A Review of the Geographical Distribution and Habitat of the Atlantic Humpback Dolphin (Sousa teuszii)

Using Cumulative Impact Mapping to Prioritize Marine Conservation Efforts in Equatorial Guinea

“…For instance, the EENMs for the Atlantic humpback dolphin agreed with published studies that showed this species has a restricted range and strong preference for shallow (<30 m) coastal and nearshore waters (Weir et al, 2011;Collins, 2015;Weir and Collins, 2015). Additionally, habitat suitability models for the humpback whale overlapped with important areas derived from satellite tracking (Rosenbaum et al, 2014) as well as occurrence records from the Gulf of Guinea (including the waters off of São Tomé and Príncipe; Carvalho et al, 2011), and West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia) (Weir et al, 2011;Van Waerebeek et al, 2017). More specifically, the EENMs revealed that the areas with the highest habitat suitability were concentrated in shallow continental shelf waters (<200 m) along the Rio Muni mainland, particularly Corisco Bay (along the maritime border with Gabon) and in the waters surrounding Bioko Island.…”

“…Critical habitats for the Atlantic humpback dolphin are especially affected with over 40% of highly suitable habitat overlapping with high cumulative impact scores. These findings reflect this species' reliance on nearshore and estuarine habitat (Weir and Collins, 2015), which is dominated by human activities in Equatorial Guinea.…”

“…The coastal waters of the Gulf of Guinea also support key life history stages for numerous cetacean species (Weir, 2010;Weir et al, 2011). For example, this region provides important wintering, breeding and calving habitat for humpback whales (Rosenbaum and Collins, 2006;Rosenbaum et al, 2014), as well as vital foraging habitat for the Atlantic humpback dolphin (Weir et al, 2011;Collins, 2015;Weir and Collins, 2015).…”

Using satellite AIS to improve our understanding of shipping and fill gaps in ocean observation data to support marine spatial planning

“…These waters are thus some of the most productive waters in the world, and hence support a growing fishery sector, which plays an important role in supporting livelihoods, poverty alleviation and food security by providing a crucial source of income and dietary protein (Belhabib, Sumaila, & Pauly, 2015). Additionally, these waters host a number of globally important populations of large marine vertebrates, including marine mammals (Collins, 2015;Rosenbaum, Maxwell, Kershaw, & Mate, 2014;Weir & Collins, 2015) and sea turtles (Godgenger et al, 2009;Pikesley et al, 2013), many of which are protected. 1 The small size (39,611 km 2 ) and narrow shape of Congo-Brazzaville's EEZ (c. 154 km at its widest point) has thus led to competing demands by multiple sectors for access to marine space, including fisheries, petrochemicals, mining and conservation ( Figure 1).…”

Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) in Hong Kong: Modelling demographic parameters with mark-recapture techniques

“…Their inshore distribution and narrow habitat selectivity, typical for all species of the genus Sousa [18–20], frequently places them on a collision course with a wide range of anthropogenic activities. Their preferred inshore habitats are often in close proximity to areas of intense coastal fisheries and aquaculture and, especially in southeast Asia, urban and industrial developments that are increasingly affected by pollutions, heavy sea traffic, and various degrees of habitat destruction [21–26]; all of which may contribute to population decline [21,22,27–29].…”