Why do the bottlenose dolphins inhabiting the Shannon estuary remain where they are and avoid other attractive areas further along the south-west coast, such as Dingle Bay and Bantry Bay? And why do some of them use one end of the estuary while others prefer the other? The answers to such questions, it is hoped, will be provided by Dr Emer Rogan and a team of researchers at UCC's zoology and animal ecology department who are to begin a two-year study of these creatures as well as sea birds in the region next month.
The study, funded by the Higher Education Authority, will collate all the relevant data concerning dolphins and sea birds under headings such as breeding patterns, numbers, feeding habitats and distribution, and create a highly sophisticated computerised mapping system against which future trends can be measured.
This will be the third and most detailed study of the estimated 113 dolphins which live in the Shannon estuary waters. Not all the dolphins there stay for the winter, and this will be another aspect which will be examined.
The first study on the dolphins was conducted in the early 1990s. It was followed by a second, for post-doctoral research purposes, by Dr Simon Ingram, who is also involved in this one.
"The information we collect," Dr Rogan said, "will be used by the authorities with responsibility for the estuary, such as Duchas, who are at present studying how the area can continue to be used by a variety of interests without damaging the ecology or wildlife habitat. In that sense, our work will be complementary and will help to define the overall picture."
In Bantry Bay, the study will concentrate on the distribution of sea birds and their feeding patterns. This part of the work will be the responsibility chiefly of Dr Tom Kelly and Ms Daphne Roycroft.
The two-year project is expected to produce a number of research papers.
Of equal importance is a study on whales by Dr Rogan and her researchers, which will continue for a third year and has involved observing the movement and passage of whales off the west coast from Donegal to Kerry Head.
The purpose is to determine the numbers, distribution and species of cetaceans, and how man-made interventions, such as the search for oil and gas, may affect the habitat.
Much of the work depends on observers reporting back to UCC after sea trips, but last summer, a dedicated cruise was organised by the zoology department. This allowed for records to be compiled at first hand after sightings, and using sensitive listening equipment, the researchers were able to record the songs of unseen whales.