Silvia Bonizzoni

DBC, Adriatic Sea

Silvia Bonizzoni holds a M.Sc. in Marine Biology at Texas A&M University, USA, and a degree in Environmental Sciences at the University of Venice, Italy. In 2000 Silvia Bonizzoni started doing research on Mediterranean dolphins, and since 2006 she has worked as a principal field investigator in various projects conducted by Dolphin Biology and Conservation, OceanCare and Tethys Research Institute in Greece (Gulf of Corinth, Northern and Southern Evoikos Gulf, Argolikos Gulf, Amvrakikos Gulf, Inner Ionian Sea Archipelago) and in Italy (off Veneto, Apulia and Sardinia). She took part in oceanographic campaigns in the Adriatic Sea (in collaboration with CNR-ISMAR); participated in cetacean surveys off Los Angeles, California (in collaboration with Ocean Conservation Society); conducted a pilot project using photo-identification from shore to study bottlenose dolphins in the Galveston Ship Channel, Texas (in collaboration with the Marine Mammal Behavioral Ecology Group, Texas A&M University). Silvia Bonizzoni interviewed hundreds of fishers in Greece and Italy. Her main research tools include individual photo-identification and distribution modelling to investigate cetacean abundance, movements, social organization, habitat preferences and interactions with fisheries. Her present research focus is on dolphins off the coast of Veneto, Italy. Silvia Bonizzoni is author of about 50 scientific contributions and the Executive Director of Dolphin Biology and Conservation. Since 2014 she has been a Research Associate with OceanCare.