An evaluation of environmental and other factors in some recent marine mammal mortalities in Europe: implications for conservation and management

Simmonds, MP; Mayer, Sylvia

doi:10.1139/a97-004

Cited by 19 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…An example is the die-off of striped dolphins Stenella coeruleoalba that spread across the entire Mediterranean in the 1990s and resulted in the loss of thousands of animals. The poor nutritional state of the dolphins resulting from low nutrient input to the eastern Mediterranean, caused originally by abnormally low rainfall, may have been a precipitating factor (Simmonds & Mayer, 1997).…”

Section: Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impacts of climate change on marine mammals: early signs of significant problems

Simmonds¹,

Isaac²

2007

Oryx

206

151

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Climate change is now known to be affecting the oceans. It is widely anticipated that impacts on marine mammals will be mediated primarily via changes in prey distribution and abundance and that the more mobile (or otherwise adaptable) species may be able to respond to this to some extent. However, the extent of this adaptability is largely unknown. Meanwhile, within the last few years direct observations have been made of several marine mammal populations that illustrate reactions to climate change. These observations indicate that certain species and populations may be especially vulnerable, including those with a limited habitat range, such as the vaquita Phocoena sinus, or those for which sea ice provides an important part of their habitat, such as narwhals Monodon monoceros, bowhead Balaena mysticetus and beluga Delphinapterus leucas whales and polar bears Ursus maritimus. Similarly, there are concerns about those species that migrate to feeding grounds in polar regions because of rapidly changing conditions there, and this includes many baleen whale populations. This review highlights the need to take projected impacts into account in future conservation and management plans, including species assessments. How this should be done in an adequately precautionary manner offers a significant challenge to those involved in such processes, although it is possible to identify at this time at least some species and populations that may be regarded as especially vulnerable. Marine ecosystems modellers and marine mammal experts will need to work together to make such assessments and conservation plans as robust as possible.

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Section: Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impacts of climate change on marine mammals: early signs of significant problems

Simmonds¹,

Isaac²

2007

Oryx

206

151

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In some cases, alterations in migration paths could move animals into dangerous areas. For example, Simmonds & Mayer (1997) suggested that seismic surveys being conducted to the west of the British Isles might have contributed to recent live multiple sperm whale strandings in the North Sea if they caused southwardmoving animals to divert to the east of their normal course and into the shallow North Sea. As discussed above, information from recent mass strandings of beaked whales (e.g., Jepson et al, 2003) hints at the possibility that noise-induced changes in behavior could lead deep diving cetaceans to develop decompression sickness.…”

Section: Biological Significance Of Possible Effects Of Seismic Pulsementioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of the Effects of Seismic Surveys on Marine Mammals

Gordon¹,

Gillespie²,

Potter³

et al. 2003

mar technol soc j

201

134

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This review highlights significant gaps in our knowledge of the effects of seismic air gun noise on marine mammals. Although the characteristics of the seismic signal at different ranges and depths and at higher frequencies are poorly understood, and there are often insufficient data to identify the appropriate acoustic propagation models to apply in particular conditions, these uncertainties are modest compared with those associated with biological factors. Potential biological effects of air gun noise include physical/physiological effects, behavioral disruption, and indirect effects associated with altered prey availability. Physical/physiological effects could include hearing threshold shifts and auditory damage as well as non-auditory disruption, and can be directly caused by sound exposure or the result of behavioral changes in response to sounds, e.g. recent observations suggesting that exposure to loud noise may result in decompression sickness. Direct information on the extent to which seismic pulses could damage hearing are difficult to obtain and as a consequence the impacts on hearing remain poorly known. Behavioral data have been collected for a few species in a limited range of conditions. Responses, including startle and fright, avoidance, and changes in behavior and vocalization patterns, have been observed in baleen whales, odontocetes, and pinnipeds and in some case these have occurred at ranges of tens or hundreds of kilometers. However, behavioral observations are typically variable, some findings are contradictory, and the biological significance of these effects has not been measured. Where feeding, orientation, hazard avoidance, migration or social behavior are altered, it is possible that populations could be adversely affected. There may also be serious long-term consequences due to chronic exposure, and sound could affect marine mammals indirectly by changing the accessibility of their prey species. A precautionary approach to management and regulation must be recommended. While such large degrees of uncertainty remain, this may result in restrictions to operational practices but these could be relaxed if key uncertainties are clarified by appropriate research.

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“…This phenomenon resulted in reduced nutrient input into the eastern Mediterranean and thus low productivity (Simmonds & Mayer, 1997). This led to the decline of the dolphin's common prey and explains why many of the dolphin carcasses showed depleted body fat reserves (Aguilar et al, 1991).…”

Section: Change In Food Supplymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Planque & Taylor, 1998;Waluda et al, 2001;Walther et al, 2002) affecting cetaceans like minke whales (Bjorge, 2002) Continued environmental threats to mediterranean cetaceans Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) ( Van de Bildt et al, 1999). A worldwide increase in mass mortality events in marine mammals has been reported by Simmonds & Mayer (1997). It is interesting to note that, as cetaceans are long-lived, slow-reproducing animals (generally producing one offspring per female every 2-3 years), when a population is severely diminished by a virus or other agents, recovery may be slow and such species can relatively easily become endangered (Dhermain et al, 2002;Reeves et al, 2003).…”

Section: Change In Food Supplymentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential impacts of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions on Mediterranean marine ecosystems and cetaceans

Gambaiani¹,

Mayol²,

Isaac³

et al. 2008

J. Mar. Biol. Ass.

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The combustion of fossil fuels and the resultant impacts on climate may now represent one of the largest environmental threats. In the Mediterranean Sea, changes in bio-chemical and physical seawater properties resulting from global warming are likely to alter marine biodiversity and productivity, trigger trophic web mismatches and encourage diseases, toxic algal bloom and propagation of thermophilic species. This review highlights the current and potential threats of climate change to the Mediterranean marine ecosystems, including cetaceans, and stresses the emergent necessity for more integrated regulations and policies for the protection of marine biodiversity. For instance, in the Mediterranean Sea, the distribution and abundance of the small euphausid species Meganyctiphanes norvegica is correlated with specific hydrobiological parameters including seawater temperature, salinity and current patterns. Situated at the northern limit of its ecological tolerance, this species, which constitutes the only known food supply of the fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) in this region, might be affected by climate change-induced alteration of ocean circulation.

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An evaluation of environmental and other factors in some recent marine mammal mortalities in Europe: implications for conservation and management

Cited by 19 publications

References 42 publications

The impacts of climate change on marine mammals: early signs of significant problems

The impacts of climate change on marine mammals: early signs of significant problems

A Review of the Effects of Seismic Surveys on Marine Mammals

Potential impacts of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions on Mediterranean marine ecosystems and cetaceans

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