Identifying priority habitat for conservation and management of Australian humpback dolphins within a marine protected area

Hunt, Tim; Allen, S. J.; Bejder, Lars; Parra, Guido J.

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-69863-6

Cited by 28 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 103 publications

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“…Predictor variables used in this study were selected because they are known or have been suggested to affect the presence of bottlenose dolphins or their prey, with some variables acting as proxies for prey distribution (i.e., SST), predation risk (i.e., water visibility), and areas of high human use and anthropogenic disturbance (i.e., distance to boat ramp and marine park zone) (Heithaus and Dill, 2002;Ingram and Rogan, 2002;Zanardo et al, 2017;Sprogis et al, 2018a). Proxies for areas of high human use and therefore, anthropogenic disturbance included distance to boat ramp and marine park zone (Passadore et al, 2018;Hunt et al, 2020). Marine park zones have varying levels of restrictions (see section "Study Site") and commercial and recreational boat users frequently launch from boat ramps (personal observations) so it was inferred that these sites indicated various levels of anthropogenic pressure.…”

Section: Predictor Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Without the inclusion of adequate spatial and biological information, habitats can be under-protected, compromising the conservation and management of important marine species and ecosystems (Davidson et al, 2012;Gregr et al, 2013;Guisan et al, 2013;Hartel et al, 2015). Thus, information on the spatial distribution of marine mammals and the physical and biological environmental factors influencing such distribution is essential to inform and evaluate conservation and management decisions and future environmental impacts (Zanardo et al, 2017;Passadore et al, 2018;Hunt et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A key tool for identifying and predicting the relationship between species occurrence and the environmental and anthropogenic conditions associated with their habitat are species distribution models (SDMs) (Guisan and Zimmermann, 2000;Elith and Leathwick, 2009;Franklin, 2010). SDMs examine the relationship between the distribution (e.g., occurrence) of a species and the environmental variables that influence habitat selection, and have been used widely on terrestrial and marine fauna (MacLeod et al, 2008;Rickbeil et al, 2014;James et al, 2017;Zacarias and Loyola, 2018), including dolphins (Zanardo et al, 2017;Passadore et al, 2018;Sprogis et al, 2018a;Vargas-Fonesca et al, 2018;Dwyer et al, 2020;Hunt et al, 2020;TardinI, Maciel et al, 2020). SDMs can help to understand which areas are used more often by animals and the environmental features that are correlated with species distributions (Garraffo et al, 2011;Marini et al, 2015;Vargas-Fonesca et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The NMP is a multi-use MPA primarily located to the west of the NWC falling within the Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area (NCWHA) (CALM and MPRA, 2005;UNESCO, 2011). Dolphins have been recognised to be of ecological value to the NMP (CALM and MPRA, 2005), but designation of boundaries and zones were determined prior to ecological studies on the range and habitat requirements of inshore dolphins, and should be considered in future reviews of the management plan (Hunt et al, 2020). On the eastern side of the NWC and outside the NMP, lies the Exmouth Gulf, which is recognised as an important ecosystem containing globally significant features and supporting high biodiversity, yet remains unprotected (Fitzpatrick et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Distribution and Habitat Preferences of Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) Inhabiting Coastal Waters With Mixed Levels of Protection

et al. 2021

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Assessments of species distributions are crucial for informing conservation and management action. In this study, we used ensemble modelling to explain the distribution of Near Threatened Indo-Pacific (IP) bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in coastal waters at the North West Cape (NWC), Western Australia (WA), an area encompassing a marine protected area (MPA) and adjacent unprotected coastal waters. Analyses used dolphin sighting data collected during boat-based surveys conducted from 2013 to 2015 and 2018 to 2019. Overall, the distribution of IP bottlenose dolphins was best explained by distance to coast (up to 2,000 m) and distance to boat ramp (up to 7,000 m). Areas of high probability of occurrence for dolphins extended from the tip and down the eastern side of the NWC and overlapped with designated sanctuary zones as well as waters beyond the boundaries of the Ningaloo Marine Park (NMP). Distribution and habitat preferences varied slightly with season. In autumn, dolphin distribution was best explained by distance to coast and water depth with a higher likelihood of observing dolphins 1,000–2,000 m from the coast and in water depths of 7–10 m deep. During winter months, distance to coast (1,000–2,000 m) and sea surface temperature (SST) (21.5–23.5°C) were the most important explanatory variables, with presence in coastal lagoons to the west of the NWC more likely than other seasons. During spring, areas of moderate to high probability of dolphin occurrence were mainly located outside the NMP, with marine park zone (outside the NMP and Sanctuary zones within the NMP, the two zones with the highest probability of IP bottlenose dolphin occurrence) and water depth (waters 7–13 m deep) best explaining dolphin distribution. This study highlights the importance of inshore areas of the NWC for IP bottlenose dolphins and the potential vulnerability of this species to increasing and cumulative anthropogenic stressors associated with these areas. Results of this study should be considered in future zoning reviews and adaptive management efforts of the NMP allowing for effective management of this Near Threatened species.

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Section: Predictor Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Distribution and Habitat Preferences of Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) Inhabiting Coastal Waters With Mixed Levels of Protection

et al. 2021

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“…The immigration and emigration rates are not purely biological parameters but can be controlled by the configuration of PAs [32]. Protecting favored sites by a target species is desirable to increase conservation benefit in PAs [16]. However, when MPAs are used for a sustainable fisheries management tool, a moderate spillover effect is necessary to promote fishing yields [22,30].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term conservation effects of protected areas in stochastic population dynamics

Takashina

2021

Preprint

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Terrestrial and marine protected areas have been essential tools to mitigate anthropogenic impacts and promote population persistence and resource sustainability. Adequately implemented protected areas promote a long-term conservation benefit. Stochasticity affects its long-term performance, and necessary to understand the general influence. Here, we investigate a long-term conservation benefit via stochastic models that encompass demographic or environmental stochasticity. We quantify a long-term conservation benefit by the coefficient of variation (CV) of population size in protected areas, where a low CV indicates high robustness against stochasticity. We demonstrate that adequately implemented protected areas promote a long-term conservation benefit under stochasticity and decrease otherwise. However, demographic and environmental stochasticity induce rather different consequences, although the former is suppressed with the population size. Multiple parameters in our framework determine the quality of protected areas, and systematic investigations for various scenarios facilitate an effective management decision.

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Movement, ranging patterns and habitat use of Indo‐Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) in the Langkawi Archipelago and adjacent Perlis‐Kedah coastal waters, Malaysia

Teoh,

Then,

et al. 2023

Aquatic Conservation

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Abstract1. Studies on the ranging patterns and habitat use of Indo‐Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) in Southeast Asia are scarce but essential to inform conservation and management of a species known to be susceptible to anthropogenic pressures.2. This study is the first to investigate the long‐term movement, range sizes and habitat use of humpback dolphins in the Langkawi Archipelago and adjacent Perlis‐Kedah mainland coast of Malaysia using boat‐based photo‐identification surveys conducted between 2010 and 2020.3. A total of 669 humpback dolphin individuals were identified, making it one of the largest photo‐ID catalogues within their geographic range. Lagged identification rates suggested that some individuals maintained long‐term site fidelity in the study area.4. Low transition probabilities and 194 photo‐identification matches revealed humpback dolphins moved minimally between Langkawi and the adjacent Perlis‐Kedah mainland; however, most southward dolphin movements did not extend beyond Kuala Jerlun in northern Kedah.5. The mean range sizes estimated for 16 regularly sighted individuals through minimum convex polygon and kernel density estimate 95% utilization distribution were significantly different, at 338.2 ± 183.8 and 75.6 ± 28.6 km2, respectively.6. Most individual and population core areas (i.e. kernel density estimate 50% utilization distribution) overlapped with core feeding and nursery grounds in shallow coastal and estuarine waters (i.e. <10 m deep and <1.3 km from the coastline).7. Dolphin range size and spatial use patterns were probably linked to prey distribution and availability (i.e. influenced by environmental factors such as habitat features) and social groupings and dynamics.8. These findings inform science‐based recommendations for habitat management, including implementing restricted areas from coastal development, vessel speed‐limit zones and boating codes‐of‐conduct, to minimize anthropogenic impacts and support sustainable coastal development in the binational Satun‐Langkawi Important Marine Mammal Area.

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Identifying priority habitat for conservation and management of Australian humpback dolphins within a marine protected area

Abstract: spatial distribution of humpback dolphins among seasons (see Supplementary Appendix S3 for further details on seasonal analysis), and thus we conducted further analysis on the pooled dataset.

Cited by 28 publications

References 103 publications

Distribution and Habitat Preferences of Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) Inhabiting Coastal Waters With Mixed Levels of Protection

Distribution and Habitat Preferences of Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) Inhabiting Coastal Waters With Mixed Levels of Protection

Long-term conservation effects of protected areas in stochastic population dynamics

Movement, ranging patterns and habitat use of Indo‐Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) in the Langkawi Archipelago and adjacent Perlis‐Kedah coastal waters, Malaysia

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