A review of cetacean occurrence in West African waters from the Gulf of Guinea to Angola
ABSTRACT The cetacean fauna of the west coast of Africa is poorly described. Therefore, literature on the occurrence of cetacean species in the waters of 13 potential West African range states from the Gulf of Guinea to Angola was reviewed, including sighting, stranding, capture, bycatch and whaling...
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crwiley:10.1111/j.1365-2907.2009.00153.x 2024-09-15T17:57:25+00:00 A review of cetacean occurrence in West African waters from the Gulf of Guinea to Angola WEIR, Caroline R. 2010 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2907.2009.00153.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1365-2907.2009.00153.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-2907.2009.00153.x en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Mammal Review volume 40, issue 1, page 2-39 ISSN 0305-1838 1365-2907 journal-article 2010 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2907.2009.00153.x 2024-08-06T04:16:39Z ABSTRACT The cetacean fauna of the west coast of Africa is poorly described. Therefore, literature on the occurrence of cetacean species in the waters of 13 potential West African range states from the Gulf of Guinea to Angola was reviewed, including sighting, stranding, capture, bycatch and whaling records. At least 28 species of cetacean were documented in the study region, comprising seven baleen whale species and 21 species of toothed whale (including at least 17 delphinid species). Cetaceans could be broadly split into seven ecological categories, based on their distribution. A warm temperate/tropical deep‐water cetacean community dominated the study area. Cooler water from the Benguela Current influenced southern Angola (≤16°S latitude) and at least three cetacean species occurred predominantly in this region. Only three or fewer species were confirmed in the waters of Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Seventeen or more species were documented in Ghana, Gabon and Angola, where dedicated cetacean research projects have been initiated in recent years. Angola had the most diverse documented cetacean community: 28 confirmed species. The humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae was the most widely recorded species, and was documented in 11 (85%) countries. Sperm whales Physeter macrocephalus , Bryde's whales Balaenoptera cf. brydei , bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus and Atlantic spotted dolphins Stenella frontalis were recorded in over half of the countries. Article in Journal/Newspaper baleen whale Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Physeter macrocephalus toothed whale Wiley Online Library Mammal Review 40 1 2 39 |
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Open Polar |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
ABSTRACT The cetacean fauna of the west coast of Africa is poorly described. Therefore, literature on the occurrence of cetacean species in the waters of 13 potential West African range states from the Gulf of Guinea to Angola was reviewed, including sighting, stranding, capture, bycatch and whaling records. At least 28 species of cetacean were documented in the study region, comprising seven baleen whale species and 21 species of toothed whale (including at least 17 delphinid species). Cetaceans could be broadly split into seven ecological categories, based on their distribution. A warm temperate/tropical deep‐water cetacean community dominated the study area. Cooler water from the Benguela Current influenced southern Angola (≤16°S latitude) and at least three cetacean species occurred predominantly in this region. Only three or fewer species were confirmed in the waters of Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Seventeen or more species were documented in Ghana, Gabon and Angola, where dedicated cetacean research projects have been initiated in recent years. Angola had the most diverse documented cetacean community: 28 confirmed species. The humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae was the most widely recorded species, and was documented in 11 (85%) countries. Sperm whales Physeter macrocephalus , Bryde's whales Balaenoptera cf. brydei , bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus and Atlantic spotted dolphins Stenella frontalis were recorded in over half of the countries. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
WEIR, Caroline R. |
spellingShingle |
WEIR, Caroline R. A review of cetacean occurrence in West African waters from the Gulf of Guinea to Angola |
author_facet |
WEIR, Caroline R. |
author_sort |
WEIR, Caroline R. |
title |
A review of cetacean occurrence in West African waters from the Gulf of Guinea to Angola |
title_short |
A review of cetacean occurrence in West African waters from the Gulf of Guinea to Angola |
title_full |
A review of cetacean occurrence in West African waters from the Gulf of Guinea to Angola |
title_fullStr |
A review of cetacean occurrence in West African waters from the Gulf of Guinea to Angola |
title_full_unstemmed |
A review of cetacean occurrence in West African waters from the Gulf of Guinea to Angola |
title_sort |
review of cetacean occurrence in west african waters from the gulf of guinea to angola |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2907.2009.00153.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1365-2907.2009.00153.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-2907.2009.00153.x |
genre |
baleen whale Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Physeter macrocephalus toothed whale |
genre_facet |
baleen whale Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Physeter macrocephalus toothed whale |
op_source |
Mammal Review volume 40, issue 1, page 2-39 ISSN 0305-1838 1365-2907 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2907.2009.00153.x |
container_title |
Mammal Review |
container_volume |
40 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
2 |
op_container_end_page |
39 |
_version_ |
1810433569266335744 |