Estimating the abundance of the critically endangered Baltic Proper harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) population using passive acoustic monitoring
Abstract
Knowing the abundance of a population is a crucial component to assess its conservation status and develop effective conservation plans. For most cetaceans, abundance estimation is difficult given their cryptic and mobile nature, especially when the population is small and has a transnational distribution. In the Baltic Sea, the number of harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) has collapsed since the mid-20th century and the Baltic Proper harbour porpoise is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN and HELCOM; however, its abundance remains unknown. Here, one of the largest ever passive acoustic monitoring studies was carried out by eight Baltic Sea nations to estimate the abundance of the Baltic Proper harbour porpoise for the first time. By logging porpoise echolocation signals at 298 stations during May 2011-April 2013, calibrating the loggers' spatial detection performance at sea, and measuring the click rate of tagged individuals, we estimated an abundance of 71-1105 individuals (95% CI, point estimate 491) during May-October within the population's proposed management border. The small abundance estimate strongly supports that the Baltic Proper harbour porpoise is facing an extremely high risk of extinction, and highlights the need for immediate and efficient conservation actions through international cooperation. It also provides a starting point in monitoring the trend of the population abundance to evaluate the effectiveness of management measures and determine its interactions with the larger neighboring Belt Sea population. Further, we offer evidence that design-based passive acoustic monitoring can generate reliable estimates of the abundance of rare and cryptic animal populations across large spatial scales.
Citation
Amundin , M , Carlström , J , Thomas , L , Carlén , I , Teilmann , J , Tougaard , J , Loisa , O , Kyhn , L A , Sveegaard , S , Burt , M L , Pawliczka , I , Koza , R , Arciszewski , B , Galatius , A , Laaksonlaita , J , MacAuley , J , Wright , A J , Gallus , A , Dähne , M , Acevedo-Gutiérrez , A , Benke , H , Koblitz , J , Tregenza , N , Wennerberg , D , Brundiers , K , Kosecka , M , Tiberi Ljungqvist , C , Jussi , I , Jabbusch , M , Lyytinen , S , Šaškov , A & Blankett , P 2022 , ' Estimating the abundance of the critically endangered Baltic Proper harbour porpoise ( Phocoena phocoena ) population using passive acoustic monitoring ' , Ecology and Evolution , vol. 12 , no. 2 , e8554 . https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8554
Publication
Ecology and Evolution
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
2045-7758Type
Journal article
Description
The SAMBAH project was funded by the LIFE+ program of the European Commission (LIFE08 NAT/S/000261) and co-funded by Bundesamt für Naturschutz, Germany (SAMBAH II 5 Vw/52602/2011-Mar 36032/66); Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit, Germany (COSAMM FKZ 0325238); Carlsbergfondet, Denmark (CF16-0861); European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, The Netherlands; Główny Inpektorat Ochrony Środowiska, Poland; Havs-och Vattenmyndigheten, Sweden; Instytut Meteorologii i Gospodarki Wodnej - Państwowy Instytut Badawczy, Poland; Japanese Science and Technology Agency-CREST, Japan (7620-7); Kolmårdens Djurpark, Sweden; Maailman Luonnon Säätiö (WWF) Suomen Rahasto, Finland; Miljøministeriet, Denmark; Miljø- og Fødevareministeriet, Denmark (SN 343/SN-0008); Narodowy Fundusz Ochrony Środowiska i Gospodarki Wodnej, Poland (561/2009/Wn-50/OP/RE-LF/D); Naturvårdsverket, Sweden; SNAK Ph.D. School, Aarhus University, Denmark (91147/365); Tampereen Särkänniemi Ltd., Finland; Turun ammattikorkeakoulu Oy, Finland; Uniwersytet Gdański, Poland; Wojewódzki Fundusz Ochrony Środowiska i Gospodarki Wodnej w Gdańsku, Poland; and Ympäristöministeriö, Finland.Collections
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