Abundance and distribution of the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) on the north coast of Anglesey, Wales, UK

2008 ◽  
Vol 89 (5) ◽  
pp. 1051-1058 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Shucksmith ◽  
Nia H. Jones ◽  
George W. Stoyle ◽  
Andrew Davies ◽  
Emily F. Dicks
Keyword(s):  
Distance Sampling ◽  
Harbour Porpoise ◽  
North Coast ◽  
Sampling Techniques ◽  
Phocoena Phocoena ◽  
Ecological Data ◽  
Robust Estimate ◽  
The North ◽  
North Wales ◽  
Abundance And Distribution

A three year study was undertaken during 2002 to 2004 from May to September to estimate abundance and density of harbour porpoises on the north coast of Anglesey, Wales, UK. There were no ecological data regarding the harbour porpoises in Anglesey waters so the ability to influence conservation measures was highly constrained.Boat based transects using distance sampling techniques were applied so a robust estimate of density and abundance could be attained. The study area consisted of a block approximately 489 km2 extending from the east of Point Lynas to the west of South Stack on north coast of Anglesey. The study area was divided into 5 blocks consisting of 31 perpendicular transect lines to the shore. Each of the transect lines were surveyed 1–5 times by the end of the three year study.Based on the assumption that g(0) = 1 the density of harbour porpoises for the 489 km2 study site was estimated to be 0.630 individuals/km2 (CV = 0.20) and the abundance is estimated to be 309 individuals (CV = 0.20). Heterogeneity in density and abundance was observed across the 5 blocks which showed Point Lynas and South Stack to have the highest densities. This distribution was closely associated to fine-scale oceanographic features which cause prey to be concentrated and may facilitate foraging for harbour porpoises. The study showed that Anglesey provides coastal habitats for the harbour porpoise and was the first study of this kind in North Wales, UK.

First photographed observation of the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) in Svalbard

Polar Record ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-74
Author(s):  
Morten Joergensen
Keyword(s):  
High Arctic ◽  
Harbour Porpoise ◽  
North Coast ◽  
Phocoena Phocoena ◽  
Arctic Species ◽  
The North ◽  
Species Being

The first photographed observation of the harbour porpoise in Svalbard is reported. The harbour porpoise is not normally found in the high Arctic as it is a temperate and sub Arctic species, the nearest frequent location for the species being the north coast of Norway.

Harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) in north-western France: aerial survey, opportunistic sightings and strandings monitoring

2009 ◽  
Vol 89 (5) ◽  
pp. 1045-1050 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.-L. Jung ◽  
E. Stéphan ◽  
M. Louis ◽  
E. Alfonsi ◽  
C. Liret ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Aerial Survey ◽  
Harbour Porpoise ◽  
Shallow Waters ◽  
Encounter Rate ◽  
English Channel ◽  
Phocoena Phocoena ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
North Western

The harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) is one of the common small cetaceans of European waters. This discreet and undemonstrative species is strongly represented throughout the cold waters of the northern hemisphere, and is the most abundant cetacean in the North Sea. In the last few years, some observations and studies indicate a shift of harbour porpoise distribution in European waters, from northern regions of the North Sea to the southern North Sea, English Channel and Celtic Sea. This shift may include a comeback around the coasts of France. Harbour porpoises inhabit shelf-waters and are often observed in shallow waters, conditions offered for instance by the coasts of Brittany in north-western France. We used opportunistic sightings, aerial survey and a ten-year strandings database to study the presence of harbour porpoises along the coasts of Brittany. Opportunistic sightings made by non-specialists did not confirm a strong presence of harbour porpoises along the Brittany coasts, most probably because of the undemonstrative behaviour of this cetacean. However, aerial survey and stranding analysis indicate that harbour porpoises have become natural inhabitants of the Brittany coasts once more: 68.6% of cetacean school sightings made during a 1578 km aerial survey of the Brittany coasts concerned harbour porpoises, with an encounter rate of 1.5 individuals per 100 km that peaked to 5.8 per 100 km to the top of the shallow waters of the south-western Western English Channel. The number of harbour porpoise strandings increased each year from 1997 to 2007, making a total of 135 along the coasts of Brittany. Other cetaceans did not show such an increase during the same period. Strandings of harbour porpoises were also characterized by an apparent increase as a proportion in relation to all the cetacean strandings during the months of September to January, by a marked impact of by-catch during winter, and by an almost total absence of stranded calves. The comeback of the harbour porpoise along Brittany coasts is clearly confirmed by our data, and a stable population seems to be established again along the coasts of Brittany. This tends to confirm the shift of the distribution of the species in certain European waters. Long term monitoring, diet and genetic studies are now planned for a better understanding of this shift, and for the effective implementation of a conservation plan.

Identification of the first harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) calving ground in the North Sea

1999 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.P Sonntag ◽  
H Benke ◽  
A.R Hiby ◽  
R Lick ◽  
D Adelung
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Harbour Porpoise ◽  
Phocoena Phocoena ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea

scholarly journals Summer Abundance of Harbour Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) in the Coastal Waters of Iceland and the Faroe Islands

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita Gilles ◽  
Thorvaldur Gunnlaugsson ◽  
Bjarni Mikkelsen ◽  
Daniel G. Pike ◽  
Gísli A. Víkingsson
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Waters ◽  
Harbour Porpoise ◽  
Line Transect ◽  
Faroe Islands ◽  
Phocoena Phocoena ◽  
The North ◽  
Counting Procedure ◽  
Abundance Estimates ◽  
By Catch ◽  
The Impact

This study presents the first fully corrected abundance estimates for the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) for Iceland and the Faroe Islands. In both regions reliable estimates are needed to assess the impact of by-catch and other threats to harbour porpoises. Aerial surveys with harbour porpoise as a secondary and main target species were conducted in the summers of 2007 and 2010 in Icelandic and in Faroese coastal waters respectively. In Iceland, the cue counting procedure was used (which also produces the data required for line transect analysis), while in the Faroese, standard line transect sampling was applied, following the SCANS-II (Small Cetacean Abundance in the North Sea) survey protocol. In both surveys, identical aircraft surveyed at an altitude of 600 ft and a speed of 90–100 kn. Only data collected during Beaufort Sea States (BSS) lower than 3 and during good or moderate porpoise sighting conditions were used for abundance estimates. Abundance estimates were corrected using stratified estimates of esw (incorporating g(0)) values derived during the SCANS-II survey in 2005 as principal observers took part in this survey as well. In Iceland, realised effort in good or moderate harbour porpoise sighting conditions totalled 8,289 km in 13 survey strata, where 77 sightings (109 individuals) were made by the experienced harbour porpoise observer only. In Faroese waters, only part of the area inside the 300 m depth curve could be surveyed and 1,564 km were surveyed in good or moderate porpoise sighting conditions, yielding 39 sightings (49 individuals). The total abundance estimates were 43,179 porpoises (CV=0.45; 95% CI: 31,755–161,899) for Icelandic coastal waters and 5,175 porpoises (CV=0.44; 95% CI: 3,457–17,637) for Faroese waters.

Cutaneous papillomavirus infection in a harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) from the North Sea

1999 ◽  
Vol 144 (21) ◽  
pp. 592-593 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.-F. Van Bressem ◽  
R. A. Kastelein ◽  
P. Flamant ◽  
G. Orth
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Harbour Porpoise ◽  
Phocoena Phocoena ◽  
The North ◽  
Papillomavirus Infection ◽  
The North Sea

Mitochondrial DNA phylogeography of the harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena in the North Pacific

2010 ◽  
Vol 157 (7) ◽  
pp. 1489-1498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mioko Taguchi ◽  
Susan J. Chivers ◽  
Patricia E. Rosel ◽  
Takashi Matsuishi ◽  
Syuiti Abe
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Harbour Porpoise ◽  
Phocoena Phocoena ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Pacific

scholarly journals Distribution, abundance and density estimates of franciscanas, Pontoporia blainvillei (Cetacea: Pontoporiidae), in Babitonga bay, southern Brazil

2008 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta J. Cremer ◽  
Paulo C. Simões-Lopes
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Group Size ◽  
Distance Sampling ◽  
North Coast ◽  
Southern Brazil ◽  
Density Estimates ◽  
The North ◽  
Pontoporia Blainvillei ◽  
Best Fit

Pontoporia blainvillei (Gervais & d'Orbigny, 1844) is threatened throughout its distribution. The species can be found year-round in the Babitonga bay estuary (26º 02'-26º 28'S and 48º28'-48º50'W), in the north coast of the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Boat surveys were conducted in order to evaluate its abundance and density between 2000 and 2003. Sampling was random and stratified, with 46 transects in five sub-areas, comprising a total area of 160 km². Data collection was conducted following the linear transect method with distance sampling. A total of 1174.7 km was scanned and 38 groups were observed. Franciscanas were not uniformly distributed in Babitonga bay. Group size ranged from one to 13 animals (mean ± SD = 5.02 ± 3.62). Model 1 (Half-Normal) showed the best fit to the data. The estimated population size was 50 animals and the density was 0.32 individuals km-2. Density estimates evaluated in the sub-areas where franciscanas occurred resulted in a density of 0.46 individuals km-2. Monitoring this population is of considerable importance due to the constant threats that this species faces in this bay.

Harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) presence, abundance and distribution over the Dogger Bank, North Sea, in winter

2016 ◽  
Vol 97 (7) ◽  
pp. 1455-1465 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.-C. Cucknell ◽  
O. Boisseau ◽  
R. Leaper ◽  
R. McLanaghan ◽  
A. Moscrop
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Probability Of Detection ◽  
Harbour Porpoise ◽  
Encounter Rate ◽  
Phocoena Phocoena ◽  
Survey Area ◽  
The West ◽  
Dogger Bank ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea

An area in the central North Sea was surveyed in November 2011 in order to estimate the abundance and density of harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena). A total of 2833 km of pre-determined trackline were acoustically surveyed, of which 28% included visual effort. The poor sighting conditions during the survey limited visual effort and demonstrated the advantage of using acoustic techniques for studying harbour porpoise in winter months. Absolute abundance and density estimates were calculated from acoustic encounter rates using estimates of probability of detection and mean group size. The density of harbour porpoises in the west of the survey area was almost double that in the east, with UK waters to the south-west of the Dogger Bank having the highest density of the area surveyed. The overall acoustic encounter rate was higher than most other surveys in the North Sea. The mean density across the survey area of 0.63 (95% CI 0.27–1.52) individuals km−2and distribution of porpoises was similar to that documented in the summer suggesting that high abundance of harbour porpoises in the west of the North Sea is not confined to summer months. This information is particularly relevant given plans for the construction of a large offshore wind farm on the UK section of the Dogger Bank; the resulting impacts, including acoustic disturbance from pile driving, will potentially affect substantial numbers of harbour porpoises.

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