Fine-scale habitat use in Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, Sousa chinensis, may be more influenced by fish rather than vessels in the Pearl River Estuary, China

Shifts in habitat use and distribution patterns in dolphins are often concerns that can result from habitat degradation. We investigated how potential changes to a habitat from human activity may alter dolphin distributions within Lingding Bay in the Pearl River Estuary, China, by studying the relat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine Mammal Science
Main Authors: Pine, Matthew K., Wang, Kexiong, Wang, Ding
Format: Report
Language:English
Published: WILEY-BLACKWELL 2017
Subjects:
Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin
Sousa chinensis
Chinese white dolphin
acoustics
habitat use
Pearl River Estuary
anthropogenic noise
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Zoology
PORPOISES PHOCOENA-PHOCOENA
HONG-KONG WATERS
HARBOR PORPOISES
FINLESS PORPOISES
ECHOLOCATION BEHAVIOR
CONSERVATION STATUS
LARGEST POPULATION
ABUNDANCE
BAY
SIGNALS
Pacific
Phocoena phocoena
Online Access:http://ir.ihb.ac.cn/handle/342005/33249
http://ir.ihb.ac.cn/handle/342005/33250
https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12366
Description
Summary:Shifts in habitat use and distribution patterns in dolphins are often concerns that can result from habitat degradation. We investigated how potential changes to a habitat from human activity may alter dolphin distributions within Lingding Bay in the Pearl River Estuary, China, by studying the relationship between fish choruses, vessel presence and Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) detection rates. Analyses revealed temporal and spatial variation within fish choruses, vessel presence and dolphin detection rates. After accounting for any temporal autocorrelation, correlations between fish choruses and dolphin detection rates were also found; however, no relationship between fish choruses and vessel presence or dolphin detection rates and vessel presence were observed. Furthermore, fewer dolphins were detected at sites where fish activity was less intense. Thus fish activity, rather than vessels, may be a key factor influencing the distribution of the dolphins within the estuary. These findings emphasize the risk of potential shifts in habitat use for Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins due to detrimental changes to prey availability and dolphin feeding grounds from human activity, such as overfishing and coastal developments, within the estuary. This is a critical conservation issue for this dolphin population that is facing intense anthropogenic pressure.

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