ANALYSIS OF THYRRENIAN SEAMOUNTS ATTRACTIVENESS ON STRIPED DOLPHIN AND SEATURTLE.C. Fiori1,2, J. Alessi1, A. Mandich1, C. Paoli1, P. Vassallo1 (1) University of Genoa, DISTAV; C.so Europa 26 16132 Genoa (2) MENKAB: il respiro del mare; Lungomare Matteotti 17100 Savona *cristina.fiori@unige.it

The offshore Mediterranean oceanographic systems are complex and partially unknown. Some features such as seamounts are ususally reported as stepping-stones for feeding of many species among which top-predators despite specific studies on the Mediterranean realm are missing. In the framework of the PROMETEOS project, 64 seamounts were identified in Tyrrhenian Sea (NW Mediterranean) and specific morphological characteristics have been calculated for each seamount aiming at the identification of those features triggering the greatest attraction effect. The distributions of striped dolphins and sea turtles have been considered in this analysis as proxies of the seamount's importance for pelagic fauna. A total of 467 sightings of striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) have been considered together with 127 sightings of sea turtles (Caretta caretta). Random Forest regression technique have been applied to assess the importance of seamounts and the relevance of different seamounts' features on this species.