Photo‐identification of sperm whales in the north‐western Mediterranean Sea: an assessment of natural markings
ABSTRACT Photo‐identification is an important, non‐invasive tool that can be used to obtain data about cetacean population dynamics that are essential for proper environmental management. A standardized protocol is crucial for obtaining optimal results, particularly for long‐lived and highly migrato...
Published in: | Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems |
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crwiley:10.1002/aqc.2427 2024-09-15T18:30:31+00:00 Photo‐identification of sperm whales in the north‐western Mediterranean Sea: an assessment of natural markings Alessi, Jessica Aïssi, Mehdi Fiori, Cristina Fondation TOTAL 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aqc.2427 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Faqc.2427 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/aqc.2427 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems volume 24, issue S1, page 11-22 ISSN 1052-7613 1099-0755 journal-article 2014 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.2427 2024-08-09T04:30:53Z ABSTRACT Photo‐identification is an important, non‐invasive tool that can be used to obtain data about cetacean population dynamics that are essential for proper environmental management. A standardized protocol is crucial for obtaining optimal results, particularly for long‐lived and highly migratory species such as sperm whales ( Physeter macrocephalus ) but also to study resident populations. Photo‐identification of individuals using natural marks has been widely used to study sperm whales in the Mediterranean Sea. However, the prevalence of the marks used for identification is unknown. Thus, the goal of this study was to identify which mark types are most useful for identifying individual sperm whales. A photo‐identification catalogue of sperm whales from the north‐western Mediterranean Sea was produced and examined to determine the most frequent mark types present on whales in the study area. Mark types and their distribution were described, prevalence and the size of each mark type were calculated, variability in visibility was investigated, and gain and loss rates were analysed. Analysis of natural pigmentation may characterize sperm whale flanks in this study area as the best and most convenient element on which matching technique can be based. Indeed, this technique led to the identification of 97% of photographed individuals. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Article in Journal/Newspaper Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale Wiley Online Library Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 24 S1 11 22 |
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Wiley Online Library |
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English |
description |
ABSTRACT Photo‐identification is an important, non‐invasive tool that can be used to obtain data about cetacean population dynamics that are essential for proper environmental management. A standardized protocol is crucial for obtaining optimal results, particularly for long‐lived and highly migratory species such as sperm whales ( Physeter macrocephalus ) but also to study resident populations. Photo‐identification of individuals using natural marks has been widely used to study sperm whales in the Mediterranean Sea. However, the prevalence of the marks used for identification is unknown. Thus, the goal of this study was to identify which mark types are most useful for identifying individual sperm whales. A photo‐identification catalogue of sperm whales from the north‐western Mediterranean Sea was produced and examined to determine the most frequent mark types present on whales in the study area. Mark types and their distribution were described, prevalence and the size of each mark type were calculated, variability in visibility was investigated, and gain and loss rates were analysed. Analysis of natural pigmentation may characterize sperm whale flanks in this study area as the best and most convenient element on which matching technique can be based. Indeed, this technique led to the identification of 97% of photographed individuals. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
author2 |
Fondation TOTAL |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Alessi, Jessica Aïssi, Mehdi Fiori, Cristina |
spellingShingle |
Alessi, Jessica Aïssi, Mehdi Fiori, Cristina Photo‐identification of sperm whales in the north‐western Mediterranean Sea: an assessment of natural markings |
author_facet |
Alessi, Jessica Aïssi, Mehdi Fiori, Cristina |
author_sort |
Alessi, Jessica |
title |
Photo‐identification of sperm whales in the north‐western Mediterranean Sea: an assessment of natural markings |
title_short |
Photo‐identification of sperm whales in the north‐western Mediterranean Sea: an assessment of natural markings |
title_full |
Photo‐identification of sperm whales in the north‐western Mediterranean Sea: an assessment of natural markings |
title_fullStr |
Photo‐identification of sperm whales in the north‐western Mediterranean Sea: an assessment of natural markings |
title_full_unstemmed |
Photo‐identification of sperm whales in the north‐western Mediterranean Sea: an assessment of natural markings |
title_sort |
photo‐identification of sperm whales in the north‐western mediterranean sea: an assessment of natural markings |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aqc.2427 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Faqc.2427 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/aqc.2427 |
genre |
Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale |
genre_facet |
Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale |
op_source |
Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems volume 24, issue S1, page 11-22 ISSN 1052-7613 1099-0755 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.2427 |
container_title |
Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems |
container_volume |
24 |
container_issue |
S1 |
container_start_page |
11 |
op_container_end_page |
22 |
_version_ |
1810471973645451264 |