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Bottlenose dolphins at the southern extreme of the south-western Atlantic: local population decline?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 December 2011

Mariano A. Coscarella ,
Silvana L. Dans ,
Mariana Degrati ,
Griselda V. Garaffo  and
Enrique A. Crespo
Mariano A. Coscarella*
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Mamíferos Marinos (LAMAMA), Centro Nacional Patagónico, Boulevard Brown 2915-U9120ACF, Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina
Silvana L. Dans
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Mamíferos Marinos (LAMAMA), Centro Nacional Patagónico, Boulevard Brown 2915-U9120ACF, Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina
Mariana Degrati
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Mamíferos Marinos (LAMAMA), Centro Nacional Patagónico, Boulevard Brown 2915-U9120ACF, Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina
Griselda V. Garaffo
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Mamíferos Marinos (LAMAMA), Centro Nacional Patagónico, Boulevard Brown 2915-U9120ACF, Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina
Enrique A. Crespo
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Mamíferos Marinos (LAMAMA), Centro Nacional Patagónico, Boulevard Brown 2915-U9120ACF, Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: M.A. Coscarella, Laboratorio de Mamíferos Marinos (LAMAMA), Centro Nacional Patagónico, Boulevard 2915-U9120ACF, Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina email: coscarella@cenpat.edu.ar
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Abstract

The management scheme of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) includes monitoring protocols but such activities are not always carried out. This is the case for Golfo San José, a MPA in northern Patagonia, Argentina. It was created in 1975 for the protection of the southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) breeding grounds. Other components of the system, such as dolphin populations have received little attention. This study is the first attempt to estimate sighting rates, group size and overall abundance of a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) population in Golfo San José and adjacent areas after 30 years. An analysis of the seasonal sighting rates indicates that bottlenose dolphins were present in the study area throughout the year but a decline in group size and abundance and major shift in distribution was detected when compared with previous published reports. The settlement of the MPA failed to secure the persistence of the bottlenose dolphin population within its boundaries. Possible explanations for the detected decline are addressed including increased natural mortality, human induced mortality and disturbance, resources depletion and environmental shift.

Keywords

bottlenose dolphinslocal population declineMarine Protected AreasTursiops truncatus
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 92 , Issue 8: Marine Mammals , December 2012 , pp. 1843 - 1849
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2011

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