Identifying suitable areas for common bottlenose dolphin in anthropized waters

Maricato, Guilherme; Tardin, Rodrigo H.; Lodi, Liliane; Wedekin, Leonardo L.; Daura‐Jorge, Fábio G.; Maciel, Israel de Sá; Maria, Tatiana F.; Alves, Maria Alice S.

doi:10.1007/s00227-022-04095-y

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…The modelling exercises on boating and fishing were particularly useful for understanding the influence of the anthropogenic factors on dolphin habitat suitability, coherently with other studies which highlighted the effect of port closeness, shipping routes and fishing areas ( Carlucci et al, 2016 ; Tardin et al, 2019 ; Maricato, Tardin & Lodi, 2022 ) on dolphin distribution. The most important contributing variable was the likelihood of fishing net presence, especially in summer, when both fishers and dolphins have used less coastal areas.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Areas of spatial overlap between common bottlenose dolphin, recreational boating, and small-scale fishery: management insights from modelling exercises

La Manna,

Ronchetti,

Perretti

et al. 2023

PeerJ

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Background Sustainable management requires spatial mapping of both species distribution and human activities to identify potential risk of conflict. The common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is a priority species of the European Union Habitat Directive, thus, to promote its conservation, the understanding of habitat use and distribution, as well as the identification and spatial trend of the human activities which may directly affect populations traits, is pivotal. Methods A MaxEnt modeling approach was applied to predict the seasonal (from April to September) habitat use of a small population of bottlenose dolphins in the north-western Sardinia (Mediterranean Sea) in relation to environmental variables and the likelihoods of boat and fishing net presence. Then, the overlapping areas between dolphin, fishing net and boat presence were identified to provide insights for the marine spatial management of this area. Results Three of the main factors influencing the seasonal distribution of bottlenose dolphins in the area are directly (boating and fishing) or indirectly (ocean warming) related to human activities. Furthermore, almost half of the most suitable area for dolphins overlapped with areas used by fishing and boating. Finally, relying on fishing distribution models, we also shed light on the potential impact of fishing on the Posidonia oceanica beds, a protected habitat, which received higher fishing efforts than other habitat types. Discussion Modelling the spatial patterns of anthropogenic activities was fundamental to understand the ecological impacts both on cetacean habitat use and protected habitats. A greater research effort is suggested to detect potential changes in dolphin habitat suitability, also in relation to ocean warming, to assess dolphin bycatch and the status of target fish species, and to evaluate sensitive habitats conditions, such as the Posidonia oceanica meadow.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%