Effects of marine traffic on dolphin behaviour in the Aegean Sea

The results of this study show that, in the presence of motorized ships, dolphins exhibit less energetic behaviours and, in the absence of such vessels, they showed energy intensive behaviours like diving, porpoising and sharking. 

Researchers concluded that the increase of marine traffic causes stress behaviours, which have an impact on the dolphins’ energetic budget and causes lessened fitness due to reduced foraging efforts.

Roth, D. A., (2025) “Short-term Impacts of Marine Traffic on the Behaviour of Dolphins in the Aegean Sea”, Essex Student Journal 16(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.5526/esj.385