Effects of freshwater limitation on distribution patterns and habitat use of the West Indian manatee,Trichechus manatus,in the northern Brazilian coast

1. The West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) is a Vulnerable species threatened by habitat loss in the coast of north‐eastern Brazil. This study investigates how the distribution and habitat use of the West Indian manatee is influenced by resource availability in a scenario of freshwater limitation.
2. Land‐based and boat surveys were conducted to record manatee sightings and habitat use, in a total of 206 hours of observation.
3. Manatee abundance was significantly influenced by freshwater availability, with greater abundances occurring close to freshwater sources. Food availability and the variation in freshwater availability between seasons were also important to determine their distribution. For the 47 manatees sighted, 39 were recorded during the rainy season and eight during the dry season.
4. Habitat use was influenced by freshwater sources and manatees spent more time (average coefficient of area use = 24.96%) in areas with greater availability of fresh water. Under conditions of freshwater limitation, manatees were more abundant and spent more time closer to fresh water than to food sources; as a result, animals' distribution varied between seasons.
5. The results found here can help to determine conservation strategies for the region with the highest population density and genetic variability of West Indian manatees in Brazil.

     

Changes in habitat use patterns by bottlenose dolphins over a 10‐year period render static management boundaries ineffective

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Changing distribution of the east coast of Scotland bottlenose dolphin population and the challenges of area‐based management

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Historical and contemporary habitat use of sperm whales around the Galápagos Archipelago: Implications for conservation

1. Sperm whales have occupied the waters off the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, for at least the past 200 years. During the 19^th century, they were the target of intensive whaling that severely depleted the population. In recent times, after commercial whaling ended, sperm whales in the region remain vulnerable to multiple threats, especially potential entanglement in fishing gear, which may hinder their ability to recover from the whaling era.
2. As a highly mobile, long-lived species, long-term analysis of the habitat use of sperm whales is necessary to establish effective conservation and management strategies. Here, contemporary (1985–2014) and historical (1830–1850) sperm whale habitat use off the Galápagos Islands was analysed and contrasted to the extent of the Galápagos Marine Reserve (GMR). Contemporary habitat use and its variability over time were modelled as a function of geographic, oceanographic, and topographic variables using generalized additive models.
3. The fine-scale habitat (<50 km) used by sperm whales was associated with topographic (i.e. depth and slope) and oceanographic characteristics (i.e. relative sea surface temperature and standard deviation of sea surface temperature), but these preferences varied over time.
4. While historical and contemporary data indicate that sperm whale habitat primarily occurred within the boundaries of the GMR, in recent years, whales were found up to 30.1% of the time outside the GMR, potentially overlapping with commercial fisheries operating in the area.
5. The dynamic nature of the relationship of this nomadic species with its habitat highlights the need of large-scale conservation efforts across the Eastern Tropical Pacific region, including the wide-scale enforcement of regulations requiring the use of Automatic Identification System in fishing vessels, the promotion of on-board fisheries observer programmes, the development of adaptive management strategies, and international collaboration to identify and mitigate threats.

     

Otter occupancy in the Cape Peninsula: Estimating the probability of river habitat use by Cape clawless otters,Aonyx capensis,across a gradient of human influence

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Abundance,activity and critical habitat of the striped dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba in the Gulf of Taranto (northern Ionian Sea,central Mediterranean Sea)

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From land and sea,long‐term data reveal persistent humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) breeding habitat in New Caledonia

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Saltmarsh conservation through inventory,biogeographic analysis and predictions of change: Case of Tasmania,south‐eastern Australia

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Monitoring tourism schooners observing estuarine dolphins (Sotalia guianensis) in the Estuarine Complex of Cananéia,south‐east Brazil

• 1. Surveys were carried out between December 2004 and March 2006 on board tourism schooners to detect possible impacts due to tourist activities on estuarine dolphins (Sotalia guianensis) in the Estuarine Complex of Cananéia.
• 2. The estuarine dolphins exhibited different reactions according to the different periods of time that the boats remained close to them: the longer the period, the estuarine dolphins reacted less negatively, and for periods between 2 and 30 min, more positive reactions were observed.
• 3. Estuarine dolphin reactions also varied according to the different procedures followed by the skippers. The approach methods considered ‘correct’ resulted in a positive reaction from 97% of the animals encountered and 100% of occasions where there were no apparent reactions.
• 4. Direct approaches to within less than 50 m were responsible for a large number of negative reactions from the estuarine dolphins. Procedures classified as ‘chasing’ and ‘direct approach with no intention of stopping’ had a 100% negative reaction. If the skippers used a correct approach, estuarine dolphins reacted positively or did not show any reaction.

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of sea‐level rise on northern elephant seal breeding habitat at Point Reyes Peninsula,California

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Incidental capture and mortality of sea turtles in the industrial double‐rig‐bottom trawl fishery in south‐eastern Brazil

1. Incidental capture by fisheries is one of the principal threats to sea turtles. This study analysed spatial and temporal patterns of sea turtle bycatch, and estimated the direct initial mortality rate of these animals, in the industrial double‐rig‐bottom trawl fishery in south‐eastern Brazil. This is also the first attempt to relate bycatch/at‐sea mortality in bottom trawling to stranded turtles found along the adjacent coast.
2. The fishery was monitored from October 2015 to April 2018 through data collected voluntarily by the captains of eight industrial double‐rig trawlers. Two hundred and one sea turtles were captured during 9362 tows (43,657.52 trawling hours), resulting in a catch per unit effort (CPUE) of 0.0025 ± 0.0032 turtles h^?1 with a standard net of 30.5 m headrope, with no significant difference between the estimated CPUEs for licensed shrimp and demersal fish trawlers.
3. Caretta caretta (52.24%) and Lepidochelys olivacea (38.81%) were the most frequently captured species. According to Generalized Linear Models, C. caretta bycatch was significantly higher during winter, at lower latitudes (?24° to ?23°) and higher longitudes (?42° to ?40°), while the L. olivacea bycatch was significantly higher at higher latitudes (?23° to ?21°). The direct initial mortality rate of sea turtles in the shrimp trawlers was 7.65 ± 3.85%. However, none of the dead individuals subsequently released with plastic tags (n = 10) were found stranded on the coast. Mortality was not significantly related to the depth or duration of the trawling.
4. The results of this study suggest the need for improvements to the current management of the bottom trawl fishery in Brazil, moving from a species‐based to a spatial and seasonal‐based approach. There is also a need to develop turtle excluder devices adapted to local fishing conditions.

     

Environmental models for predicting habitat of the Indo‐Pacific humpback dolphins in Fujian,China

1. The coast of Fujian Province is a key area for the Indo‐Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis), but the characteristics of their preferred habitats are poorly defined.
2. The species distribution model, MaxEnt, was used to predict suitable habitat distributions of humpback dolphins in Fujian, China. The model indicated that the distance to the coastline (63.5% contribution), chlorophyll‐a levels (20.2%) and the bathymetry (15.6%) were important predictors of humpback dolphin habitats.
3. The model predicted 2,043.96 km² of highly suitable habitat that was concentrated in five areas. Four are known to be within the area of the current distribution of humpback dolphins; Putian was identified as a new area with suitable habitat, however, it is unclear if dolphins are present.
4. The predicted locations of suitable humpback dolphin habitats provided in this study should be the focus of future research and nature reserve designs.

     

Effects of swim‐with‐dolphin tourism on the behaviour of spinner dolphins,at Samadai Reef in the Egyptian Red Sea

1. Spinner dolphins, Stenella longirostris, are the primary target for marine mammal tourism in Egypt. The present study investigated the short‐term effects of tourist presence on the behaviour of spinner dolphins at Sha'ab Samadai (Samadai Reef), in the southern Egyptian Red Sea.
2. The reef has a large central lagoon where a population of spinner dolphin regularly rest from mid‐morning to mid‐afternoon; visitors are permitted to snorkel in the southern part of the lagoon, but not in the northern closed zone that the dolphins mainly use.
3. Dolphin behaviour was monitored both on days when tourist boats were present and on days when they were absent. In the presence of tourists the proportion of time that the dolphins spent resting was reduced by two‐thirds, whereas the times spent milling, travelling, and showing avoidance behaviour all increased.
4. Furthermore, upon using Markov chain modelling to investigate the effect of tourist presence on the transition probabilities between dolphin activity states, significant changes were found in 10 of the 25 possible behavioural transitions, including increased probabilities of transitioning from resting to milling or travelling, from milling to travelling or avoiding, and from travelling to avoiding.
5. These findings raise concerns that despite the management measures in place, tourist activities affect the dolphins’ behaviour to a greater extent than was previously apparent, with potential long‐term negative effects on their energy budget. The study led to proposals for amending the zoning of the site and for strengthening the regulations for tourist vessels.

     

Spatial differences across the French Pyrenees in the use of local habitat by the endangered semi‐aquatic Pyrenean desman (Galemys pyrenaicus)

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Size isn't everything: movements,home range,and habitat preferences of eastern blue gropers (Achoerodus viridis) demonstrate the efficacy of a small marine reserve

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Long‐term changes in the distribution and core habitat use of a coastal delphinid in response to anthropogenic coastal alterations

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Vertical habitat use of sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific,derived from pop‐up satellite archival tag data

Vertical habitat use of sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) was evaluated using pop‐up satellite archival tag data from the eastern tropical Atlantic, western North Atlantic, and eastern tropical Pacific. Data included Argos transmitted depth, temperature, and light level frequency histograms binned at 1–8‐h intervals, and four recovered pop‐up satellite archival tags that provided high resolution archival data recorded at 30‐s intervals. We tabulated the proportions of time spent within each degree of water temperature relative to the surface temperature (Delta T) and proportions of time at temperature, as these are major input variables for habitat standardization models used in stock assessment procedures. Frequency distributions were calculated for daylight, darkness, and twilight for each of the three regions and for all regions combined. Vertical habitat envelopes indicated greater use of deeper strata in the western North Atlantic, compared to the hypoxia‐based habitat compressed regions of the eastern Atlantic and Pacific. However, there were no significant differences in Delta T distributions when comparing the three regions, affirming this metric for its application in habitat standardization models.     

Assessment of genetic structure,habitat suitability and effectiveness of reserves for future conservation planning of the Euphrates soft‐shelled turtle Rafetus euphraticus (Daudin, 1802)

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Influence of abiotic factors on ichthyoplankton occurrence in stretches with and without dams in the upper Grande River basin,south‐eastern Brazil

The influence of abiotic factors on ichthyoplankton occurrence was assessed in lotic stretches with and without dams in the Grande River basin from November 2008 to March 2009. Water transparency and temperature were the main abiotic factors that influenced temporal variation of ichthyoplankton occurrence in unregulated stretches. On the other hand, the best predictors of ichthyoplankton occurrence in regulated sites were water transparency and time of day. The catch of ichthyoplankton was significantly greater at low transparency and during night‐time in areas downstream of dams, which may be attributed to either adaptive behaviour of fish species in favouring greater protection of offspring, or the greater predation rate of ichthyoplankton at higher transparencies and during daytime. Results of this study indicate an association between abiotic factors and fish reproduction, but the nature of this relationship in regulated rivers contrasts with that found in stretches without dams.     

Coastal wetlands of Victoria,south‐eastern Australia: providing the inventory and condition information needed for their effective management and conservation

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