Land-Based Station Studies of Aquatic Mammals in Latin America: Understanding Behavior for Conservation

Morete, Maria Emilia; Abras, Daniela; Martins, Cristiane C. A.

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-56985-7_4

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…Considering the sustained increase in WW in the past few decades in a number of countries (Hoyt and Parsons, 2014;, monitoring of the effects of WW activity on subject species is fundamental to identify potential short-term perturbations with potential mediumand long-term consequences. Our study provides relevant information about the impact of WW on the behavior of the fin whale, a species poorly known in this topic, using a technique that does not interfere in the dynamics of tourism or in the behavioral response of the animals (Würsig et al, 1991;Morete et al, 2018;Piwetz et al, 2018). Model results indicated that reorientation increased for both traveling and resting behaviors, while the directness index increased between the "before" and "during" WW scenarios.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…This method has been widely used to follow whales from land stations and has proven to be successful to estimate the position of a whale at a given time (e.g., Würsig et al, 1991;Scheidat et al, 2004;Schaffar et al, 2013;Pirotta et al, 2016). This also allowed the recording of changes in behavior of the animals in the presence and absence of tourist boats without the researchers interfering in the natural behavior of the whales (Würsig et al, 1991;Morete et al, 2018).…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impacts of Whale-Watching on the Short-Term Behavior of Fin Whales (Balaenoptera physalus) in a Marine Protected Area in the Southeastern Pacific

et al. 2021

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Whale-watching (WW) is an activity which has been increasing worldwide due to the great interest of tourists and the economic benefits it provides to local communities. However, it has been reported that this activity affects the behavioral patterns of some cetaceans, although for some species such as the fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) this has not been extensively studied. To identify the effects of WW on the behavioral patterns of this species, we studied its traveling and resting behaviors in a locality of north-central Chile from 2015 to 2018. Using a theodolite, we calculated the response variables of swim speed, directness index, and reorientation for each behavior. We used the number of WW boats and the WW scenarios of “before”, “during”, and “after” the presence of boats as possible factors to explain the differences in the response variables of the whales, along with the factors of year, month, group size, and distance from the observation point. Reorientation increased significantly and the directness index decreased significantly for both traveling and resting behaviors from “before” to “during” WW scenarios, indicating more erratic and sinuous movements in the presence of boats. These changes in movement patterns are a commonly reported evasion response of cetaceans to the presence of WW boats. For traveling behavior, the swimming speed significantly increased, and trends showed increased reorientation and a decrease in the directness index in the “after” WW scenario, which suggests perturbation of the whales potentially associated with the speed and the direction in which the boats left. During resting behavior, the trajectories of the fin whales became straighter (decrease in reorientation) as the number of boats increased, thus evasion (more erratic and sinuous movements) is a behavior used less by fin whales as the number of boats increases. Notwithstanding the fact that tourism development in the study area is small in scale, we found that WW generates adverse effects that are reflected in changes in the whales’ movement patterns. This kind of information is valuable to the adjustment and/or design of management strategies for the species, which is fundamental for WW to continue to be a sustainable activity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of Whale-Watching on the Short-Term Behavior of Fin Whales (Balaenoptera physalus) in a Marine Protected Area in the Southeastern Pacific

et al. 2021

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“…Most groups were sighted heading south, and as one of the limitations of studies performed through land-based stations is the geographic range of the study area (Morete et al 2017), most whales moving north maybe were not sampled during our effort. This may be a result of variation in habitat use in this area, with whales moving north using offshore waters, out of our monitoring range, as suggested in a previous work (Gonçalves et al 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Movement patterns of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) reoccupying a Brazilian breeding ground

et al. 2018

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The population of humpback whales from breeding stock A is increasing, and little is known about the routes used by humpbacks that move north of the main calving area of Brazil, the Abrolhos Bank. The aim of this study was to describe the movements of humpback whales in a reoccupation wintering area (Serra Grande, Bahia state, Brazil) based on land-based surveys to test if movement patterns change during the season and between years, due to group composition, behavioral state, and distance to the coast. The mean leg speed of the groups sighted was 6.88 (±2.92) km/h, and leg speed was positively correlated with distance to the coast. There was an increase in leg speed and distance to the coast with increasing number of escorts in the groups with calves. The mean linearity value for group trajectory was 0.81 (±0.19) and the mean reorientation rate was 25.72 (±19.09) º/min. We observed a predominance of trajectories heading south throughout the study. Groups exhibiting more erratic movements early in the season, and groups moving south showed more linear trajectories than groups moving north, indicating the beginning of their migration back to the feeding grounds. Energy conserving strategies and social context affect the movements of humpback whales in Serra Grande, resulting in the observed patterns of the reoccupation of available and suitable habitat north of Abrolhos. Thereby, special attention should be given managing activities with the potential to disturb or displace whales using the region to calve and breed.

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“…These same study areas were explored in other Latin American countries prior to the adoption of experimental approaches (Jaffe et al 2020). However, recent ethological studies from Latin America and other parts of the world (e. g., Europe and Australia) have used rigorous experimental methods based on hypothesis testing (Hoffmann et al 2018;Morete et al 2018;Wierucka et al 2018;Mazza et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethological studies of native Mexican mammals: A review

Méndez-Muñiz

Jowers²,

Angelone

et al. 2021

Therya

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The number of ethological studies based on Mexican mammals have increased in recent years compared to those from other Latin American countries. This study conducts an analytical review of the literature on ethological studies of native Mexican mammals. Specialized publications and electronic bibliographic databases were thoroughly searched to identify ethological studies of Mexican mammals published in scientific journals between 1900 and 2018. Information on the collection locality, state, first author nationality, country of origin of the journal, and taxa studied were recorded for each article. The articles were then classified into the 12 major ethological fields, and their data were grouped and summarized in five-year periods, and a map showing the geographic distribution of the studied localities was built using QGIS. A total of 160 studies were identified; three distinct periods could be recognized: the first (1900 to 1953) with a lack of publications, the second (1954 to1995) with low production (n = 16), and the third (1996 to 2018) with a notable increase in published articles (n = 144); in general, there was a greater participation of Mexican authors (67.5 %). Most studies (> 70 %) focused on primates, rodents, bats, and carnivores. Veracruz is the entity with the most articles, while foraging, movement, nesting, rearing, and territorial behavior were the subjects most studied, followed by social behavior, cooperation, and kinship. The greater number of studies published in the past two decades is likely the result of an increased number of mammologists and their engagement in national and international collaborative partnerships, mainly in areas such as ecology and taxonomy. Despite a relatively recent development of the field in Mexico, an absence of studies on half of all terrestrial mammals orders, and few studies throughout northern parts of the country, mammalian ethology in Mexico has already made significant contributions and is highly likely to continue its development and consolidation.

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Land-Based Station Studies of Aquatic Mammals in Latin America: Understanding Behavior for Conservation

Cited by 4 publications

References 67 publications

Impacts of Whale-Watching on the Short-Term Behavior of Fin Whales (Balaenoptera physalus) in a Marine Protected Area in the Southeastern Pacific

Impacts of Whale-Watching on the Short-Term Behavior of Fin Whales (Balaenoptera physalus) in a Marine Protected Area in the Southeastern Pacific

Movement patterns of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) reoccupying a Brazilian breeding ground

Ethological studies of native Mexican mammals: A review

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