Specimens of opportunity provide vital information for research and conservation regarding elusive whale species
Summary Elusive species are challenging to study and conserve because basic elements of their biology may be unknown. Specimens of opportunity provide a means of collecting information on these species and may be critical for elusive species’ conservation. We used snowball sampling to identify Sower...
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2021
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0376892920000521 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0376892920000521 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0376892920000521 2024-09-15T18:18:30+00:00 Specimens of opportunity provide vital information for research and conservation regarding elusive whale species Smith, Kerri J. Mead, James G. Peterson, Markus J. 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0376892920000521 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0376892920000521 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Environmental Conservation volume 48, issue 2, page 84-92 ISSN 0376-8929 1469-4387 journal-article 2021 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0376892920000521 2024-08-28T04:03:06Z Summary Elusive species are challenging to study and conserve because basic elements of their biology may be unknown. Specimens of opportunity provide a means of collecting information on these species and may be critical for elusive species’ conservation. We used snowball sampling to identify Sowerby’s beaked whale ( Mesoplodon bidens ) specimens in museums and research institutions. Snowball sampling proved highly effective: we located 180 specimens from 24 institutions in North America and Europe, 62 of which were not listed in online collections databases, resulting in the largest collated dataset for this species. Analysis of these data resulted in several new findings for this species, including significant morphological variation between specimens from different collection regions, suggesting the presence of previously unidentified population structuring in this species. These data provide critical information regarding this species and demonstrate the effectiveness of specimens of opportunity for elusive species research and conservation. We recommend other researchers consider snowball sampling when designing research projects utilizing specimens of opportunity. Our results demonstrate the usefulness of snowball sampling and specimens of opportunity to elusive species research and conservation, and the methods of our study can be readily adapted for other species. Article in Journal/Newspaper Mesoplodon bidens Cambridge University Press Environmental Conservation 48 2 84 92 |
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Cambridge University Press |
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English |
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Summary Elusive species are challenging to study and conserve because basic elements of their biology may be unknown. Specimens of opportunity provide a means of collecting information on these species and may be critical for elusive species’ conservation. We used snowball sampling to identify Sowerby’s beaked whale ( Mesoplodon bidens ) specimens in museums and research institutions. Snowball sampling proved highly effective: we located 180 specimens from 24 institutions in North America and Europe, 62 of which were not listed in online collections databases, resulting in the largest collated dataset for this species. Analysis of these data resulted in several new findings for this species, including significant morphological variation between specimens from different collection regions, suggesting the presence of previously unidentified population structuring in this species. These data provide critical information regarding this species and demonstrate the effectiveness of specimens of opportunity for elusive species research and conservation. We recommend other researchers consider snowball sampling when designing research projects utilizing specimens of opportunity. Our results demonstrate the usefulness of snowball sampling and specimens of opportunity to elusive species research and conservation, and the methods of our study can be readily adapted for other species. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Smith, Kerri J. Mead, James G. Peterson, Markus J. |
spellingShingle |
Smith, Kerri J. Mead, James G. Peterson, Markus J. Specimens of opportunity provide vital information for research and conservation regarding elusive whale species |
author_facet |
Smith, Kerri J. Mead, James G. Peterson, Markus J. |
author_sort |
Smith, Kerri J. |
title |
Specimens of opportunity provide vital information for research and conservation regarding elusive whale species |
title_short |
Specimens of opportunity provide vital information for research and conservation regarding elusive whale species |
title_full |
Specimens of opportunity provide vital information for research and conservation regarding elusive whale species |
title_fullStr |
Specimens of opportunity provide vital information for research and conservation regarding elusive whale species |
title_full_unstemmed |
Specimens of opportunity provide vital information for research and conservation regarding elusive whale species |
title_sort |
specimens of opportunity provide vital information for research and conservation regarding elusive whale species |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0376892920000521 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0376892920000521 |
genre |
Mesoplodon bidens |
genre_facet |
Mesoplodon bidens |
op_source |
Environmental Conservation volume 48, issue 2, page 84-92 ISSN 0376-8929 1469-4387 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0376892920000521 |
container_title |
Environmental Conservation |
container_volume |
48 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
84 |
op_container_end_page |
92 |
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1810456620811943936 |