Cetaceans are another “pearl” of the protected area

There are eight species of cetaceans known to date in the waters of Cilentoto which two notes are added only for the Gulf of Salerno. And precisely a species of Mysticeti, the Fin whaleand seven species of Odontoceti, namely the Sperm whale and the Cogia di Owenand five species of the family Delphinidae, viz Common dolphinthe Bottlenose Dolphin, the Striped dolphinil Clip and the Globicephalus. In total, the 10 species known in the survey area represent approximately 77% of the cetofauna estimated in the Campania Region (13 species) and approximately 55% of the Italian one (18 specie).

A rich marine biodiversity told in an important research and documentation work collected in the 313 pages of the «Campo’s naturalistic guide to the Cetaceans of the coastal waters of Cilento National Park, Vallo di Diano and Alburni» which on Tuesday 9 April at 11.00 am will be presented at the prestigious headquarters of the Regional Council of Campania, “Sala Caduti di Nassiriya”, at the Management Center of Naples. The volume was promoted and financed by the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni Park Authority with the patronage of the Department of Biology of the University of Naples Federico II. The guide is edited by Nicola Maio, Francesco Pollaro, Agnese Petraccioli e Fabio Maria Guarino. The conference program, moderated by Adriano Madonna, former editor-in-chief of the magazine Il Subacqueo, expects the welcome of the regional authorities, including Tommaso Pellegrino, regional councilor, former President of the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park; and greetings from Giuseppe Coccorullo, president of the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park, of Roman Gregory, director of the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park, of Maria Passari, Campania Region General Directorate of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, of Jonathan De Vico, director of the Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, of Rosa Caterina Marble, UOD manager Management of protected natural resources Protection and safeguarding of marine and coastal habitat Parks and nature reserves – Campania Region, and of Daniela Mancaniello, teacher at the Leon Battista Alberti scientific high school in Naples, director of the ANISN magazineNatural sciences in school”.

The authors of the book will speak: Nicola Maio (who will report on The Cetofauna of Campania. What is changing and why), Francesco Pollaro (Monitoring whales and dolphins: sightings and strandings), Agnese Petraccioli (How genetics helps us understand Cetaceans) , Fabio Maria Guarino (How old are Cetaceans?). The volume begins with the evolutionary history of cetaceans.

The subsequent chapters of the work are dedicated to the general characteristics and biology of these animals, the study area and the research methodology. Also included is a chapter with a brief historical overview of research on cetaceans in Campania. It concludes with two chapters on recent laboratory research on samples of cetaceans that inhabit the coastal waters of the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park. Many particularities emerged from the research. For example, dolphins reproduce in the Cilento sea, the most present species are the Striped dolphin and the Tusiope, easy to observe even for those who go by boat.

An important research and documentation work that represents a fundamental contribution to the understanding and conservation of the rich marine biodiversity of Cilento which continues to offer unique emotions.