Dear Colleagues,
A comprehensive survey of pelagic megafauna: their distribution, densities and taxonomic richness in the tropical Southwest Indian Ocean, by Sophie Laran, Matthieu Authier, Olivier Van Canneyt, Ghislain Dorémus, Pierre Watremez, Vincent Ridoux,
Abstact:
The distribution and density of pelagic megafauna (marine
mammals, seabirds,
elasmobranches, and sea turtles) are important indicators of
marine biodiversity,
reflecting the condition of the underlying ecosystems. A
dedicated aerial survey was
conducted in the tropical Southwest Indian Ocean to map their
distribution, the
taxonomic diversity, and to estimate their densities to serve
as a baseline for the
area. This large survey across three ecological sub-regions
revealed contrasting spatial
distributions: maps of taxonomic richness of marine mammals
and seabirds revealed
different “hotspots” in the area. Densities were estimated for
eight cetacean taxa with
small and large Delphininae, or small Globicephalinae
dominating, and for seven seabird
taxa, with terns and noddies dominating. At the community
level, the Southwest Indian
Ocean megafauna was structured by the marine environment with
strong differences
between the Mozambique Channel and the Mascarene Islands, or
between shelf and
slope/oceanic habitats. Our results illustrate how multi-taxa
aerial surveys are relevant
and cost-effective monitoring tools for marine megafauna,
allowing a community-wide
approach.
To view the online publication, please click here: http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2017.00139/full?&utm_source=Email_to_authors_&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=T1_11.5e1_author&utm_campaign=Email_publication&field=&journalName=Frontiers_in_Marine_Science&id=255789
-- Sophie Laran (PhD) Observatoire PELAGIS - UMS 3462 Université de La Rochelle - CNRS Pôle Analytique - 5 allées de l'Océan 17 000 LA ROCHELLE - FRANCE TEL : +33 (0)5 16 49 67 15 (LD) TEL : +33 (0)5 46 44 99 10 (STD) http://www.observatoire-pelagis.cnrs.fr