Monitoring the habitat use of common Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) using passive acoustics in a Mediterranean marine protected area

The Mediterranean Tursiops truncatus subpopulation has been classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because of its decline. This species in coastal areas is exposed to a wide variety of threats: directed kills, bycatch, reduced prey availability caused by environmental degradation and overfishing, habitat degradation including disturbances from boat traffic and noise. Despite the increase in boat traffic in the Mediterranean Sea, the effect on T. truncatus’ habitat use has been studied in little detail and few data have been published. This study represents the first attempt to characterise spatial and temporal habitat use by T. truncatus and its relation to boat traffic in the Isole Pelagie Marine Protected Area (Italy) on the basis of an originally developed passive acoustic monitoring system (PAM). The devices were deployed in 2 areas in the southern waters of Lampedusa, during 2 separate years (2006 and 2009), each time for 3 months (from July to September) and in 6 time slots (3 diurnal and 3 nocturnal). Acoustic analysis showed that T. truncatus used the Southern coastal area of Lampedusa independently of the year, primarily during the early summer, a period coinciding with the peak of calving season. Dolphin occurrences appeared independent of boat traffic, with the exception of the smallest temporal scale (time slots): dolphin occurrences were more prevalent during the night when the level of boat traffic was lower. This study provides evidence on T. truncatus habitat use in the Mediterranean Sea and reveals that boat traffic could be one of the factors influencing it, thus stressing the need for further detailed investigation regarding this topic.

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Non-indigenous macroalgal species in coralligenous habitats of the Marine Protected Area Isole Ciclopi (Sicily, Italy)

Italian Botanist ◽

10.3897/italianbotanist.11.60474 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

pp. 31-44

Author(s):

Luca Giuseppe Costanzo ◽

Giuliana Marletta ◽

Giuseppina Alongi

Keyword(s):

Alien Species ◽

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Protected Area ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Eastern Mediterranean ◽

Present Report ◽

Eastern Coast ◽

Remotely Operated Vehicle ◽

High Coverage ◽

The Mediterranean

Biological invasions are considered one of the main threats for biodiversity. In the last decades, more than 60 macroalgae have been introduced in the Mediterranean Sea, causing serious problems in coastal areas. Nevertheless, the impacts of alien macroalgae in deep subtidal systems have been poorly studied, especially in the coralligenous habitats of the eastern coast of Sicily (Italy). Therefore, within the framework of the programme “Progetto Operativo di Monitoraggio (P.O.M.)” of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), the aim of the present study was to gain knowledge on the alien macroalgae present in coralligenous habitats of the Marine Protected Area (MPA) Isole Ciclopi, along the Ionian coast of Sicily. By Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) videos and destructive samples analysed in the laboratory, five alien species were identified: Caulerpa cylindracea, Antithamnion amphigeneum, Asparagopsis armata, Bonnemaisonia hamifera, and Lophocladia lallemandii. Since A. amphigeneum was previously reported only in the western Mediterranean and Adriatic Sea, the present report represents the first record of this species in the eastern Mediterranean. The ROV surveys showed that the alien species do not have a high coverage and do not appear to be invasive in the coralligenous area of the MPA. Since ocean temperatures are predicted to increase as climate change continues and alien species are favoured by warming of the Mediterranean Sea, the risk of biotic homogenisation caused by the spread of alien species is realistic. Therefore, further studies are needed to assess the incidence and invasiveness of alien species in phytobenthic assemblages of coralligenous in the MPA.

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Marine protected area design patterns in the Mediterranean Sea: Implications for conservation

Marine Pollution Bulletin ◽

10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.06.044 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 110 (1) ◽

pp. 335-342 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

D. Rodríguez-Rodríguez ◽

J. Rodríguez ◽

J.M. Blanco ◽

D. Abdul Malak

Keyword(s):

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Protected Area ◽

Design Patterns ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

The Mediterranean

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Sublittoral soft bottom assemblages within a Marine Protected Area of the northern Alboran Sea

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom ◽

10.1017/s0025315414002082 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 95 (5) ◽

pp. 871-884 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Pablo Marina ◽

José L. Rueda ◽

Javier Urra ◽

Carmen Salas ◽

Serge Gofas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Protected Area ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Geographic Location ◽

Fine Sand ◽

Alboran Sea ◽

Faunal Assemblages ◽

Soft Bottoms ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

Alborán Sea

The composition and structure of sublittoral faunal assemblages inhabiting soft bottoms (15–72 m depth) within the Marine Protected Area ‘Acantilados y Fondos Marinos de Calahonda-Castell de Ferro’ in southern Spain (North Alboran Sea, Mediterranean) have been studied in relation to sediment and water column variables. Three assemblages were identified and corresponded to mixed bottom, unstable bottom and coastal detritic bottom assemblages, based on Pérès & Picard's (1964) benthic classification. A total of 14,318 individuals were collected and 218 species identified, molluscs being the best represented group (141 species). Species richness displayed significant differences with depth and transect, with the highest values observed in the medium to very fine sand and muddy bottoms with bioclasts located at the shallowest sampling stations. The presence of some rare and poorly known invertebrates that are scarce in other areas of the Mediterranean Sea is remarkable, such as the crustacean decapods Bythocaris cosmetops and Pagurus mbizi, Atlantic species with no records in the Mediterranean Sea, and the bathyal molluscs Poromya granulata and Alvania testae, collected at shallow depths. The spatial distribution of faunal assemblages was mainly related to depth and percentage of gravel and clay according to the canonical correspondence analysis. The geographic location of the area, the heterogeneity of soft bottoms and the presence of upwellings in the area may favour the high biodiversity found in the studied soft bottoms. This study increases the scarce knowledge of the circalittoral fauna of sedimentary habitats of the Alboran Sea, providing a baseline for the management of this interesting SCI and for the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

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The Case of a Rudderfish Highlights the Role of Natural History Museums as Sentinels of Bio-invasions

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4254.3.8 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4254 (3) ◽

pp. 382 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

SABRINA LO BRUTTO

Keyword(s):

Natural History ◽

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Protected Area ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Natural History Museums ◽

History Museums ◽

Western Sicily ◽

Kyphosus Vaigiensis ◽

The Mediterranean

In September 2013 fishermen captured a rudderfish—Kyphosus vaigiensis—off Favignana Island, one of the islands of the Egadi Islands Marine Protected Area (MPA) in western Sicily (Mannino et al., 2015). This species is rarely sampled in the Mediterranean Sea.

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Distribución espacial, estructura social y amenazas de conservación de una pequeña comunidad de delfines nariz de botella, Tursiops trunca (Odontoceti: Delphinidae) en Ecuador

Revista de Biología Tropical ◽

10.15517/rbt.v67i4.35223 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 67 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Fernando Félix ◽

Melanie Zavala ◽

Ruby Centeno

Keyword(s):

Group Size ◽

Tursiops Truncatus ◽

Marine Protected Area ◽

Bottlenose Dolphins ◽

Northwestern Part ◽

Small Community ◽

Population Unit ◽

Fishing Boat ◽

Boat Traffic ◽

Santa Elena

Socio-ecological and conservation aspects of a small community of bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus (Odontoceti: Delphinidae) in Santa Elena, Ecuador. A resident community of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) has been studied irregularly between 2005 and 2018 around the tip of the Santa Elena Peninsula, Ecuador (2°11'S, 81°0.7'W). Opportunistic sightings and systematic surveys from the beach and at sea from a boat were carried out along 40 km of coast, accounting for 917.2 km of tracking by car from land and 707.4 km of boat tracking by sea. Average group size was 5.31 dolphins/group (SD= 1.97, range 1-10), with no significant changes throughout the study period. From land, however, the group size was underestimated 32% on the average. This small dolphin community currently has only nine individuals, including six adults, one immature and two calves. The relative abundance ranged between 0.03 dolphins/km in the northwestern part and 0.32 dolphins/km in the south, where dolphins concentrate their activities, possibly because human activities are less intense. Dolphins were generally distributed in the first 200 m from the shore, reaching up to 1,200 in the northern shallower part and where port and tourist activities concentrate. The dolphins’ speed was significantly higher when they were followed from a boat at close range (5.87 km/h) than when they were monitored from the beach (2.9 km/h) (P < 0.01), which suggests that boat tracking had an effect on dolphin´s movements. Pairwise cluster analysis showed that animals from this community show high rates of association among each other (average 0.67, range 0.01-1.0), indicating this is highly cohesive population unit. Dolphins also showed high level of residence (average occurrence index = 0.62). During the study, two main threats were identified, a gillnet fishery in the southwestern part and an intense fishing boat traffic in the northwestern. This coastal bottlenose dolphin community is the smallest of this species ever reported in the Gulf of Guayaquil, probably is a remnant of a larger population that would be in process of extinction. Most of the study area is currently part of a coastal-marine protected area created in 2008, which offers an opportunity for the recovery and conservation of this dolphin community. Given the fragility of this population unit, we recommend to environment authorities addressing potential threats by eliminating gillnets, implementing an exclusion zone for fishing gear and fishing boat traffic of 1 km width from the shore and limit the speed of any type of vessel to 10 knots within the reserve.

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