Citizen science data of cetaceans in the Arabian/Persian Gulf: Occurrence and habitat preferences of the three most reported species

Abstract

Citizen science data are becoming increasingly relevant in wildlife studies, especially when obtaining data requires costly logistics. In the Arabian/Persian Gulf, baseline information about cetaceans is scarce despite their regular presence. From 2012 to 2019, a citizen science campaign conducted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) obtained information on 1,292 cetacean sightings. These were methodically validated by experts, resulting in 1,103 records where species was confidently assigned. From the 12 species reported, we analyzed the spatial patterns of occurrence and drivers of habitat preference for the three most reported species: Tursiops aduncus (Ta 53%), Sousa plumbea (Sp 45%), and Neophocaena phocaenoides (Np 2%). Ecological

Harbour Porpoise Abundance in Portugal over a 5-Year Period and Estimates of Potential Distribution

“…Several eco-geographical variables (EGVs) are known as potentially relevant habitat drivers for cetaceans. According to literature, we built the ESM using information on bathymetry, distance to coast [ 26 , 27 , 28 ], slope [ 26 , 29 ], sea surface temperature (SST), and chlorophyll-a concentration (Chl-a) [ 27 , 30 , 31 ]. We also tested the use of pH, salinity, silicate, dissolved oxygen, phosphate, and nitrate [ 31 ] as environmental predictors as well as the ammonium (NH 4 + ) considering its importance for phytoplankton growth and marine trophic webs, e.g., [ 32 ].…”

“…According to literature, we built the ESM using information on bathymetry, distance to coast [ 26 , 27 , 28 ], slope [ 26 , 29 ], sea surface temperature (SST), and chlorophyll-a concentration (Chl-a) [ 27 , 30 , 31 ]. We also tested the use of pH, salinity, silicate, dissolved oxygen, phosphate, and nitrate [ 31 ] as environmental predictors as well as the ammonium (NH 4 + ) considering its importance for phytoplankton growth and marine trophic webs, e.g., [ 32 ]. All static and dynamic variables were extracted from online repositories and incorporated in a preliminary analysis ( Table 1 ).…”

Stomach contents analysis of Tursiops aduncus and Sousa plumbea stranded along the United Arab Emirates coastline

“…However, the lack of comparable historical data prevents estimating population trends to accurately assess the status of the population in the area. Further to this, ecological niche modeling using UAE‐based citizen science sightings data, gathered between 2012 and 2019, indicates the regular presence of the above‐mentioned species in the Gulf waters, and a subtle niche partitioning among them, likely driven by different diets and energy requirements (Natoli et al, 2022).…”

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The Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) and the Indian Ocean humpback dolphin (Sousa plumbea), previously reported as Sousa chinensis (Mendez et al, 2013) are among the resident small cetacean species inhabiting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and broadly the Arabian/Persian Gulf coastal waters (hereafter referred to as "the Gulf") (Baldwin et al, 2004;Natoli et al, 2022;Preen, 2004). Although both species are listed as threatened in the IUCN Red List, knowledge of their population status, distribution and ecology is patchy in this region (Notarbartolo di Sciara et al, 2021).

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“…habitats such as mangroves, rocky reefs, coastal lagoons and shallow protected bays (Braulik et al, 2015;Natoli et al, 2022;Owfi et al, 2016). Comparatively, Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins have a wider geographic distribution occurring from eastern South Africa, throughout the northern Indian Ocean (including the Red Sea, the Gulf, and around offshore islands), and extending eastward throughout Southeast Asia, North to Southern Japan, and southward to Australia (Braulik et al, 2019;Natoli et al, 2022;Reeves & Brownell, 2009). Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins generally inhabit shallow coastal waters and offshore reef banks no deeper than 200 m, however, in some cases they are found in deeper waters (Wang & Yang, 2009).…”