South Africa’s newly approved marine protected areas have increased the protected modelled habitat of nine odontocete species

Purdon, Jean; Shabangu, Fannie W.; Pienaar, Marc; Somers, Michael J.; Findlay, Ken P.

doi:10.3354/meps13190

Cited by 8 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…SST has risen between 1.2 • C and 1.6 • C in the high latitudes and between 0.4 • C and 1 • C in the tropics and sub-tropics over the last 100 years (Deser, Phillips & Alexander, 2010). Despite these changes, studies by Purdon et al (2020a), Purdon et al (2020b) and Torres, Read & Halpin (2016) used averages of oceanographic variables, suggesting that they provide sufficient information for modelling baseline cetacean distribution in conjunction with presence data that dates back to 1913. In this study we averaged chl-a seasonally over the period 2002 to 2016, and salinity, U o, V o and SST seasonally over the period 1991 to 2016 in their original projection (WGS 84 (EPSG 4326)) and at their origional spatial resolution (∼8 km) in ArcMap (Table 2, Esri, Redlands, CA, USA).…”

Section: Environmental Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is aimed at protecting southern right whales during their breeding season, despite this not being the primary calving ground of the species. Considering South Africa's high cetacean diversity (Findlay et al, 1992;Best, 2007), the low number of MPAs directly protecting them is a concern (Purdon et al, 2020a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This has led to the development of SDMs based on data from several sources ( Torres et al, 2013 ; Waggitt et al, 2020 ). The use of such datasets has two important challenges, the first being that the data are often spatially biased ( Aiello-Lammens et al, 2015 ) and the second being that absence data are seldom available ( Hirzel et al, 2006 ; Purdon et al, 2020a ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To address some of these uncertainties, ensemble modelling (which combines multiple SDMs) is proving to be a robust method (e.g., Coetzee et al, 2009 ; Oppel et al, 2012 ; Zanardo et al, 2017 ; Pereira et al, 2018 ). The scope of ensemble modelling is relatively new in the marine environment with only a few studies being carried out on cetaceans ( Zanardo et al, 2017 ; Purdon et al, 2020a ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Species distribution modelling of Bryde’s whales, humpback whales, southern right whales, and sperm whales in the southern African region to inform their conservation in expanding economies

Purdon

Shabangu²,

Yemane

et al. 2020

PeerJ

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In southern African waters, information about species distribution and habitat preferences of many cetacean species is limited, despite the recent economic growth that may affect them. We determined the relative importance of eight environmental variables (bathymetry, distance to shore, slope, chlorophyll-a, salinity, eastwards sea water velocity, northwards sea water velocity and sea surface temperature) as drivers of seasonal habitat preferences of Bryde’s whales (Balaenoptera brydei), humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) and sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus). Using presence only data from multiple sources, we constructed predictive species distribution models (SDMs) consisting of ensembles of seven algorithms for these species during both summer and winter. Predicted distribution for all cetaceans was high in southern Africa and, in particular, within the South African Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Predictive models indicated a more pronounced seasonal variation for humpback, sperm and southern right whales than for Bryde’s whales. Southern right whales occurred closer to shore during winter, humpback whales were more likely to occur along the east coast in winter and the west coast in summer, and sperm whales were more concentrated off the shelf in winter. Our study shows that ensemble models using historical, incidental and scientific data, in conjunction with modern environmental variables, can provide baseline knowledge on important environmental drivers of cetacean distribution for conservation purposes. Results of this study can further be used to help develop marine spatial plans and identify important marine mammal areas.

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Section: Environmental Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Species distribution modelling of Bryde’s whales, humpback whales, southern right whales, and sperm whales in the southern African region to inform their conservation in expanding economies

Purdon

Shabangu²,

Yemane

et al. 2020

PeerJ

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“…Many of South Africa's existing MPAs are in coastal waters, thus overlapping with the distribution of coastal dolphins such as T. aduncus [79]. Expanding current MPAs or establishing new ones has been recommended to assist population recovery of S. plumbea in South Africa [78].…”

Section: Research Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abundance of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) along the south coast of South Africa

Vargas-Fonseca

Kirkman²,

Oosthuizen

et al. 2020

PLoS ONE

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Coastally distributed dolphin species are vulnerable to a variety of anthropogenic pressures, yet a lack of abundance data often prevents data-driven conservation management strategies from being implemented. We investigated the abundance of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) along the south coast of South Africa, from the Goukamma Marine Protected Area (MPA) to the Tsitsikamma MPA, between 2014 and 2016. During this period, 662.3h of boat-based photo-identification survey effort was carried out during 189 surveys. The sighting histories of 817 identified individuals were used to estimate abundance using capture-recapture modelling. Using open population (POPAN) models, we estimated that 2,155 individuals (95% CI: 1,873-2,479) occurred in the study area, although many individuals appeared to be transients. We recorded smaller group sizes and an apparent decline in abundance in a subset of the study area (Plettenberg Bay) compared to estimates obtained in 2002-2003 at this location. We recorded declines of more than 70% in both abundance and group size for a subset of the study area (Plettenberg Bay), in relation to estimates obtained in 2002-2003 at this location. We discuss plausible hypotheses for causes of the declines, including anthropogenic pressure, ecosystem change, and methodological inconsistencies. Our study highlights the importance of assessing trends in abundance at other locations to inform data-driven conservation management strategies of T. aduncus in South Africa.

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Distribution models of baleen whale species in the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone to inform management and conservation

Blázquez,

Whooley,

Massett

et al. 2024

Marine Environmental Research

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South Africa’s newly approved marine protected areas have increased the protected modelled habitat of nine odontocete species

Cited by 8 publications

References 31 publications

Species distribution modelling of Bryde’s whales, humpback whales, southern right whales, and sperm whales in the southern African region to inform their conservation in expanding economies

Species distribution modelling of Bryde’s whales, humpback whales, southern right whales, and sperm whales in the southern African region to inform their conservation in expanding economies

Abundance of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) along the south coast of South Africa

Distribution models of baleen whale species in the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone to inform management and conservation

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