Seasonal distribution and abundance of cetaceans within French waters- Part I: The North-Western Mediterranean, including the Pelagos sanctuary

Laran, Sophie; Pettex, Emeline; Authier, Matthieu; Blanck, Aurélie; David, Léa; Dorémus, Ghislain; Falchetto, Hélène; Monestiez, Pascal; Canneyt, Olivier Van; Ridoux, Vincent

doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2016.12.011

Cited by 68 publications

(96 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…In the Mediterranean, few and scattered long‐term systematic year‐round studies useful to assess sperm whale seasonality in patterns of occurrence have been conducted, with high heterogeneity of survey efforts and methodologies, thus making problematic possible inferences in our study area. In the Ligurian Sea, sperm whale presence was recorded almost throughout the year (Laran and Gannier , Laran and Drouot‐Dulau ), with no suggestions of strong seasonal patterns or variations in abundance (Laran et al ). In the Sardinian‐Balearic sector, sperm whales were detected especially during summer and autumn, whereas in the central Tyrrhenian Sea the species was never detected in autumn, but it was recorded during other seasons (Arcangeli et al ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat suitability modeling in different sperm whale social groups

Pace

Arcangeli

Mussi³

et al. 2018

J Wildl Manag

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The identification of significant habitats for highly mobile marine vertebrates is essential for their conservation. Evidence is often difficult to obtain for deep‐diving species such as sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus), where standard visual survey methods are not sufficient to detect the species. Sperm whales rely on sound for most of their activities, so acoustics is a crucial tool to locate them in the environment and collect information about their daily life. We used a maximum entropy (MaxEnt) modeling approach to predict potential habitats for sperm whales during 2007–2015 in an area of the Mediterranean Sea (characterized by submarine canyon systems) where sperm whale singletons, social units of females and calves, and clusters with immature males, were regularly encountered in sympatry. Models to test species’ distribution and the potential differences between groups of varying composition and life stages were based on 3 independent variables (depth, slope, and Euclidean distance from the nearest coast) and a combination of presence‐only visual and acoustic data from boat‐based surveys. One variable (depth) was the strongest predictor in all encounters (pooled data) and clusters, whereas distance from coast and slope best predicted encounters with singletons and social units, respectively. The model predicted suitable locations in areas that were well‐known sperm whale habitat and in new regions of previously overlooked habitat, which possibly represent key areas for this endangered species in the Mediterranean. This study highlights that consideration should be taken regarding type of social aggregation when using modeling techniques for generating suitable habitat maps for conservation purposes. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat suitability modeling in different sperm whale social groups

Pace

Arcangeli

Mussi³

et al. 2018

J Wildl Manag

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“…For the last two groups, habitat preferences did not vary between seasons, but a part of the population seemed constrained to migrate out of the area during the unfavourable season; e.g. fin whales and small-sized delphinids had lower abundance in winter compared to summer (see [10], this issue), but their habitat preferences remained similar in both seasons. Around the Channel Islands, California, whales were also found to have consistent preferences across seasons [47]: the authors demonstrated that whales exploited highly predictable patches of euphausiids that aggregate above topographic breaks when upwelling is more active, these processes being sufficiently consistent across seasons and years to correctly predict the distribution of whales.…”

Section: Accommodating Seasonal Variationsmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…We used a log-link function to relate the response variable to predictors, and set the sampled area per segment as model offset. The sampled area associated with each segment was the segment length multiplied by twice the corresponding ESW for cetaceans (see [10], this issue and Appendix S2 for more details), or by twice 200 m for seabirds.…”

Section: Habitat Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The eastern basin is oligotrophic, but the north-western basin exhibits the highest productivity of the whole Mediterranean, showing similarities with the eastern North Atlantic regarding its marked seasonality [9]. The NWMS is home to a diversified and abundant community of cetaceans and seabirds (see [10,11] this issue). Cetacean populations are mostly confined to the Mediterranean, whereas seabird populations include species with a permanent presence in the basin, as well as populations that predominantly use the area either during their breeding season, or conversely during non-breeding or inter-nuptial periods of their life cycles [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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How does ocean seasonality drive habitat preferences of highly mobile top predators? Part I: The north-western Mediterranean Sea

Lambert

Laran

David³

et al. 2017

Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography

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“…The Common bottlenose dolphin ( Tursiops truncatus , Montagu, 1821; hereafter bottlenose dolphin) is considered as a common species in the Mediterranean Sea. It has been observed along most of Mediterranean coast (Bearzi et al 2009), preferentially over the continental shelf (Di Sciara et al , 1993; Gannier, 2005; Gnone et al , 2011), even though groups have also been observed offshore (Laran et al , 2016). Both resident populations and transient individuals have been reported (Gnone et al , 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution and abundance of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) over the French Mediterranean continental shelf

Labach

Azzinari²,

Barbier

et al. 2019

Preprint

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The Mediterranean bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) sub-population is listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This species is strictly protected in France and the designation of Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) is required under the European Habitat Directive. However, little information is available about the structure, dynamic and distribution of the population in the French Mediterranean waters. We collected photo-identification data over the whole French Mediterranean continental shelf all year round between 2013 and 2015. We sighted 151 groups of bottlenose dolphins allowing the individually photo-identification of 1,060 animals. The encounter rate distribution showed the presence of bottlenose dolphins over the whole continental shelf all year round. Using capture-recapture methods, we estimated for the first time the size of the bottlenose dolphin resident population at 557 individuals (95% confidence interval: 216-872) along the French Mediterranean continental coast. Our results were used in support of the designation of a new dedicated SAC in the Gulf of Lion and provide a reference state for the bottlenose dolphin monitoring in the French Mediterranean waters in the context of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

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Seasonal distribution and abundance of cetaceans within French waters- Part I: The North-Western Mediterranean, including the Pelagos sanctuary

Cited by 68 publications

References 38 publications

Habitat suitability modeling in different sperm whale social groups

Habitat suitability modeling in different sperm whale social groups

How does ocean seasonality drive habitat preferences of highly mobile top predators? Part I: The north-western Mediterranean Sea

Distribution and abundance of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) over the French Mediterranean continental shelf

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