Marine mammals and good environmental status: science, policy and society; challenges and opportunities

Santos, M.B.; Pierce, Graham J.

doi:10.1007/s10750-014-2164-2

Cited by 25 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…Marine mammals have been proposed as an ecological indicator to monitor fishing impacts [ 54 ]. Additionally, bottlenose dolphins are one of the functional groups in the European Marine Strategy Framework directive (MSFD, 2008/56/EC), classified as “ecologically relevant” and therefore must be monitored to achieve a good environmental status by 2020 [ 63 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diet of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from the Gulf of Cadiz: Insights from stomach content and stable isotope analyses

et al. 2017

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The ecological role of species can vary among populations depending on local and regional differences in diet. This is particularly true for top predators such as the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), which exhibits a highly varied diet throughout its distribution range. Local dietary assessments are therefore critical to fully understand the role of this species within marine ecosystems, as well as its interaction with important ecosystem services such as fisheries. Here, we combined stomach content analyses (SCA) and stable isotope analyses (SIA) to describe bottlenose dolphins diet in the Gulf of Cadiz (North Atlantic Ocean). Prey items identified using SCA included European conger (Conger conger) and European hake (Merluccius merluccius) as the most important ingested prey. However, mass-balance isotopic mixing model (MixSIAR), using δ13C and δ15N, indicated that the assimilated diet consisted mainly on Sparidae species (e.g. seabream, Diplodus annularis and D. bellottii, rubberlip grunt, Plectorhinchus mediterraneus, and common pandora, Pagellus erythrinus) and a mixture of other species including European hake, mackerels (Scomber colias, S. japonicus and S. scombrus), European conger, red bandfish (Cepola macrophthalma) and European pilchard (Sardina pilchardus). These contrasting results highlight differences in the temporal and taxonomic resolution of each approach, but also point to potential differences between ingested (SCA) and assimilated (SIA) diets. Both approaches provide different insights, e.g. determination of consumed fish biomass for the management of fish stocks (SCA) or identification of important assimilated prey species to the consumer (SIA).

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diet of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from the Gulf of Cadiz: Insights from stomach content and stable isotope analyses

et al. 2017

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“…Identifying areas of likely occurrence of blue whales and other cetaceans is a necessary first step to correctly identify Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMA) [ 38 ] or Marine Protected Areas important for cetaceans [ 39 , 40 ] to achieve conservation and management goals. Furthermore, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) requires for every EU Member State to assess its current level of environmental monitoring in order to improve its conservation measures, which usually implies collection of data on the status of various ecosystem components, including cetaceans [ 41 ]. New trends towards dynamic ocean management are currently under discussion in order to better adjust conservation measures to the highly mobile nature of marine life and its rapidly changing environment [ 42 , 43 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-scale habitat preference analyses for Azorean blue whales

et al. 2018

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Blue whales are sighted every year around the Azores islands, which apparently provide an important seasonal foraging area. In this paper we aim to characterize habitat preferences and analyze the temporal distribution of blue whales around São Miguel Island. To do so, we applied Generalized Additive Models to an opportunistic cetacean occurrence dataset and remotely sensed environmental data on bathymetry, sea surface temperature, chlorophyll concentration and altimetry. We provide a brief description of the oceanography of the area, emphasizing its high spatio-temporal variability. In order to capture this dynamism, we used environmental data with two different spatial resolutions (low and high) and three different temporal resolutions (daily, weekly and monthly), thus accounting for both long-term oceanographic events such as the spring bloom, and shorter-term features such as eddies or fronts. Our results show that blue whales have a well-defined ecological niche around the Azores. They usually cross the archipelago from March to June and habitat suitability is highest in dynamic areas (with high Eddy Kinetic Energy) characterized by convergence or aggregation zones where productivity is enhanced. Multi-scale studies are useful to understand the ecological niche and habitat requirements of highly mobile species that can easily react to short-term changes in the environment.

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“…Cetaceans are considered flagship species of marine conservation (Wang et al 2006); they play a critical role in marine ecosystems (Bowen 1997) and are sentinels of ocean health (Wells et al 2004, Bossart 2011. Thus, they have been identified as target species for the assessment of GES in countries including Italy (Tunesi et al 2013), France, and Spain (Santos and Pierce 2015).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Fin whale seasonal trends in the Pelagos Sanctuary, Mediterranean Sea

Cominelli¹,

Moulins

Rosso

et al. 2015

Jour. Wild. Mgmt.

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Since 2009, a cetacean presence and distribution long-term monitoring study has been ongoing in the Pelagos Sanctuary, a pelagic marine protected area located in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. One of the objectives of this study is to assess trends in cetacean presence and distribution to achieve good environmental status (GES) of pelagic marine waters. We assessed the density variability of the fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) in the Pelagos Sanctuary. We used data collected during summer months (Jun-Sep) from 2009 to 2013, along 2 fixed transects crossing the Pelagos Sanctuary, using ferries as platforms of opportunity. We compared 2 un-corrected indexes: the linear encounter rate and density index, computed applying distance sampling methodology to select the most precise method. We also evaluated the effect of environmental covariates (e.g., platform height, Beaufort sea state, wind speed and direction, cloud cover and rain, longitude, latitude) on abundance and density estimation. Finally, we defined an unbiased index and used it to analyze the temporal and spatial variability of fin whale density in the Pelagos Sanctuary. Fin whale density along the 2 transects varied on a yearly basis, with a peak in 2012 and 2013. Variability also occurred on a monthly basis, with a peak during the first half of the season. A longitudinal and a depth gradient were also evident, confirming differences in species displacement in the area. These results are consistent with previous studies, and update current knowledge of species presence in the area. The protocol tested in this work can be easily applied to the other cetacean species inhabiting the Pelagos Sanctuary providing a novel and cost-effective method to assess long-term trends in cetacean distribution and detect incipient changes in species density. Ó

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Marine mammals and good environmental status: science, policy and society; challenges and opportunities

Cited by 25 publications

References 77 publications

Diet of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from the Gulf of Cadiz: Insights from stomach content and stable isotope analyses

Diet of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from the Gulf of Cadiz: Insights from stomach content and stable isotope analyses

Multi-scale habitat preference analyses for Azorean blue whales

Fin whale seasonal trends in the Pelagos Sanctuary, Mediterranean Sea

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