Averting the baiji syndrome: conserving habitat for critically endangered dolphins in Eastern Taiwan Strait

Ross, Peter S.; Dungan, Sarah Z.; Hung, Samuel K.; Jefferson, Thomas A.; MacFarquhar, Christina; Perrin, William F.; Riehl, Kimberly N.; Slooten, Elisabeth; Tsai, Jia-Huei; Wang, John Y.; White, Bradley N.; Würsig, Bernd; Yang, Shih Chu; Reeves, Randall R.

doi:10.1002/aqc.1141

Cited by 52 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…The main conservation measures needed to prevent the extinction of Critically Endangered small ceta ceans are habitat preservation and the elimination of bycatch (e.g. Beasley et al 2009, Kreb et al 2010, Ross et al 2010.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prospects for captive breeding of poorly known small cetacean species

Curry¹,

Ralls²,

Brownell³

2013

Endang. Species. Res.

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Because of the precarious condition of small cetacean species and subpopulations listed as Endangered or Critically Endangered by the IUCN, use of captive breeding for conservation has been suggested for some of them, and will likely be suggested for others. A successful captive breeding program for a new species cannot be implemented until reliable capture and husbandry techniques have been developed. Techniques for assisted reproduction and reintroduction may also be needed. We review attempts to capture, maintain, and breed poorly known small cetaceans and discuss assisted reproductive technologies (ART) that have been used to enhance captive breeding efforts for other small cetaceans. We conclude that the techniques required for successful captive breeding of most Endangered or Critically Endangered small cetacean species have not been sufficiently developed. Development of these techniques should begin before a species or population is Critically Endangered. In particular, ARTs tend to be species specific, necessitating considerable time, money, and research to develop for each species of concern. Critically Endangered populations cannot afford to lose the individuals needed for technique development. The fairly large captive population sizes necessary (to avoid loss of genetic diversity, inbreeding, and genetic adaptation to captivity), limited space available in aquariums, and high costs of captive breeding and reintroduction programs make it unlikely that captive breeding will play a major role in the conservation of most small cetaceans. The substantive conservation measures needed to prevent extinction of Critically Endangered small cetaceans is reduction or elimination of their primary threats, which are usually by-catch and habitat loss.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prospects for captive breeding of poorly known small cetacean species

Curry¹,

Ralls²,

Brownell³

2013

Endang. Species. Res.

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“…Some bathymetric contours in the Taiwan Strait are also shown. Wang et al 2004b;Ross et al 2010;Dungan et al 2011;Slooten et al 2013), and an assessment of this population against the criteria of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species resulted in a 'critically endangered' status (Reeves et al 2008). The population's current very low potential biological removal level (Slooten et al 2013) and precarious viability under various likely scenarios (Araújo et al 2014;Huang et al 2014) further confirm the direness of its Red List status.…”

Section: Humpback Dolphins In Chinese Watersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diagnosability and description of a new subspecies of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, Sousa chinensis (Osbeck, 1765), from the Taiwan Strait

Wang

Yang²,

Hung³

2015

Zool. Stud.

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Background: Subspecies recognition can affect how people (scientists and non-scientists alike) view organisms and thus has important implications for research on, as well as the conservation of, these entities. Recently, a small group of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins was discovered inhabiting the waters off central western Taiwan. This geographically isolated population possesses pigmentation patterns that are subtly, but noticeably, different from their nearest conspecifics in the neighbouring waters of the Jiulong River Estuary and Pearl River Estuary of mainland China. Due to this population's low and declining numbers and the numerous threats it faces, it was assessed as critically endangered by the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The purpose of this study is to examine the degree of differentiation of the Taiwanese population to determine if subspecies recognition is warranted.

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“…Implementation of systematically-designed census exercise can provide quantitative baselines in an integrative way. The implementation of transect survey, with the information of GPS and animal-sighting records at each sampling sites, does not only estimate the population abundance inside the survey area but also figures the extent of occurrence by minimum convex polygon (MCP) and core/critical distribution site (such as 50% kernel density estimate), information essential for sound protected area design [13,16,[50][51][52][53][54]. Database from individual photo-ID histories can be used to estimate population size, apparent survival rate and, dependent on the temporal scale of database, life history parameters including Am, RI and Ax.…”

Section: Systematic Demographic Analysis: An Integrative Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The conservation of humpback dolphins off western Taiwan coast (WTC) has received high local awareness [13,[63][64]. Baselines from series census indicate a very small number of population size [66] and discontinuous distribution pattern ( Figure 5) [63][64].…”

Section: Caution When Basing Conservation Actions On Census Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is my goal to summarize the techniques frequently used to solve the population trend and status/risk assessment in many cetaceans. This summarization could be helpful for the conservation of cetaceans for forming sound conservation actions, especial for the species inhabiting freshwater habitats and coastal waters under intensive anthropogenic threats [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] in developing countries.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing Population Trend and Risk of Extinction for Cetaceans Lacking Long- Term Census Baselines

Huang¹

2013

J Biodivers Endanger Species

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Assessment of population trend and risk of extinction, essential for informed conservation, needs baselines including percentage of population decline, extent of occurrence, population size, population structure and probabilities of extinction. Construction of these baselines usually claims long-term census efforts that are often insufficient or even lacking for many cetaceans, especially for those nearby rapidly developing countries. Restricted to variation from current census techniques, however, the approach based on long-term census database is unlikely to detect early or recent sign of population decline. Here, I propose an integrative perspective, the systematic demographic analysis, to solve life history and demographic parameters essential for status and risk assessment for the cetacean populations. Transect technique with the aid of GPS records and environmental characteristics can be used to estimate population abundance and figure the extent of occurrence and critical habitat, information essential for sound habitat protection. Capturemark-recapture technique based on the database from individual photo-ID histories can be used to estimate population size, apparent survival rate and life history parameters. Collections of stranded and by caught carcasses can be used to solve life history parameters, age-specific survivorships or mortality rates and population genetic diversity indirectly relating to population size. Applications of population viability analysis to above parameters such as VORTEX model or other individual-based stage/age matrix model that factors the stochasticity and uncertainty can be used to solve the likely range of rate of decline and extinction risk of threatened population. Finally, I emphasize the need to integrate the histories of long-term land use and landscape change when formulating habitat management programme for the rare and/or endangered populations to avoid skipping the low-sighting habitat from intense anthropogenic impacts.

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Averting the baiji syndrome: conserving habitat for critically endangered dolphins in Eastern Taiwan Strait

Cited by 52 publications

References 57 publications

Prospects for captive breeding of poorly known small cetacean species

Prospects for captive breeding of poorly known small cetacean species

Diagnosability and description of a new subspecies of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, Sousa chinensis (Osbeck, 1765), from the Taiwan Strait

Assessing Population Trend and Risk of Extinction for Cetaceans Lacking Long- Term Census Baselines

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