Stranding events in the Philippines provide evidence for impacts of human interactions on cetaceans

Obusan, Marie Christine M.; Rivera, Windell L.; Siringan, Maria Auxilia T.; Aragones, Lemnuel V.

doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2016.09.021

Cited by 27 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Our study indicates that species that forage in the epipelagic or the mesopelagic zone such as bottlenose dolphins, are more susceptible to entanglement in marine debris. This is consistent with Obusan et al (2016), who found that bottlenose dolphins often become entangled in drift gillnets in the Philippines. Species that spend more time near the surface may be at risk of entanglement because of their 'playful' behaviour and curiosity which means that they often investigate novel objects in their environment, such as floating plastic debris (Mattlin and Cawthorn 1986;Laist 1987).…”

Section: Epipelagic and Mesopelagic Foragers And Entanglementsupporting

confidence: 91%

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Contribution of social media to cetacean research in Southeast Asia: illuminating populations vulnerable to litter

et al. 2021

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Litter in the marine environment, in particular plastic, is a significant threat to marine megafauna. Cetaceans are known to ingest or become entangled in marine debris, likely impacting individuals and populations. Southeast Asia is a biodiversity hotspot and harbours a diverse cetacean assemblage. However, there are key knowledge gaps relating to the impact of litter in this region due the lack of experts to survey its vast coastlines. This study aims to address such gaps by using social media, gathering data from Facebook posts relating to cetacean strandings and litter across Southeast Asia between 2009 and 2019. Results show that at least 15 cetacean species have been negatively affected by litter, with ingestion most commonly affecting deep-diving species. Epipelagic and mesopelagic foragers were most vulnerable to entanglement. Davao in the Philippines was identified as a litter-related stranding hotspot. The Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) and pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps) are particularly vulnerable to litter. The combination of social media and peer reviewed literature can help build a more complete picture of the spatial distribution of marine litter and the scale of the impact it has on cetacean populations. In this study we provide details of a valuable online tool for helping to understand the impact of marine litter on cetaceans and other charismatic species that are a focus of community engagement.

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Section: Epipelagic and Mesopelagic Foragers And Entanglementsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…These studies include Obusan et al (2016) who analysed strandings from 1998 to 2013 in the Philippines, with notes on the impact of fisheries interactions, and vulnerable cetacean species. The study reports that 33% of the strandings were confirmed to be related to human interaction.…”

Section: Published Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Contribution of social media to cetacean research in Southeast Asia: illuminating populations vulnerable to litter

et al. 2021

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“…Human interactions with marine mammals pose a threat of increasing global concern for conservation (Obusan et al, 2016;Avila et al, 2018;Liu et al, 2019). Our study supports the idea that human activities also can provide for better response to and documentation of strandings, if effort is directed toward monitoring and reporting of stranded animals (see also Wilkin et al, 2017;Moore et al, 2018;Pitchford et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Human influence on bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) strandings in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Carmichael

Hodanbosi

Russell

et al. 2022

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Human activity affects marine mammal stranding rates in two major ways; through human interaction (HI) that may lead to mortality and through search and response efforts that enable carcass detection. To better quantify the combined effects of these interacting human influences, we analyzed strandings for bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGOM), an area of high cetacean strandings. To identify hotspots of human influence, we first determined the number of total and HI-related bottlenose dolphin strandings normalized to shoreline length in each nGOM U.S. state, which represent major response areas. To estimate the effects of response effort on stranding numbers (for HI and non-HI strandings), we used the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DWHOS) as an established benchmark to compare periods of lower (pre-spill) and higher (post-spill) response effort. Strandings in Alabama waters were used as a case study to detail spatial and temporal variation due to human influences during the 39-year period of retrospective study. We found an increase in strandings from Louisiana through Alabama following the DWHOS. Non-oil related HI strandings increased in total number in AL, and they increased as a proportion of total strandings in Alabama (16%) and the Florida panhandle (12%). The increase in HI-related strandings in Alabama was driven by mortality of many types, but particularly fishery interactions and cases of apparent intentional harm. The Alabama case study clearly detected lower stranding numbers during periods of low or intermittent response coverage. Our findings are consistent with an overall increase in stranding numbers due to a combination of increased stranding occurrence and response effort following the DWHOS. Importantly, we provide evidence that HI-related standings increased independently from the DWHOS, with ongoing increases in at least one hotspot (Alabama). These findings provide a first step to parsing out different effects of human influences on stranding data for a common coastal cetacean. Our approach establishes baselines for future damage and recovery assessments, identifies areas where resources can be focused for management and education, and highlights the power of response and monitoring agencies to positively influence stranding datasets.

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“…In addition, monitoring programmes for marine mammals have been running for decades in countries such as the Philippines (e.g. Aragones et al, 2010;Obusan et al, 2016;Tiongson et al, 2021), and marine mammal legislation exists for multiple SE Asian countries, such as Indonesia (Sahri et al, 2020), Malaysia (Tetley et al, 2022), and the Philippines (UNEP/CMS Secretariat, 2015). By contrast, despite being the most widely studied taxon globally (Kühn and van Franeker, 2020;Provencher et al, 2017), no published cases were available for seabirds in the region, while a few cases exist as unpublished from Indonesia and the Philippines.…”

Section: Taxonomic Groupsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions between marine megafauna and plastic pollution in Southeast Asia

Omeyer

Duncan

Abreo

et al. 2023

Science of The Total Environment

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Stranding events in the Philippines provide evidence for impacts of human interactions on cetaceans

Cited by 27 publications

References 28 publications

Contribution of social media to cetacean research in Southeast Asia: illuminating populations vulnerable to litter

Contribution of social media to cetacean research in Southeast Asia: illuminating populations vulnerable to litter

Human influence on bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) strandings in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Interactions between marine megafauna and plastic pollution in Southeast Asia

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