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Common Dolphins (common + dolphin)
Selected AbstractsBiomass removal by dolphins and fisheries in a Mediterranean Sea coastal area: do dolphins have an ecological impact on fisheries?AQUATIC CONSERVATION: MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS, Issue 5 2010Giovanni Bearzi Abstract 1.Dolphins are often claimed to compete with fisheries, including through removal of substantial biomass. To calculate the biomass removed by fisheries and the degree of resource overlap with dolphins in a coastal area of Greece, estimates of dolphin abundance based on photographic capture,recapture were combined with an assessment of fishing effort and catch. 2.The estimated total biomass consumed annually by local dolphin populations , 15 short-beaked common dolphins and 42 common bottlenose dolphins , was 15.5 and 89.8 tonnes, respectively. The total biomass removed by the local fishing fleet (307 fishing boats) was 3469.2 tonnes, i.e. about 33 times greater than that removed by dolphins. 3.Dolphins removed 2.9% of the total biomass, fisheries 97.1%. Nine purse seiners (representing only 3% of the active fishing fleet) were responsible for 31.9% of biomass removal. Similarity of biomass composition between dolphins and fisheries was expressed by a Pianka index of 0.46 for common dolphins and 0.66 for bottlenose dolphins. 4.Overlap differed according to fishing gear. Common dolphin overlap was higher with purse seiners (0.82), and lower with beach seiners (0.31), bottom trawlers (0.11) and trammel boats (0.06). There was virtually no overlap with longliners (0.02). Bottlenose dolphin overlap was higher with trammel boats (0.89) and bottom trawlers (0.75), and lower with longliners (0.38), purse seiners (0.24) and beach seiners (0.18). There was minimal overlap (0.12) between the two dolphin species. 5.This study suggests that ecological interactions between dolphins and fisheries in this coastal area have minor effects on fisheries. Conversely, prey depletion resulting from overfishing can negatively affect dolphins. Fisheries management measures consistent with national and EU legislation are proposed to ensure sustainability and to protect marine biodiversity. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Biogeography of common dolphins (genus Delphinus) in the Southwestern Atlantic OceanMAMMAL REVIEW, Issue 1 2010Maurício TAVARES ABSTRACT 1The common dolphins (genus Delphinus) have one of most problematic taxonomies and complex distribution patterns of all cetaceans. Although the taxonomy and the distribution seem to have been clarified somewhat in the eastern North Pacific and Indo-Pacific Oceans, many questions remain in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean (SWA). We review the biogeography of Delphinus in the SWA. 2We reviewed data from strandings, incidental catches and sightings since 1922. Systematic surveys were conducted in five major areas. Twenty-one natural history collections were examined, and 135 skulls were measured. 3A total of 184 records of common dolphins were compiled. Delphinus apparently occurs in three stocks in the SWA: one located in northern Brazil and two from southeastern Brazil (,22°S) to central Argentina (,42°S). Two distinct patterns in habitat use were observed by depth: in southeastern Brazil, sightings were restricted to coastal waters with water depths ranging from 18m to 70m. On the other hand, in the area that extends from southern Brazil to Central Argentina (from 28°S to 42°S), sightings were recorded in deeper waters, ranging from 71m to 1435m, with the exception of occasional coastal sightings. The cranial analyses demonstrated that both short-beaked common dolphins Delphinus delphis and long-beaked common dolphins Dephinus capensis occur in the SWA. 4In the SWA, Delphinus seems to occur near areas of high productivity. One stock is associated with the productive waters discharged by the Amazon River and possibily with the coastal upwelling system off the coast of Venezuela, while the other stocks are associated with the Cabo Frio upwelling system and the Subtropical Convergence. Our results indicate that the current taxonomy does not adequately reflect the amount of variation within the genus in the world. [source] Blubber testosterone: A potential marker of male reproductive status in short-beaked common dolphinsMARINE MAMMAL SCIENCE, Issue 3 2009Nicholas M. Kellar Abstract A novel molecular technique was used to measure blubber testosterone (BT) in 114 male short-beaked common dolphins, Delphinus delphis, collected from incidental fishery bycatch and strandings. When these concentrations were compared across maturity states, the mean (± SEM) BT levels of mature D. delphis (14.3 ± 3.0 ng/g) were significantly higher than those of pubertal (2.5 ± 0.5 ng/g, P= 0.006) and immature animals (2.2 ± 0.3 ng/g, P < 0.0001). BT concentrations in mature males were significantly higher in summer months (53.9 ± 2.0 ng/g) than during the rest of the year (7.9 ± 0.69 ng/g, P < 0.0001), indicating reproductive seasonality. An analysis of BT in different anatomical locations showed that hormone concentrations were not homogenous throughout the body; the levels in the dorsal fin were significantly lower than in most other areas (F= 5.39, P= 0.043). Conversely, we found no significant differences in BT concentration with respect to subepidermal depth (F= 2.09, P= 0.146). Finally, testosterone levels in biopsies from 138 free-swimming male D. delphis, of unknown maturity state, sampled off California were found to be of concentrations similar to those from the fishery bycatch and stranding samples and revealed an analogous trend with respect to ordinal date. [source] FIELD EXPERIMENTS SHOW THAT ACOUSTIC PINGERS REDUCE MARINE MAMMAL BYCATCH IN THE CALIFORNIA DRIFT GILL NET FISHERYMARINE MAMMAL SCIENCE, Issue 2 2003Jay Barlow Abstract A controlled experiment was carried out in 1996,1997 to determine whether acoustic deterrent devices (pingers) reduce marine mammal bycatch in the California drift gill net fishery for swordfish and sharks. Using Fisher's exact test, bycatch rates with pingers were significantly less for all cetacean species combined (P < 0.001) and for all pinniped species combined (P= 0.003). For species tested separately with this test, bycatch reduction was statistically significant for short-beaked common dolphins (P= 0.001) and California sea lions (P= 0.02). Bycatch reduction is not statistically significant for the other species tested separately, but sample sizes and statistical power were low, and bycatch rates were lower in pingered nets for six of the eight other cetacean and pinniped species. A log-linear model relating the mean rate of entanglement to the number of pingers deployed was fit to the data for three groups: short-beaked common dolphins, other cetaceans, and pinnipeds. For a net with 40 pingers, the models predict approximately a 12-fold decrease in entanglement for short-beaked common dolphins, a 4-fold decrease for other cetaceans, and a 3-fold decrease for pinnipeds. No other variables were found that could explain this effect. The pinger experiment ended when regulations were enacted to make pingers mandatory in this fishery. [source] Biomass removal by dolphins and fisheries in a Mediterranean Sea coastal area: do dolphins have an ecological impact on fisheries?AQUATIC CONSERVATION: MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS, Issue 5 2010Giovanni Bearzi Abstract 1.Dolphins are often claimed to compete with fisheries, including through removal of substantial biomass. To calculate the biomass removed by fisheries and the degree of resource overlap with dolphins in a coastal area of Greece, estimates of dolphin abundance based on photographic capture,recapture were combined with an assessment of fishing effort and catch. 2.The estimated total biomass consumed annually by local dolphin populations , 15 short-beaked common dolphins and 42 common bottlenose dolphins , was 15.5 and 89.8 tonnes, respectively. The total biomass removed by the local fishing fleet (307 fishing boats) was 3469.2 tonnes, i.e. about 33 times greater than that removed by dolphins. 3.Dolphins removed 2.9% of the total biomass, fisheries 97.1%. Nine purse seiners (representing only 3% of the active fishing fleet) were responsible for 31.9% of biomass removal. Similarity of biomass composition between dolphins and fisheries was expressed by a Pianka index of 0.46 for common dolphins and 0.66 for bottlenose dolphins. 4.Overlap differed according to fishing gear. Common dolphin overlap was higher with purse seiners (0.82), and lower with beach seiners (0.31), bottom trawlers (0.11) and trammel boats (0.06). There was virtually no overlap with longliners (0.02). Bottlenose dolphin overlap was higher with trammel boats (0.89) and bottom trawlers (0.75), and lower with longliners (0.38), purse seiners (0.24) and beach seiners (0.18). There was minimal overlap (0.12) between the two dolphin species. 5.This study suggests that ecological interactions between dolphins and fisheries in this coastal area have minor effects on fisheries. Conversely, prey depletion resulting from overfishing can negatively affect dolphins. Fisheries management measures consistent with national and EU legislation are proposed to ensure sustainability and to protect marine biodiversity. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||