yet are under increasing anthropogenic threats including illegal fishing practices, tourism and disturbance from naval sonar and seismic activity, each of which have short and/or long term effects on cetacean species. The current studiescrun a dedicated cetacean research effort in order to collect missing baseline knowledge and to identify critical habitats for cetaceans in these data deficient areas.

Critical habitats form the essential base for the Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) implementation. While MPAs known as the strongest conservation strategies, they cover almost 6% of the Adriatic with a single MPA of Karaburun Sazani in Southern Adriatic. The Adriatic Sea, identified as a cetacean hotspot, is under the pressure of human activities, from illegal fishing practices, tourism to seismic, each of which causing short and/or long term effects on the species. Current study runs dedicated cetacean research effort to collect the missing baseline knowledge and to identify critical habitats in South Adriatic.

Despite of the direct and indirect environmental obligations of the coastal countries regarding the marine-life protection, the marine mammal fauna of the Levantine Sea still stays largely unknown. Hence, this insufficient scientific knowledge embodies one of the main barriers on the effective conservation in the Levantine Sea that holds the routes of international and local shipping lines which has wide range of economical importance from marine transportation to tourism and fishery practices. Marine Mammals Research Association (DMAD) has implemented on a multi-year research with the aim of prioritizing management strategies and designating locations in order to conserve the top predators of the marine-life in the Levantine Sea. To fill the dedicated survey gaps, 174 surveys that covers 826 hours, were conducted in the northwestern Levantine Sea between March 2015 and November 2017 with the financial support of ‘Rufford Small Grant’. In addition to that, several opportunistic data have been reported from the Mersin Bay and offshore waters of Cyprus. Overall, eight marine mammal species were recorded; bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) were regularly recorded in coastal and offshore waters, with higher concentration in Antalya Bay. Cuvier’s beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris) and Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) showed high site fidelity to Antalya Bay; whereas striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) were sighted twice and Risso's dolphins (Grampus griseus) only once. Opportunistic sightings of false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens), rough toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis) and humpback dolphins (Sousa spp.) also added additional knowledge on the marine mammal distribution of the Levantine Sea which altogether underlined the biological importance of the eastern basin. However, the habitat of marine mammals which needs to be within the environmental conservation measures is highly overlapped with human activities. This is the reason why, one of the challenges of the Marine Mammals Research Association is to bridge scientific survey efforts with active conservation actions, from public awareness and citizen-science campaigns to the capacity building workshops. With a recent enrollment of Turkey to ACCOBAMS (Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans in the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and contiguous Atlantic area), inter-collaborated, multi-disciplinary and multi-year dedicated survey efforts pose vital importance not only on marine mammal conservation but also for the entire marine biodiversity that lives under their umbrella.