Cetacea, 1st ed. 2024 Handbook of the Mammals of Europe Series

Caroline Weir is a cetacean scientist who has conducted visual (from shore, boat and aerial platforms) and acoustic studies of free-ranging whales, dolphins and porpoises since 1995. Her research interests focus primarily on the distribution and ecology of cetacean species and communities, but additionally include photo-identification work (abundance, movements and social structure), research into cetacean acoustic behaviour, anthropogenic impacts on cetacean species, and environmental compliance relating to marine mammals (for example Marine Protected Areas and mitigation guidelines for minimising human impacts). Most recently her work has particularly focussed on ecological studies of the endangered sei whale in the Falkland Islands and the critically-endangered Atlantic humpback dolphin on the west coast of Africa. She was educated at Sheffield University (BSc Ecology) and the University of Wales, Bangor (MSc Marine Mammal Science), where her academic studies focussed on the schooling behaviour of cetaceans, classification of bottlenose dolphin vocalisations, and analysis of sperm whale codas from the Gulf of Mexico. In 2011, following eight years of cetacean survey work off the west coast of Africa, she completed her PhD (Ecology) at the University of Aberdeen titled “Ecology and conservation of cetaceans in the waters between Angola and the Gulf of Guinea, with focus on the Atlantic humpback dolphin (Sousa teuszii).” 

Peter Evans is Director of the national marine environmental research charity, Sea Watch Foundation, and has >30 years postdoctoral experience working on seabirds and marine mammals mainly in northern European waters. His field research concentrates upon ecological, behavioural and conservation biology studies of cetaceans in UK, particularly harbour porpoises, bottlenose dolphins, Risso’s dolphins, and minke wha