Marine litter is a pollution problem affecting thousands of marine species in all the world's seas and oceans. Marine litter, in particular plastic, has negative impacts on marine wildlife primarily ...due to ingestion and entanglement. Since most marine mammal species negatively interact with marine litter, a first workshop under the framework of the European Cetacean Society Conference, was held in 2017 to bring together the main experts on the topic of marine mammals and marine litter from academic and research institutes, non-governmental organisations, foundations and International Agreements. The workshop was devoted to defining the impact of marine litter on marine mammals by reviewing current knowledge, methodological advances and new data available on this emerging issue. Some case studies were also presented from European waters, such as seals and cetaceans in the North, Baltic, and Mediterranean Seas. Here, we report the main findings of the workshop, including a discussion on the research needs, the main methodological gaps, an overview of new techniques for detecting the effects of marine litter (including microplastics) on marine mammals and, also, the use of citizen science to drive awareness. The final recommendations aim to establish priority research, to define harmonised methods to detect marine litter and microplastics, enforce networking among institutions and support data sharing. The information gathered will enhance awareness and communication between scientists, young people, citizens, other stakeholders and policy makers, and thereby facilitate better implementation of international directives (e.g., the Marine Strategy Framework Directive) in order to answer the question about the actual status of our oceans and finding solutions.
•Harmonised protocols are needed to define the amount of ingested debris that can cause negative effects.•Protocols to evaluate the presence and effects of micro and nanoplastics should be further developed.•Methods to evaluate the exposure to plastics and plastic additives in free-ranging organisms are required.•Communicating to scientists, citizens, stakeholders and policy makers to enhance awareness raising.•A consistent monitoring approach is required, as marine litter pollution is estimated to increase.
To understand the sources, the transfer and the effects of marine litter, and therefore their impacts on marine mammal researchers need to apply a multidisciplinary standardized protocols.
The accumulation of human-derived debris in the oceans is a global concern and a serious threat to marine wildlife. There is a volume of evidence that points to deleterious effects of marine debris ...(MD) on cetaceans in terms of both entanglement and ingestion. This review suggests that about 68% of cetacean species are affected by interacting with MD with an increase in the number of species reported to have interacted with it over the past decades. Despite the growing body of evidence, there is an ongoing debate on the actual effects of plastics on cetaceans and, in particular, with reference to the ingestion of microplastics and their potential toxicological and pathogenic effects. Current knowledge suggests that the observed differences in the rate and nature of interactions with plastics are the result of substantial differences in species-specific diving and feeding strategies. Existing projections on the production, use and disposal of plastics suggest a further increase of marine plastic pollution. In this context, the contribution of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to marine plastic pollution appears to be substantial, with potentially serious consequences for marine life including cetaceans. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic offers an opportunity to investigate the direct links between industry, human behaviours and the effects of MD on cetaceans. This could help inform management, prevention efforts, describe knowledge gaps and guide advancements in research efforts. This review highlights the lack of assessments of population-level effects related to MD and suggests that these could be rather immediate for small populations already under pressure from other anthropogenic activities. Finally, we suggest that MD is not only a pollution, economic and social issue, but also a welfare concern for the species and populations involved.
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•The build-up of human-derived debris in the oceans is a global environmental plague.•68% of cetacean species are affected by marine debris either by ingestion or entanglement.•Covid-19 related debris are likely to further affect cetacean species.•Long-term population consequences of marine debris have not been assessed in 50 years.•Welfare concerns relating to marine debris are overlooked in conservation plans.
Animal cultures matter for conservation Brakes, Philippa; Dall, Sasha R X; Aplin, Lucy M ...
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
03/2019, Letnik:
363, Številka:
6431
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Understanding the rich social lives of animals benefits international conservation efforts
Animal culture, defined as “information or behavior—shared within a community—which is acquired from ...conspecifics through some form of social learning” (
1
), can have important consequences for the survival and reproduction of individuals, social groups, and potentially, entire populations (
1
,
2
). Yet, until recently, conservation strategies and policies have focused primarily on broad demographic responses and the preservation of genetically defined, evolutionarily significant units. A burgeoning body of evidence on cultural transmission and other aspects of sociality (
3
) is now affording critical insights into what should be conserved (going beyond the protection of genetic diversity, to consider adaptive aspects of phenotypic variation), and why specific conservation programs succeed (e.g., through facilitating the resilience of cultural diversity) while others fail (e.g., by neglecting key repositories of socially transmitted knowledge). Here, we highlight how international legal instruments, such as the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), can facilitate smart, targeted conservation of a wide range of taxa, by explicitly considering aspects of their sociality and cultures.
Human activities are increasingly impacting our oceans and the focus tends to be on their environmental impacts, rather than consequences for animal welfare. Global shipping density has quadrupled ...since 1992. Unsurprisingly, increased levels of vessel collisions with cetaceans have followed this global expansion of shipping. This paper is the first to attempt to consider the severity of ship-strike on individual whale welfare. The methodology of the 'Welfare Assessment Tool for Wild Cetaceans' (WATWC) was used, which is itself based upon the Five Domains model. Expert opinion was sought on six hypothetical but realistic case studies involving humpback whales (
) struck by ships. Twenty-nine experts in the cetacean and welfare sector took part. They were split into two groups; Group 1 first assessed a case we judged to be the least severe and Group 2 first assessed the most severe. Both groups then additionally assessed the same four further cases. This was to investigate whether the severity of the first case influenced judgements regarding subsequent cases (i.e. expert judgements were relative) or not (i.e. judgements were absolute). No significant difference between the two groups of assessors was found; therefore, the hypothesis of relative scoring was rejected. Experts judged whales may suffer some level (>1) of overall (Domain 5) harm for the rest of their lives following a ship-strike incident. Health, closely followed by Behaviour were found to be the welfare aspects most affected by ship-strikes. Overall, the WATWC shows a robust potential to aid decision-making on wild cetacean welfare.
A key goal of conservation is to protect biodiversity by supporting the long-term persistence of viable, natural populations of wild species. Conservation practice has long been guided by genetic, ...ecological and demographic indicators of risk. Emerging evidence of animal culture across diverse taxa and its role as a driver of evolutionary diversification, population structure and demographic processes may be essential for augmenting these conventional conservation approaches and decision-making. Animal culture was the focus of a ground-breaking resolution under the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), an international treaty operating under the UN Environment Programme. Here, we synthesize existing evidence to demonstrate how social learning and animal culture interact with processes important to conservation management. Specifically, we explore how social learning might influence population viability and be an important resource in response to anthropogenic change, and provide examples of how it can result in phenotypically distinct units with different, socially learnt behavioural strategies. While identifying culture and social learning can be challenging, indirect identification and parsimonious inferences may be informative. Finally, we identify relevant methodologies and provide a framework for viewing behavioural data through a cultural lens which might provide new insights for conservation management.
Climate change is predicted to impact the distribution of many marine species. In the North-East Atlantic and elsewhere in the world, studies indicate that climate change is leading to poleward ...shifts in cetacean distribution.
Here, strandings data collected in the British Isles from 1990 to 2020 were used to assess whether there is evidence of a shift in baleen whale distribution. Linear regression models were used to compare the number of strandings over time between six regions of the British Isles and, whilst the results indicate no significant change in the number of strandings in the most southerly region of the British Isles, there have been significant increases in more northern regions. Data related to stranded minke whales is the primary driver of these increases, with a number of potential variables affecting this trend, including observer effort. These variables are discussed and further research to explore this potential association is suggested.
•Climate change is predicted to impact the distribution of marine species.•Strandings data are used to assess baleen whale distribution in the British Isles.•The number of strandings from 1990 to 2020 was compared between six regions.•In the most southerly region, the number of strandings remained constant.•In more northern regions, the number of strandings increased significantly.•Population growth and/or a northern distribution shift may explain this.
The conservation of harbor porpoises (
Phocoena phocoena
) appears to be failing in Europe. There are particular concerns about this species in the Baltic Proper, Black, and Mediterranean Seas, as ...well as in the Northeast Atlantic, including the Iberian population, off the Spanish and Portuguese coasts. The Baltic Proper porpoise is “critically endangered,” with a population only in the low hundreds, and the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission has repeatedly called for action to ensure its survival. In 2020, the Committee issued a series of recommendations relating to it and the Iberian population. Similarly, the Black Sea harbor porpoise,
Phocoena phocoena
ssp.
relicta
, is classified by the IUCN as endangered. Another population which may be genetically distinct is the West Greenland harbor porpoise, which is hunted without quotas or close seasons. European cetaceans and their habitats are covered by a number of international and regional conventions and agreements and, under European Union law, are “highly protected.” In practice, however, these legal protections have failed to generate effective conservation. For example, Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) are required for them and, although sites have been designated in some marine areas/countries, in the absence of appropriate management plans, SACs cannot be expected to help improve the harbor porpoise's conservation status. Compared to many other species, porpoises are relatively long-lived with low reproductive capacity and only poor public recognition. Conservation and management efforts are caught up in a complicated nexus of interactions involving a web of commitments under international conventions and agreements, European environmental laws, and European fisheries policy. However, public disinterest, lack of political will to implement conservation measures, and complicated fishing-related issues hinder any real progress. More positively, recent advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) provides a new scientific foundation for conservation action to address fisheries bycatch in the Baltic Proper harbor porpoise population. Populations of other porpoise species (family Phocoenidae) are also threatened, most notably the global population of the critically endangered vaquita, or Gulf of California porpoise (
Phocoena sinus
). The common threats and factors affecting porpoise populations are discussed and recommendations offered.
The influence of topographic and temporal variables on cetacean distribution at a fine-scale is still poorly understood. To study the spatial and temporal distribution of harbour porpoise Phocoena ...phocoena and the poorly known Risso's dolphin Grampus griseus we carried out land-based observations from Bardsey Island (Wales, UK) in summer (2001-2007). Using Kernel analysis and Generalized Additive Models it was shown that porpoises and Risso's appeared to be linked to topographic and dynamic cyclic variables with both species using different core areas (dolphins to the West and porpoises to the East off Bardsey). Depth, slope and aspect and a low variation in current speed (for Risso's) were important in explaining the patchy distributions for both species. The prime temporal conditions in these shallow coastal systems were related to the tidal cycle (Low Water Slack and the flood phase), lunar cycle (a few days following the neap tidal phase), diel cycle (afternoons) and seasonal cycle (peaking in August) but differed between species on a temporary but predictable basis. The measure of tidal stratification was shown to be important. Coastal waters generally show a stronger stratification particularly during neap tides upon which the phytoplankton biomass at the surface rises reaching its maximum about 2-3 days after neap tide. It appeared that porpoises occurred in those areas where stratification is maximised and Risso's preferred more mixed waters. This fine-scale study provided a temporal insight into spatial distribution of two species that single studies conducted over broader scales (tens or hundreds of kilometers) do not achieve. Understanding which topographic and cyclic variables drive the patchy distribution of porpoises and Risso's in a Headland/Island system may form the initial basis for identifying potentially critical habitats for these species.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Dolphins are typically regarded as highly social animals. However, some individuals live apart from their own species and may come to socialize with people through a recognized series of stages which ...are presented and expanded on in this paper. The term "solitary-sociable dolphins" has been used to describe these animals and such individuals have been identified from several different species and reported in many parts of the world. In many instances, the interactions with people that may follow their original isolation, and which typically become more intense over time, have created situations where the welfare of the animal has been compromised by disturbance, injury, the feeding of inappropriate items and aggressive human behavior. Several solitary-sociable dolphins have also been deliberately injured and killed by humans. People who interact with these dolphins may also put themselves at risk of injury. This paper reports on recent cases drawing on published and unpublished sources. Since 2008, 32 solitary dolphins have been recorded including 27 bottlenose dolphins (25
and two
), two striped dolphins and three common dolphins. Four solitary belugas have also been recorded. There are some ten solitary dolphins and one beluga known at the present time. Laws and guidelines currently in place to protect solitary-sociable dolphins need to be strengthened and interactions with people should be avoided or, at the least, carefully managed to protect both the dolphin and the humans involved in the interaction. Terms, such as disturbance and harassment which are included in laws need to be clearly defined. Additionally, management plans for solitary-sociable dolphins need to be developed and adapted on a case by case basis taking into account the individual dolphin's sex, age, personality, stage of sociability and home range. It is also important that government officials and local stakeholders work together to implement guidelines which set out how the public can observe or interact with the dolphin safely.
At least a quarter of the world's cetaceans were recently confirmed as endangered and the situation may be worse as the status of many others remains unclear. Climate change is affecting the oceans ...and a number of studies have recently highlighted its potential impact on cetacean species - for example, there are important linkages between sea ice and krill, the primary prey for baleen whales in Antarctica. This paper provides a synthesis of new information available on this theme and considers its implications for the future conservation and management of cetacean populations and species. The more mobile (or otherwise adaptable) cetaceans may be able to respond to climate related changes, although the extent of this adaptability is largely unknown. However, there is broad agreement that certain species and populations are likely to be especially vulnerable to climate related changes, including those with a limited habitat range, or those for which sea ice provides an important habitat for the cetacean population and/or that of their prey. International conservation bodies, such as the Convention for Migratory Species and the International Whaling Commission, are striving to address these issues. The challenges presented by climate change require an innovative, large scale, long term and multinational response from scientists, conservation managers and decision makers. This response that should encompass a precautionary approach, including addressing the detrimental effects of other factors negatively impacting populations and species.
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