Hi everybody,
the following paper has been published on PLos ONE and can be downloaded
from the following web page:
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0022878
All the best,
Simone Panigada
Monitoring Winter and Summer Abundance of Cetaceans in the Pelagos
Sanctuary (Northwestern Mediterranean Sea) Through Aerial
Surveys
Simone Panigada, Giancarlo Lauriano, Louise Burt, Nino Pierantonio,
Greg Donovan
Abstract
Systematic long-term monitoring of abundance is essential to inform
conservation measures and evaluate their effectiveness. To instigate such
work in the Pelagos Sanctuary in the Mediterranean, two aerial surveys
were conducted in winter and summer 2009. A total of 467 (131 in winter,
336 in summer) sightings of 7 species was made. Sample sizes were
sufficient to estimate abundance of fin whales in summer (148; 95% CI =
87–254) and striped dolphins in winter (19,462; 95% CI = 12 939–29 273)
and in summer (38 488; 95% CI = 27 447–53 968). Numbers of animals within
the Sanctuary are significantly higher in summer, when human activities
and thus potential population level impacts are highest. Comparisons with
data from past shipboard surveys suggest an appreciable decrease in fin
whales within the Sanctuary area and an appreciable increase in striped
dolphins. Aerial surveys proved to be more efficient than ship surveys,
allowing more robust estimates, with smaller CIs and CVs. These results
provide essential baseline data for this marine protected area and
continued regular surveys will allow the effectiveness of the MPA in
terms of cetacean conservation to be evaluated and inform future
management measures. The collected data may also be crucial in assessing
whether ship strikes, one of the main causes of death for fin whales in
the Mediterranean, are affecting the Mediterranean population.
___________________________
Simone Panigada, Ph.D.
Vice-President
panigada@inwind.it
Tethys Research Institute
Viale G.B. Gadio 2, 20121 Milano, Italy
tel. +39 0272001947 / 0272013943
fax +39 0286995011
tethys@tethys.org
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http://www.tethys.org/>