Abundance, spatial distribution and threats to Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in an Important Marine Mammal Area in Tanzania
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Date
23/08/2022Keywords
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Abstract
Abundance estimates of cetaceans in the western Indian Ocean are rare, but important, as many cetacean populations are under threat, especially those in coastal habitats. This study aimed to generate first estimates of abundance for Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus), assessed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, in an area identified by the Marine Mammal Protected Area Task Force as an ‘Important Marine Mammal Area’. Two study sites were surveyed along the east and west coastlines of the Pemba Channel, Tanzania. In west Pemba, between 2014 and 2016 four boat-based visual surveys conducted a total of 2467 km of survey effort sighting a total of 16 groups of T. aduncus. Abundance was estimated using mark-recapture models of photo-identified individuals as 83 animals (CV 7.8%, 95% CI 72-97) in the 1084km2 study area. In the Tanga study area in 2016 two boat-based visual surveys covered 1254 km of effort during which 15 groups of T. aduncus were sighted, resulting in a photo-ID based mark-recapture abundance estimate of 196 (CV 8.9%, 95% CI 165-233) individuals in the 1562 km2 study site. Group encounter rate for this species in Tanga was double that recorded in the Pemba study site. A total of 23% of identified dolphins bore the scars of interactions with fishing gear.
Citation
Kasuga , M , Varisanga , M , Davenport , T , Jiddawi , N & Braulik , G 2022 , ' Abundance, spatial distribution and threats to Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in an Important Marine Mammal Area in Tanzania ' , Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science , vol. 21 , no. 1 , 215382 . https://doi.org/10.4314/wiojms.v21i1.1
Publication
Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0856-860XType
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2022 Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science. This work has been made available online in accordance with publisher policies or with permission. Permission for further reuse of this content should be sought from the publisher or the rights holder. This is the final published version of the work, which was originally published at https://doi.org/10.4314/wiojms.v21i1.1.
Description
Funding: Thanks to the US Marine Mammal Commission (MMC) and the People’s Trust for Endangered Species who funded his work via the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).Collections
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