Ganges River Dolphin: An Overview of Biology,Ecology, and Conservation Status in India

Ganges River dolphin, Platanista gangetica gangetica, is one of the three obligatory freshwater dolphins in the world and is distributed in the Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna and Sangu–Karnaphuli River systems in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. This species is facing considerable threats to its survival, and its population has dwindled from 4000 to 5000 in the early 1980s to 3500 in 2014 in the distribution range. This article reviews current status of the sub-species, habitat use, and the potential threats that the dolphins face for their survival (details of taxonomic status and genetics, evolutionary adaptations and anatomical peculiarities, physical adaptation, primitive characteristics, biology, behavior, surfacing behavior and dive times, mating and birth, and life span/age have been placed as Electronic Supplementary Materials). Recommendations have been made for the protection and developing strategies for the conservation of this Endangered and endemic sub-species.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-014-0534-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

长江白鱀豚的保护

白鱀豚是我国特有的珍稀淡水哺乳动物,仅分布于长江中下游,目前长江白鱀豚的种群数量仅约200头,濒临灭绝。造成白鱀豚濒危的主要威胁来自长江鱼类资源的减少、有害渔具的广泛使用、航运事业的发展、河道的大规模整治、水电工程的建设、水体污染以及白鱀豚自身的生理特征。通过我们多年的研究,提出了建立半自然白鱀豚保护区、人工饲养下白鱀豚的繁殖,和建立长江白鱀豚自然保护区等三大措施。在各级政府和科研部门的共同努力下,三项措施正在落实,为保护白鱀豚创造了良好的条件,但面临的困难还很多,任务十分艰巨,我们希望开展广泛的国际合作,为保护白鱀豚共同努力。     

厦门中华白海豚的重金属含量

对厦门港海域８只中华白海豚成体和幼仔体内的重金属含量进行了测定。结果表明，与鱼类和无脊上比，中华白海豚的重金属含量很高。成年的含量观于幼仔；肝的含量大大超过其他部位。中华白海豚的重金属含量高，与其它处于海洋食物链的的最顶级密切相关。     

珠江口水域中华白海豚微量元素含量分析

对珠江口水域12头中华白海豚体内10种微量元素(As、Ba、Cd、Co、Cr、Cu、Ni、Pb、Zn、Hg)的含量进行测量.分析结果显示:受试样品中Zn元素含量最高,Cu、Hg次之,Co、Cr、Ni含量最低;肝脏和肾脏中微量元素含量较高,其余各组织器官中的分布不尽相同.分析认为珠江口水域中华白海豚受到一定程度的As、Hg、Cd、Pb污染.     

Influences on dusky dolphin (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lagenorhynchus obscurus</Emphasis>) fission-fusion dynamics in Admiralty Bay,New Zealand

In societies characterized by a high degree of fission-fusion dynamics, individuals adjust their grouping patterns according to the shifting balance of costs and benefits associated with grouping. This study examines influences on fission-fusion dynamics for dusky dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) in Admiralty Bay, New Zealand. This area is an important foraging habitat for dusky dolphins during the winter and spring. Admiralty Bay has little predation risk, but nearshore mussel farms may infringe on available habitat. I used generalized estimating equations to determine the influences of coordinated foraging, predation risk, and presence of mussel farms on party size, rate of fission-fusion, and behavioral state. I conducted 168 boat-based group focal follows totaling 168 h. The proportion of individuals observed foraging was positively related to party size and rate of party fusion. Resting had no effect on party size and did not vary according to location. Near mussel farms, traveling decreased, and rate of party fission decreased. I conclude that (1) coordinated foraging strategies are a primary influence on fission-fusion dynamics within this population, (2) dolphins may respond to decreased predation risk by not adjusting party size or location during resting, and (3) areas near mussel farms are not used for traveling.     

Behavioral games involving a clever prey avoiding a clever predator: An individual-based model of dusky dolphins and killer whales

Faced with an intermittent but potent threat, animals exhibit behavior that allows them to balance foraging needs and avoid predators and over time, these behaviors can become hard-wired adaptations with both species trying to maximize their own fitness. In systems where both predator and prey share similar sensory modalities and cognitive abilities, such as with marine mammals, the dynamic nature of predator-prey interactions is poorly understood. The costs and benefits of these anti-predator adaptations need to be evaluated and quantified based on the dynamic engagement of predator and prey. Many theoretic models have addressed the complexity of predator-prey relationships, but few have translated into testable mechanistic models. In this study, we developed a spatially-explicit, geo-referenced, individual-based model of a prototypical adult dusky dolphin off Kaikoura, New Zealand facing a more powerful, yet infrequent predator, the killer whale. We were interested in two primary objectives, (1) to capture the varying behavioral game between a clever prey and clever predator based on our current understanding of the Kaikoura system, (2) to compare evolutionary costs vs. benefits (foraging time and number of predator encounters) for an adult non-maternal dusky dolphin at various levels of killer whale-avoidance behaviors and no avoidance rules. We conducted Monte Carlo simulations to address model performance and parametric uncertainty. Mantel tests revealed an 88% correlation (426 × 426 distance matrix, km²) between observed field sightings of dusky dolphins with model generated sightings for non-maternal adult dusky dolphin groups. Simulation results indicated that dusky dolphins incur a 2.7% loss in feeding time by evolving the anti-predator behavior of moving to and from the feeding grounds. Further, each evolutionary strategy we explored resulted in dolphins incurring an additional loss of foraging time. At low killer whale densities (appearing less than once every 3 days), each evolutionary strategy simulated converged towards the evolutionary cost of foraging, that is, the loss in foraging time approached the 2.7% loss experienced by evolving near shore-offshore movement behavior. However, the highest level of killer whale presence resulted in 38% decreases in foraging time. The biological significance of these losses potentially incurred by a dusky dolphin is dependent on various factors from dolphin group foraging behavior and individual energy needs to dolphin prey availability and behavior.     

Rapidly Shifting Baselines in Yangtze Fishing Communities and Local Memory of Extinct Species

Abstract: Local ecological knowledge can provide a unique source of data for conservation, especially in efforts to investigate the status of rare or possibly extinct species, but it is unlikely to remain constant over time. Loss of perspective about past ecological conditions caused by lack of communication between generations may create “shifting baseline syndrome,” in which younger generations are less aware of local species diversity or abundance in the recent past. This phenomenon has been widely discussed, but has rarely been examined quantitatively. We present new evidence of shifting baselines in local perception of regional species declines and on the duration of “community memory” of extinct species on the basis of extensive interviews with fishers in communities across the middle‐lower Yangtze basin. Many Yangtze species have experienced major declines in recent decades, and the Yangtze River dolphin or baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) and Yangtze paddlefish (Psephurus gladius) may have become extinct during the 21^st century. Although informants across all age classes were strongly aware of the Yangtze ecosystem's escalating resource depletion and environmental degradation, older informants were more likely to recognize declines in two commercially important fish species, Reeves’ shad (Tenualosa reevesii) and Yangtze pufferfish (Takifugu fasciatus), and to have encountered baiji and paddlefish in the past. Age was also a strong predictor of whether informants had even heard of baiji or paddlefish, with younger informants being substantially less likely to recognize either species. A marked decrease in local knowledge about the Yangtze freshwater megafauna matched the time of major population declines of these species from the 1970s onwards, and paddlefish were already unknown to over 70% of all informants below the age of 40 and to those who first started fishing after 1995. This rapid rate of cultural baseline shift suggests that once even megafaunal species cease to be encountered on a fairly regular basis, they are rapidly forgotten by local communities.     

Heavy metal contents of the sperm whale physeter macrocephalus and the bottle‐nosed dolphin tursiops truncatus beached on Languedoc‐Roussillon seaside (Mediterranean,France)

The contamination of Sperm Whale Physeter macrocephalus and bottle‐nosed dolphin Tursiops truncatus by lead is less than detection limit, insignificant by cadmium and nickel, not very high by copper and quite high by zinc. On the other hand, the concentration of mercury, very low for Sperm Whale, is very high for bottle‐nosed dolphin.

The pollution of Physeter macrocephalus is significantly lower than that of dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba and probably that of other species of cetaceans living near the coast; this might be due to its pelagic life and its diet.

The mercury pollution of Tursiops truncatus (especially that of one of the two subjects analyzed) is quite similar to that of Stenella coeruleoalba. This might be due to the fact that Tursiops truncatus can live in the open sea just as well as close to the seashore.     

Ecological metrics of biomass removed by three methods of purse-seine fishing for tunas in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean

An ecosystem approach to fisheries management is a widely recognized goal, but describing and measuring the effects of a fishery on an ecosystem is difficult. Ecological information on the entire catch (all animals removed, whether retained or discarded) of both species targeted by the fishery and nontarget species (i.e., bycatch) is required. We used data from the well-documented purse-seine fishery for tunas (Thunnus albacares, T. obesus, and Katsuwonus pelamis) in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean to examine the fishery's ecological effects. Purse-seine fishing in the eastern tropical Pacific is conducted in 3 ways that differ in the amount and composition of target species and bycatch. The choice of method depends on whether the tunas are swimming alone (unassociated sets), associated with dolphins (dolphin sets), or associated with floating objects (floating-object sets). Among the fishing methods, we compared catch on the basis of weight, number of individuals, trophic level, replacement time, and diversity. Floating-object sets removed 2-3 times as much biomass as the other 2 methods, depending on how removal was measured. Results of previous studies suggest the ecological effects of floating-object sets are thousands of times greater than the effects of other methods, but these results were derived from only numbers of discarded animals. Management of the fishery has been driven to a substantial extent by a focus on reducing bycatch, although discards are currently 4.8% of total catch by weight, compared with global averages of 7.5% for tuna longline fishing and 30.0% for midwater trawling. An ecosystem approach to fisheries management requires that ecological effects of fishing on all animals removed by a fishery, not just bycatch or discarded catch, be measured with a variety of metrics.     

珠江口和大鹏湾海豚体内石油烃含量

为了积累海豚污染基础资料,保护海洋濒危动物,本文用荧光分光光度法测定了珠江口及其附近海域5头海豚(3个种)体内的总石油烃(TPHs)含量。结果表明,不同组织中TPHs含量与脂肪多少显著正相关(r=0.746~0.989,P0.02),在腹部皮肤和额隆中占优势,在肝脏、心脏、肾脏、肌肉中比在肺、肠和胃组织中略高。海豚TPHs含量为鱼类、虾类的2.2~3.2倍,海豚脂肪可将海水中的石油烃浓缩103~104倍。