The Upper Adriatic between Istria and the Venice Lagoon, Salento-Gulf of Taranto, the smaller Sicilian islands, eastern Sardinia-Caprera Canyon, Tuscan Archipelago, and the Balearic Archipelago. These are the six ‘hot spots’ where monk seals are found, identified by researchers at the University of Milan-Bicocca, through an environmental DNA-based technique, in collaboration with the Gruppo Foca Monaca APS and with the support of nine associations and research organizations involved in sampling operations.
This is revealed in the article “Playing hide and seek with the Mediterranean monk seal”, published in the Scientific Reports journal, which contains data from the extensive monitoring campaign carried out along the Italian coast and in neighbouring stretches of sea between 2020 and 2021 to track the presence of the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus), one of the world’s rarest species.