Loading...
Publication
Survival and abundance of short-finned pilot whales in the archipelago of Madeira, NE Atlantic
| Name: | Description: | Size: | Format: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 379.13 KB | Adobe PDF |
Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Estimates of population parameters for the short-finned pilot whale, Globicephala
macrorhynchus, are scarce in literature, contributing to an International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) status of Data Deficient. In this study, photo-identi fication data collected over 7 yr from Madeira were used to estimate for the first time
survivorship, capture probability, and abundance in this species using mark-recap ture methodology. The Cormack-Jolly-Seber model estimated that the adult island associated (i.e., resident and regular visitor) whales had a constant survival rate of
0.960 (95% CI: 0.853–0.990) and an annual capture probability varying between
0.372 (CI: 0.178–0.619) and 0.843 (CI: 0.619–0.947). A parameterization of the
Jolly-Seber model estimated that 140 island-associated whales (CI: 131–151) used
the area throughout the course of the study. Based on a closed population model, the
most precise (lower CV) annual estimate of the total number of pilot whales using
the southern and eastern waters of Madeira (~900 km2
) in a 3 mo period covering
summer/autumn was 334 animals (CI: 260–437). No trend was observed. Despite
including biases, the approach used in this study provided plausible estimates of
population parameters, which can contribute to the regional conservation strategies.
Description
Keywords
Globicephala macrorhynchus Heterogeneity Island-associated Mark-recapture Photo-identification Population models Population parameters Transience Madeira (Portugal) . Faculdade de Ciências da Vida
Citation
Alves, F., Dinis, A., Nicolau, C., Ribeiro, C., Kaufmann, M., Fortuna, C., & Freitas, L. (2015). Survival and abundance of short‐finned pilot whales in the archipelago of Madeira, NE Atlantic. Marine Mammal Science, 31(1), 106-121. DOI: 10.1111/mms.12137
Publisher
Wiley