Article
Environmental Sciences
Alexandre N. N. Zerbini, Kimberly T. T. Goetz, Karin A. A. Forney, Charlotte Boyd
Summary: This study used distance sampling to estimate the abundance of harbor porpoises in the Southeast Alaska inland waters, and found that bycatch in the drift gillnet fishery may be unsustainable for the southern population. Monitoring the abundance and bycatch is therefore important for evaluating the potential impact of fisheries on this species in Southeast Alaska.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Kenneth F. Kellner, Adam D. Smith, J. Andrew Royle, Marc Kery, Jerrold L. Belant, Richard B. Chandler
Summary: Species distribution models (SDMs) are commonly used to analyze species abundance and distribution, but often overlook measurement errors. The unmarked package for R addresses this issue by explicitly accounting for measurement errors in species distribution and abundance modeling. Recent advances in unmarked functionality include support for multi-species, multi-state, and multi-season data, as well as fitting models with random effects. The package is illustrated with an analysis of Acadian Flycatcher abundance over 18 years in North Carolina, USA, showing a decline in abundance in both habitats.
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Andreia Torres-Pereira, Helder Araujo, Fabio L. Matos, Jorge Bastos-Santos, Sara Sa, Marisa Ferreira, Jose Martinez-Cedeira, Alfredo Lopez, Marina Sequeira, Jose Vingada, Catarina Eira
Summary: The study reveals that the population of Iberian harbour porpoise on the coast of Portugal is small and facing potential threats from accidental fisheries capture. Although the highest estimate was recorded in 2013, the population decreased sharply in the following years. The northern area of Portugal is identified as the most suitable habitat for the porpoises. More assessments are needed to fully understand their spatial and temporal habitat use in the Iberian Peninsula, and urgent threat mitigation measures are required.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Dimitar Popov, Galina Meshkova, Karina Vishnyakova, Julia Ivanchikova, Marian Paiu, Costin Timofte, Ayaka Amaha Ozturk, Arda M. Tonay, Ayhan Dede, Marina Panayotova, Ertug Duzgunes, Pavel Gol'din
Summary: Bycatch in fishing gear, particularly bottom gillnets and trammel nets, is causing a significant decline in the Black Sea harbour porpoise population. A study conducted from 2019 to 2021 estimated that the annual bycatch of harbour porpoises in the Black Sea ranges from 11,826 to 16,200 individuals. This poses a serious threat to the long-term survival of the population and immediate measures are needed to reduce the bycatch.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Kimberly A. Nielsen, James R. Robbins, Clare B. Embling
Summary: This study utilized citizen science data collected from ferries to investigate spatio-temporal patterns in harbour porpoise densities in UK waters. The highest densities were found southwest of Cornwall, followed by the North Sea and the English Channel. The North Sea experienced a substantial increase in average density over the study period, indicating new high-use areas along those routes.
MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES
(2021)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Ugur Ozsandikci, Suleyman Ozdemir
Summary: Reliable information on the abundance and distribution of cetaceans in the Sinop region was obtained through boat-based visual observations. The study found that the highest number of Black Sea harbor porpoises, bottlenose dolphins, and common dolphins were observed in the spring. These findings provide valuable insights for future conservation strategies.
MARINE MAMMAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Ornithology
Pooja Yashwant Pawar, Divya Mudappa, T. R. Shankar Raman
Summary: The study conducted monthly surveys of Great Hornbills and Malabar Grey Hornbills in shade-coffee plantations and continuous rainforests over 15 months. While both hornbill species were found to use the habitats year-round, density estimates were higher in the protected area, especially during nesting seasons. Male bias in the sex ratio of observed adult birds during the nesting season indicated a higher proportion of breeding pairs in the protected area compared to plantations.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Laura Palmer, Douglas Gillespie, Jamie D. J. MacAulay, Carol E. Sparling, Debbie J. F. Russell, Gordon D. Hastie
Summary: The study conducted in Scotland showed that harbour porpoises exhibited significant avoidance of a tidal turbine when it was operating, with avoidance increasing with flow speed. The temporal variability in encounter rate highlighted the need for long-term baseline monitoring to understand collision risk more comprehensively. It is important to assess the generality of avoidance rates presented in this study for different sites, turbine types, array sizes, and cetacean species as the tidal industry expands, to balance the benefits of avoidance responses with potential chronic effects of displacement from important habitats.
AQUATIC CONSERVATION-MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS
(2021)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Caryl S. Benjamin, Lars Uphus, Marvin Luepke, Sandra Rojas-Botero, Maninder Singh Dhillon, Jana Englmeier, Ute Fricke, Cristina Ganuza, Maria Haensel, Sarah Redlich, Rebekka Riebl, Cynthia Tobisch, Johannes Uhler, Jie Zhang, Annette Menzel, Wibke Peters
Summary: The study reveals that the number of European roe deer is influenced by climate, habitat type, and wildlife management methods, with seasonal variations. Contrary to the belief that roe deer are woodland species, they prefer agriculture-dominated landscapes and areas with moderate temperatures. These findings are important for managing the species and predicting the impacts of climate and land-use changes.
Article
Ecology
Mats Amundin, Julia Carlstrom, Len Thomas, Ida Carlen, Jonas Teilmann, Jakob Tougaard, Olli Loisa, Line A. Kyhn, Signe Sveegaard, M. Louise Burt, Iwona Pawliczka, Radomil Koza, Bartlomiej Arciszewski, Anders Galatius, Jussi Laaksonlaita, Jamie MacAuley, Andrew J. Wright, Anja Gallus, Michael Dahne, Alejandro Acevedo-Gutierrez, Harald Benke, Jens Koblitz, Nick Tregenza, Daniel Wennerberg, Katharina Brundiers, Monika Kosecka, Cinthia Tiberi Ljungqvist, Ivar Jussi, Martin Jabbusch, Sami Lyytinen, Aleksej Saskov, Penina Blankett
Summary: Knowing the abundance of a population is crucial for assessing its conservation status and developing effective conservation plans. This study estimated the abundance of the Baltic Proper harbour porpoise for the first time through passive acoustic monitoring and found that it is critically endangered. Immediate and efficient conservation actions through international cooperation are urgently needed.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Editorial Material
Ecology
Jeffrey L. Laake, Bret A. Collier
Summary: This paper discusses the issue of negative bias in mark-recapture abundance estimators caused by heterogeneity in detection probability. It demonstrates how heterogeneity leads to dependence and bias in mark-recapture approaches, and proposes a method of reducing bias by introducing a known number of individuals. The study also compares the impact of heterogeneity on distance sampling and mark-resight methods.
JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Douglas B. Sigourney, Annamaria Deangelis, Danielle Cholewiak, Debra Palka
Summary: Visual line transect (VLT) surveys and passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) are important methods for monitoring and studying marine mammals. This study presents a framework to combine these data streams to estimate abundance and derive an estimate of availability bias. Three methods were evaluated and the results showed that the CMR-DS method was the least biased and most precise.
Article
Ecology
Kevin F. P. Bennett, Brian S. Evans, J. Alan Clark, Peter P. Marra
Summary: Research findings suggest that cat abundance is highest in areas with intermediate human population density and lower educational attainment. In high-intensity urban areas, cats tend to be strictly nocturnal, possibly due to a higher proportion of unowned cats or to avoid human activity.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Javier Urquizo, Nathalie Ramirez, Dietmar Sanchez, Juan Plazarte
Summary: This research aims to develop digital twins reflecting load models for more precise studies on power-flows and stability within the National Transmission Grid. Static and dynamic load models were constructed using off-line sampling data from substations in the Guayaquil area, providing a visual representation of disturbances in the substation buses.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Miguel Munoz Mazon, Kari Klanderud, Douglas Sheil
Summary: This study examines how disturbance affects the distribution ranges of tree and shrub species in the high elevations of the Talamanca Mountains in Costa Rica. The findings suggest that light availability and disturbance play a significant role in shaping the elevation range dynamics of these species.
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Laura D. Williamson, Beth E. Scott, Megan R. Laxton, Fabian E. Bachl, Janine B. Illian, Kate L. Brookes, Paul M. Thompson
Summary: Understanding the spatiotemporal distribution of harbor porpoises, influenced by seasonal prey availability, daylight, and competition with bottlenose dolphins, can shed light on management strategies and interactions with offshore industries. The study found that porpoises had the highest occurrence probability on an offshore sandbank with low foraging activity, shifting their distribution throughout the summer and autumn to potentially avoid overlap with dolphins.
MARINE MAMMAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Victoria L. G. Todd, Laura D. Williamson
Summary: The Kerguelen Plateau in the south-eastern Indian Ocean is a remote and understudied region where a research project on marine mammal observation revealed relationships between cetaceans and oceanographic variables. The study found that dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll-a were significant predictors of cetacean occurrence, highlighting the importance of understanding marine mammal behavior and distribution in relation to environmental factors.
Article
Ecology
Barbara J. Cheney, Julian Dale, Paul M. Thompson, Nicola J. Quick
Summary: This study compares the differences in body morphometric measurements between UAS photogrammetry and laser photogrammetry in cetaceans and explores whether UAS measurements of body width can remotely determine pregnancy status in dolphins. The results show that there is no significant difference in length measurements between UAS and laser photogrammetry, and UAS measurements of body width are related to pregnancy status. However, photogrammetry techniques alone cannot accurately determine the sex or age class of dolphins.
REMOTE SENSING IN ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Zoology
Erin Ashe, Philip S. Hammond
Summary: Quantifying and dealing with uncertainty are crucial in ecological studies. This study focuses on the subjective process of matching photographs in photo-identification experiments and demonstrates how different levels of certainty in matching can affect estimates of abundance and survival.
Article
Biology
Virginia Iorio-Merlo, Isla M. Graham, Rebecca C. Hewitt, Geert Aarts, Enrico Pirotta, Gordon D. Hastie, Paul M. Thompson
Summary: The study found that marine predators, such as harbour seals, have good memory of foraging patches and integrate this memory with recent prey encounters to adjust their fine-scale movement and foraging behavior.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Laura D. Williamson, Beth E. Scott, Megan Laxton, Janine B. Illian, Victoria L. G. Todd, Peter I. Miller, Kate L. Brookes
Summary: This study compared different modeling methods for predicting the fine-scale spatial distribution of harbour porpoise and found that Hierarchical Bayesian Models offered higher certainty and finer spatial patterns, which could benefit the refinement of conservation management or mitigation measures within offshore developments or protected areas.
ECOLOGICAL MODELLING
(2022)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Victoria L. G. Todd, Laura D. Williamson, Ana S. Couto, Ian B. Todd, Phillip J. Clapham
Summary: This study analyzed data from detectors deployed at an offshore O&G production platform to investigate the acoustic activity of harbor porpoises. The results showed a decrease in porpoise detections following platform construction and drilling operations, but detections returned to baseline levels within a few months. The findings have important implications for Environmental Impact Assessments and the long-term effects of platform presence on marine mammals.
MARINE MAMMAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Gareth Bradbury, Alan Puttock, Gemma Coxon, Stewart Clarke, Richard E. Brazier
Summary: Fish-finder echo-sounding devices can be effectively used to estimate bathymetry in shallow wetlands, providing a cost-effective and less intrusive method. However, the spatial accuracy of these devices is relatively low and needs to be improved.
RIVER RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Oihane Fernandez-Betelu, Virginia Iorio-Merlo, Isla M. Graham, Barbara J. Cheney, Simone M. Prentice, Rachael Xi Cheng, Paul M. Thompson
Summary: This study used passive acoustics to investigate the foraging behavior of dolphins in the marine environment and found that dolphins would spend more time in key foraging areas after encountering prey, supporting the theory of area-restricted search (ARS) behavior in bottlenose dolphins. The study provides empirical evidence for one driver of ARS behavior and demonstrates the potential of passive acoustic monitoring combined with deep learning techniques in studying the behavior of vocal animals.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Guilherme A. Bortolotto, Alexandre N. Zerbini, Len Thomas, Artur Andriolo, Philip S. Hammond
Summary: This study modelled the distribution of humpback whales off the eastern coast of Brazil using individual tracking data and compared it with previous models based on line transect data. The results showed that the ecological inferences and distribution maps derived from the two models were similar, indicating the effectiveness of both approaches. The combination of these two methods can enhance the understanding of important ecological aspects of animal populations.
MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Roger Edward Auster, Alan Puttock, Gareth Bradbury, Richard Brazier
Summary: Individual animals are often given names by humans for various reasons, such as acknowledging their closeness to people, identifying differences in research studies, or attracting attention in zoos. While naming individuals in reintroduction projects can have benefits, it also carries risks and should be approached with careful consideration.
Article
Biology
Macarena Agrelo, Carina F. Maron, Fabio G. Daura-Jorge, Victoria J. Rowntree, Mariano Sironi, Philip S. Hammond, Simon N. Ingram, Florencia O. Vilches, Jon Seger, Paulo C. Simoes-Lopes
Summary: Kelp gulls commonly feed on southern right whales in the near shore waters of Peninsula Valdes, Argentina. The gull attacks have caused changes in the behavior of the whales and an increase in gull-inflicted wounds on calves. The severity of the wounds has been found to have a significant impact on calf survival, indicating the potential influence of gull harassment on the population dynamics of southern right whales.
Article
Biology
I. M. Graham, D. Gillespie, K. C. Gkikopoulou, G. D. Hastie, P. M. Thompson
Summary: Mitigation measures to disperse marine mammals prior to pile-driving, such as acoustic deterrent devices and piling soft starts, have uncertain efficacy. However, through the use of portable hydrophone clusters, it has been demonstrated that harbour porpoises respond positively to these measures by swimming away from the sound sources.
