Cetacean Presence in the Trincomalee Bay and Adjacent Waters, Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka thirty species of cetaceans have been recorded to date. The canyon at Trincomalee bay is a multiple submarine canyon complex and anecdotal reports suggest that the Trincomalee bay and its adjacent waters are utilised by a number of cetacean species. Though Cetaceans are known to be abun...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:6931d3d431aa46fbbcc3c85129e2c344 2023-05-15T15:37:13+02:00 Cetacean Presence in the Trincomalee Bay and Adjacent Waters, Sri Lanka Ranil P. Nanayakkara Jayampathi Herath Ruvinda K. de Mel 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/819263 https://doaj.org/article/6931d3d431aa46fbbcc3c85129e2c344 EN eng Hindawi Limited http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/819263 https://doaj.org/toc/1687-9481 https://doaj.org/toc/1687-949X 1687-9481 1687-949X doi:10.1155/2014/819263 https://doaj.org/article/6931d3d431aa46fbbcc3c85129e2c344 Journal of Marine Biology, Vol 2014 (2014) Oceanography GC1-1581 Biology (General) QH301-705.5 article 2014 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/819263 2022-12-31T08:42:05Z In Sri Lanka thirty species of cetaceans have been recorded to date. The canyon at Trincomalee bay is a multiple submarine canyon complex and anecdotal reports suggest that the Trincomalee bay and its adjacent waters are utilised by a number of cetacean species. Though Cetaceans are known to be abundant in the waters off Trincomalee there is a dearth of research and data pertaining to the abundance and species frequenting the Trincomalee bay and its adjacent waters. As such the current study was initiated, to get a consensus of the abundance and occurrences of species in Trincomalee Bay and its adjacent waters. Field surveys were carried out for 19 months and the research platform was a 35-foot commercial fishing vessel. 177 cetacean encounters were recorded on 67 of the 75 field days. Remarkably a total of 11 species of cetaceans which composed of two species of Baleen Whales and nine species of Toothed Whales were recorded. Delphinidae was the most common family recorded, followed by Balaenopteridae, Ziphiidae, Physeteridae, and Kogiidae. Spinner Dolphins were the most abundant cetacean owing to the large pods observed and the regularity of the sightings. They were the only species seen feeding/traveling with birds and fish (tuna). Sperm Whales, Blue Whales, and Bryde’s Whales were also relatively common. Two records of interspecific association between cetaceans were recorded. The increase in the human population in the study area has resulted in the overexploitation of marine resources which has dire repercussions on the marine mammal communities found in these waters. Article in Journal/Newspaper baleen whales toothed whales Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Journal of Marine Biology 2014 1 8 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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Oceanography GC1-1581 Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
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Oceanography GC1-1581 Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ranil P. Nanayakkara Jayampathi Herath Ruvinda K. de Mel Cetacean Presence in the Trincomalee Bay and Adjacent Waters, Sri Lanka |
topic_facet |
Oceanography GC1-1581 Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
description |
In Sri Lanka thirty species of cetaceans have been recorded to date. The canyon at Trincomalee bay is a multiple submarine canyon complex and anecdotal reports suggest that the Trincomalee bay and its adjacent waters are utilised by a number of cetacean species. Though Cetaceans are known to be abundant in the waters off Trincomalee there is a dearth of research and data pertaining to the abundance and species frequenting the Trincomalee bay and its adjacent waters. As such the current study was initiated, to get a consensus of the abundance and occurrences of species in Trincomalee Bay and its adjacent waters. Field surveys were carried out for 19 months and the research platform was a 35-foot commercial fishing vessel. 177 cetacean encounters were recorded on 67 of the 75 field days. Remarkably a total of 11 species of cetaceans which composed of two species of Baleen Whales and nine species of Toothed Whales were recorded. Delphinidae was the most common family recorded, followed by Balaenopteridae, Ziphiidae, Physeteridae, and Kogiidae. Spinner Dolphins were the most abundant cetacean owing to the large pods observed and the regularity of the sightings. They were the only species seen feeding/traveling with birds and fish (tuna). Sperm Whales, Blue Whales, and Bryde’s Whales were also relatively common. Two records of interspecific association between cetaceans were recorded. The increase in the human population in the study area has resulted in the overexploitation of marine resources which has dire repercussions on the marine mammal communities found in these waters. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ranil P. Nanayakkara Jayampathi Herath Ruvinda K. de Mel |
author_facet |
Ranil P. Nanayakkara Jayampathi Herath Ruvinda K. de Mel |
author_sort |
Ranil P. Nanayakkara |
title |
Cetacean Presence in the Trincomalee Bay and Adjacent Waters, Sri Lanka |
title_short |
Cetacean Presence in the Trincomalee Bay and Adjacent Waters, Sri Lanka |
title_full |
Cetacean Presence in the Trincomalee Bay and Adjacent Waters, Sri Lanka |
title_fullStr |
Cetacean Presence in the Trincomalee Bay and Adjacent Waters, Sri Lanka |
title_full_unstemmed |
Cetacean Presence in the Trincomalee Bay and Adjacent Waters, Sri Lanka |
title_sort |
cetacean presence in the trincomalee bay and adjacent waters, sri lanka |
publisher |
Hindawi Limited |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/819263 https://doaj.org/article/6931d3d431aa46fbbcc3c85129e2c344 |
genre |
baleen whales toothed whales |
genre_facet |
baleen whales toothed whales |
op_source |
Journal of Marine Biology, Vol 2014 (2014) |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/819263 https://doaj.org/toc/1687-9481 https://doaj.org/toc/1687-949X 1687-9481 1687-949X doi:10.1155/2014/819263 https://doaj.org/article/6931d3d431aa46fbbcc3c85129e2c344 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/819263 |
container_title |
Journal of Marine Biology |
container_volume |
2014 |
container_start_page |
1 |
op_container_end_page |
8 |
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1766367684864245760 |