Population analysis of Endangered northern bottlenose whales on the Scotian Shelf seven years after the establishment of a Marine Protected Area
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are being established worldwide to protect vulnerable marine species and habitats, in the face of accelerating rates of species extinctions. Biophysical indicators such as focal species abundance are often employed to assess the effectiveness of MPAs at meeting conserva...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:d67fe3faa15344259db1a19cdc06747b 2023-05-15T17:41:53+02:00 Population analysis of Endangered northern bottlenose whales on the Scotian Shelf seven years after the establishment of a Marine Protected Area K O’Brien H Whitehead 2013-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00533 https://doaj.org/article/d67fe3faa15344259db1a19cdc06747b EN eng Inter-Research https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v21/n3/p273-284/ https://doaj.org/toc/1863-5407 https://doaj.org/toc/1613-4796 1863-5407 1613-4796 doi:10.3354/esr00533 https://doaj.org/article/d67fe3faa15344259db1a19cdc06747b Endangered Species Research, Vol 21, Iss 3, Pp 273-284 (2013) Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 article 2013 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00533 2022-12-31T07:52:12Z Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are being established worldwide to protect vulnerable marine species and habitats, in the face of accelerating rates of species extinctions. Biophysical indicators such as focal species abundance are often employed to assess the effectiveness of MPAs at meeting conservation objectives. We examined the dynamics of an Endangered beaked whale population 7 yr after the Gully MPA was established in 2004 off Nova Scotia, Canada. Northern bottlenose whales forage in deep water such as the Gully submarine canyon. Several MPA restrictions were implemented on the Gully ecosystem beginning in 2004 to reduce anthropogenic impacts including ship traffic, underwater noise and entanglements. This study represents the first intensive northern bottlenose whale population assessment since the Gully became a MPA. Using photo-identification data collected in 2010 and 2011, we applied mark–recapture techniques to estimate the current population size of northern bottlenose whales on the Scotian Shelf as 143 animals (95% CI: 129 to 156 animals). We also used open population models to examine population trends, and investigated changes in the sex ratio since 1988. Our results suggest the population size and sex ratio have been stable since before MPA legislation was implemented, illustrating the resilience of this population and suggesting that the MPA objective of preventing population decline is being met. Continued monitoring of MPA efficacy is necessary; there is still the potential for future events, whether stochastic or related to climate change, to affect small populations such as the Gully northern bottlenose whales and put the success of MPAs to further test. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northern bottlenose whale Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Canada The Gully ENVELOPE(-57.731,-57.731,51.567,51.567) Endangered Species Research 21 3 273 284 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 |
spellingShingle |
Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 K O’Brien H Whitehead Population analysis of Endangered northern bottlenose whales on the Scotian Shelf seven years after the establishment of a Marine Protected Area |
topic_facet |
Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 |
description |
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are being established worldwide to protect vulnerable marine species and habitats, in the face of accelerating rates of species extinctions. Biophysical indicators such as focal species abundance are often employed to assess the effectiveness of MPAs at meeting conservation objectives. We examined the dynamics of an Endangered beaked whale population 7 yr after the Gully MPA was established in 2004 off Nova Scotia, Canada. Northern bottlenose whales forage in deep water such as the Gully submarine canyon. Several MPA restrictions were implemented on the Gully ecosystem beginning in 2004 to reduce anthropogenic impacts including ship traffic, underwater noise and entanglements. This study represents the first intensive northern bottlenose whale population assessment since the Gully became a MPA. Using photo-identification data collected in 2010 and 2011, we applied mark–recapture techniques to estimate the current population size of northern bottlenose whales on the Scotian Shelf as 143 animals (95% CI: 129 to 156 animals). We also used open population models to examine population trends, and investigated changes in the sex ratio since 1988. Our results suggest the population size and sex ratio have been stable since before MPA legislation was implemented, illustrating the resilience of this population and suggesting that the MPA objective of preventing population decline is being met. Continued monitoring of MPA efficacy is necessary; there is still the potential for future events, whether stochastic or related to climate change, to affect small populations such as the Gully northern bottlenose whales and put the success of MPAs to further test. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
K O’Brien H Whitehead |
author_facet |
K O’Brien H Whitehead |
author_sort |
K O’Brien |
title |
Population analysis of Endangered northern bottlenose whales on the Scotian Shelf seven years after the establishment of a Marine Protected Area |
title_short |
Population analysis of Endangered northern bottlenose whales on the Scotian Shelf seven years after the establishment of a Marine Protected Area |
title_full |
Population analysis of Endangered northern bottlenose whales on the Scotian Shelf seven years after the establishment of a Marine Protected Area |
title_fullStr |
Population analysis of Endangered northern bottlenose whales on the Scotian Shelf seven years after the establishment of a Marine Protected Area |
title_full_unstemmed |
Population analysis of Endangered northern bottlenose whales on the Scotian Shelf seven years after the establishment of a Marine Protected Area |
title_sort |
population analysis of endangered northern bottlenose whales on the scotian shelf seven years after the establishment of a marine protected area |
publisher |
Inter-Research |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00533 https://doaj.org/article/d67fe3faa15344259db1a19cdc06747b |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-57.731,-57.731,51.567,51.567) |
geographic |
Canada The Gully |
geographic_facet |
Canada The Gully |
genre |
Northern bottlenose whale |
genre_facet |
Northern bottlenose whale |
op_source |
Endangered Species Research, Vol 21, Iss 3, Pp 273-284 (2013) |
op_relation |
https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v21/n3/p273-284/ https://doaj.org/toc/1863-5407 https://doaj.org/toc/1613-4796 1863-5407 1613-4796 doi:10.3354/esr00533 https://doaj.org/article/d67fe3faa15344259db1a19cdc06747b |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00533 |
container_title |
Endangered Species Research |
container_volume |
21 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
273 |
op_container_end_page |
284 |
_version_ |
1766143698778718208 |