Cetaceans of the Atlantic Frontier, north and west of Scotland

Weir, Caroline R.; Pollock, Caroline M.; Cronin, Ciaran; Taylor, Samuel J.

doi:10.1016/s0278-4343(00)00124-2

Cited by 67 publications

(87 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Habitat partitioning between marine mammal species has been reported in a number of areas around the world (Findlay et al 1992, Gowans & Whitehead 1995, Weir et al 2001. Although seals, harbour porpoises and minke whales occurred in more offshore areas than bottlenose dolphins, there was much overlap in their distributions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using marine mammal habitat modelling to identify priority conservation zones within a marine protected area

Bailey¹,

Thompson²

2009

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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One common approach to marine conservation is the designation of marine protected areas (MPAs). Marine mammals have been proposed as a target species for such areas due to their role as indicators of ecosystem processes. In NE Scotland, a large multiple-use MPA has been designated to protect bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus. We used broad-scale surveys throughout this MPA to model habitat preferences of different marine mammals. We aimed to investigate the degree of overlap between distributions of different species, the environmental factors influencing their distributions, and the effect of spatial scale on the significance of different environmental predictors. Bottlenose dolphins had a primarily coastal distribution with localised areas of intense use, in contrast to harbour porpoises Phocoena phocoena, harbour seals Phoca vitulina and grey seals Halichoerus grypus, which were widely dispersed throughout the MPA. At larger scales (4 × 4 km grid cells), seal distribution was significantly related to depth, seabed slope, distance to shore and mean sea surface salinity, whereas at the smallest scale (1 × 1 km grid cells), sediment type was also important. This study demonstrated the hierarchical pattern of distributions, with areas of high relative density occurring within a broader protected area that the animals were known to regularly frequent. Habitat preference models therefore provide a valuable tool for determining which areas should be given highest conservation priority and for identifying key locations for further research on interactions between these species and anthropogenic stressors.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using marine mammal habitat modelling to identify priority conservation zones within a marine protected area

Bailey¹,

Thompson²

2009

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…We demonstrate this approach by using it to investigate how the range of common dolphin Delphinus delphis in the Northeast Atlantic is likely to change in response to future changes in temperature. The area and species were chosen due to the availability of data to construct and validate the models, and because this represents the region where common dolphins are at the cool water limit of their current range (Weir et al 2001. As a consequence, common dolphin range changes associated with changes in climate are most likely to be detected in region (MacLeod 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying likely cetacean range shifts in response to global climatic change: implications for conservation strategies in a changing world

Lambert¹,

MacLeod²,

Hall³

et al. 2011

Endang. Species. Res.

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As with many other taxa, climate change is expected to result in geographic range shifts of cetacean species as they track changes in temperature to remain within their ecological niches. Such changes in geographic range could have implications for the conservation and management of cetaceans. Here, we propose a bioclimatic envelope modelling approach for providing quantitative predictions of how the ranges of cetacean species may respond to changing water temperatures. This combines predictions from habitat niche and 'thermal' niche models for an individual species to determine probable geographic range under specific climatic conditions. However, if this approach is to be used to inform conservation strategies, it is essential that the ability to predict responses to environmental change is validated beyond the period of data collection used to construct the models. Therefore, in addition to validation of modelled current range, we included a step to validate the models' ability to predict previous changes in range over time in response to climatic changes using independent data. We demonstrate this approach using common dolphin Delphinus delphis data from the Northeast Atlantic. The combined model was constructed with data collected between 1980 and 2007, and validated using independent distributional records collected between 1930 and 2006. The validated model was then applied to predict future range between 2010 and 2069, based on projected water temperatures. Thus, the modelling approach is shown to provide the type of information required to help ensure that conservation and management strategies remain effective in the face of a changing climate.

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“…Typically, these assessments require data to be collected at scales of only a few to tens of square kilometres, over periods of at least one or two years. In contrast, cetacean survey techniques typically focus on providing larger-scale estimates of abundance (Hammond et al, 2002), or modelling distribution (Weir et al, 2001;Canadas et al, 2005), across scales of hundreds to thousands of square kilometres. The effort required to survey such large areas consequently means that few of these studies are able to extrapolate beyond a single, short, time period.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using T‐PODs to assess variations in the occurrence of coastal bottlenose dolphins and harbour porpoises

Bailey

Clay

Coates

et al. 2009

Aquatic Conservation

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ABSTRACT1. Assessments of anthropogenic impacts on cetaceans are often constrained by limited data on the extent to which these species use particular areas.2. Timing porpoise detectors (T-PODs) are autonomous data recorders for detecting cetacean echolocation clicks, potentially providing cost-effective opportunities for monitoring cetacean occurrence.3. The performance of T-PODs was assessed in three areas off the Scottish east coast, where the relative occurrence of bottlenose dolphins and harbour porpoises was known to differ. Land-based observations in one area compared visual and acoustic detections of dolphins, while direct hydrophone recordings of dolphin echolocation clicks were compared with T-POD detections during boat surveys.4. Land-based surveys recorded 89 groups of dolphins within 900 m of the T-POD. All groups spending 430 min in the area were detected on the T-POD, and the probability of detection declined in relation to distance from the recording site.5. The number of dolphin clicks recorded on the independent hydrophone system was significantly related to the number detected by a T-POD. Between pairs of T-PODs, there was also significant correlation with the numbers of clicks recorded in each hour, both for channels set to detect bottlenose dolphins and for channels set to detect harbour porpoises.6. Year-round deployments of paired T-PODs detected significant geographical variation in detections for both bottlenose dolphins and harbour porpoises. This pattern reflected published data from visual surveys, where dolphins occurred most regularly within the Moray Firth Special Area of Conservation, and porpoises were sighted more regularly in offshore waters.7. T-PODs do not detect all cetaceans in the area, and care must be taken when interpreting data from mixed species communities. Nevertheless, these results confirm that T-PODs provide an effective method for monitoring the occurrence of bottlenose dolphins and harbour porpoises, and provide excellent potential for collecting baseline data from poorly studied areas and monitoring long-term temporal change in key areas of interest.

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Cetaceans of the Atlantic Frontier, north and west of Scotland

Cited by 67 publications

References 9 publications

Using marine mammal habitat modelling to identify priority conservation zones within a marine protected area

Using marine mammal habitat modelling to identify priority conservation zones within a marine protected area

Quantifying likely cetacean range shifts in response to global climatic change: implications for conservation strategies in a changing world

Using T‐PODs to assess variations in the occurrence of coastal bottlenose dolphins and harbour porpoises

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