Band 9: You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. The bar chart below shows numbers of seals, wheals and dolphins recorded in the Gormez Straits from 2006 to 2018 Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

The bar chart depicts the populations of seals, whales, and dolphins recorded in the Gormez Straits over a twelve-year period from 2006 to 2018.

Overall, it is evident that dolphins exhibited the most significant fluctuations in their population, whereas the counts of seals and whales displayed a relatively stable pattern throughout the examined years.

In 2006, the population of seals was recorded at 40, with whales at 20 and dolphins at 30. The following years saw a slight decrease in the seal population, which fell to 35 in 2010. During the same year, the number of whales increased slightly to 22, while the dolphin population decreased to 28. By 2014, seal numbers returned to 40, but both whales and dolphins experienced modest declines, with counts of 23 and 27, respectively.

In 2018, the dolphin population surged to 48, the highest recorded over the twelve years, while seals rose to 47, marking an increase in their population compared to previous years. Notably, the whale population declined to 20, which is the lowest figure recorded in the study period. This data indicates that, while seals and dolphins reached their peak numbers in 2018, the whale population did not follow a similar upward trajectory.