PhD

I completed a NERC funded PhD at Durham University working under the Supervision of Prof Rus Hoelzel, Prof Oscar Gaggiotti and Dr Per Berggren from 2015 to 2020. My funding came through the IAPETUS Doctoral Training Partnership.

During this research, I explored how populations of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are structured across the Mediterranean Sea and adjacent Atlantic waters. Although these animals are highly mobile, the processes shaping their population structure have long been debated.

By combining genetic analyses with stable isotope data, alongside existing information on bioacoustics and social structure, my research revealed clear and previously unconfirmed patterns of population differentiation. Most notably, I demonstrated for the first time that dolphins found off Sicily, Valencia, and the Azores form a distinct offshore ecotype that is genetically differentiated from the predominantly coastal ecotype found throughout much of the Mediterranean.

This distinction is not based on genetics alone. These offshore dolphins also differ in their feeding ecology, acoustic behaviour, and social organisation, providing multiple, independent lines of evidence for the existence of this ecotype. I also found that major oceanographic features, such as ocean fronts and basin boundaries, help reinforce these divisions, linking environmental conditions and prey availability to patterns of population structure.

Overall, this work shows that ecological specialisation, rather than simple geographic distance, plays a central role in shaping dolphin populations. These findings have important implications for conservation, highlighting the need to recognise and protect distinct ecological groups within what is often considered a single, widespread species.

This research has been published in Molecular Ecology and can be found here.

I am grateful to my partners and collaborators listed below, with special gratitude for my co-lead author Dr Andre Moura.

Partners and Collaborators

Funding