Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-dnltx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-24T09:36:35.986Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Distribution and abundance estimates of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) around Lampedusa Island (Sicily Channel, Italy): implications for their management

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2013

Marina Pulcini ,
Daniela Silvia Pace ,
Gabriella La Manna ,
Francesca Triossi  and
Caterina Maria Fortuna
Marina Pulcini*
Affiliation:
ISPRA—Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, via Vitaliano Brancati 60, 00144 Rome, Italy CTS—Nature Conservation Department, Via A. Vesalio 6, 00161 Rome, Italy
Daniela Silvia Pace
Affiliation:
Oceanomare-Delphis Onlus, Via G. Marinuzzi, 74, 00124 Rome, Italy
Gabriella La Manna
Affiliation:
CTS—Nature Conservation Department, Via A. Vesalio 6, 00161 Rome, Italy University of Parma, Biology Department, Viale G.P. Usberti, 43124 Parma, Italy
Francesca Triossi
Affiliation:
CTS—Nature Conservation Department, Via A. Vesalio 6, 00161 Rome, Italy Oceanomare-Delphis Onlus, Via G. Marinuzzi, 74, 00124 Rome, Italy
Caterina Maria Fortuna
Affiliation:
ISPRA—Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, via Vitaliano Brancati 60, 00144 Rome, Italy
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: M. Pulcini, ISPRA—Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, via Vitaliano Brancati 60, 00144 Rome, Italy email: marina.pulcini@isprambiente.it
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper represents the first quantitative assessment of the distribution and abundance of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) inhabiting the waters around Lampedusa Island, Italy. Eleven years of photo-identification data, collected from 1996 to 2006 by three different research groups, were brought together, reviewed and analysed to fulfil the following objectives: (i) to obtain baseline information on the abundance and residency of the local bottlenose dolphin putative population; (ii) to review the current Marine Protected Area (MPA) boundaries, especially those referred to waters around Lampedusa Island, with a view to establish a new Special Area of Conservation (SAC); and (iii) to explore the potential and limits of analysing heterogeneous datasets to improve future data collection methods. The most resident dolphins were regularly observed in six specific areas around Lampedusa Island. From a total of 148 photo-identified bottlenose dolphins, 102 were classified as well-marked. The capture histories and the distribution of sightings clearly show a number of dolphins regularly use the study area. Best estimates for the first period within the ‘core study area’ were obtained for 1998 data. The 2005 estimate was significantly larger than the 1998 estimates (z = 2.160; P < 0.05) compared to that of 1998. Implications of our results for the current MPA, for transboundary conservation initiative involving Italy, Malta and Tunisia and for directing future research within and outside the MPA are fully discussed.

Keywords

Tursiops truncatusMediterranean Seaabundance estimatesmark–recaptureMarine Protected Area (MPA)
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 94 , Issue 6 , September 2014 , pp. 1175 - 1184
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Azzolin, M., Celoni, F., Galante, I., Giacoma, C. and La Manna, G. (2007) Piano d'azione per il tursiope (Tursiops truncatus) nelle isole Pelagie. Available at: http://www.provincia.agrigento.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/977 (accessed 21 June 2013).Google Scholar
Bearzi, G., Agazzi, S., Bonizzoni, S., Costa, M. and Azzellino, A. (2008) Dolphins in a bottle: abundance, residency patterns and conservation of common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus in the semi-closed eutrophic Amvrakikos Gulf, Greece. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 18, 130–146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bearzi, G., Fortuna, C.M. and Reeves, R.R. (2009) Ecology and conservation of common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus in the Mediterranean Sea. Mammal Review 39, 92–123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ben Naceur, L., Gannier, A., Bradai, M.N., Drouot, V., Bourreau, S., Laran, S., Khalfallah, N., Mrabet, R. and Bdioui, M. (2004) Recensement du grand dauphin Tursiops truncatus dans les eaux tunisiennes. Bulletin de l'Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer de Salammbô 31, 75–81.Google Scholar
Cañadas, A. and Hammond, P.S. (2006) Model-based abundance estimates for bottlenose dolphins off southern Spain: implications for conservation and management. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 8, 13–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Canese, S., Cardinali, A., Fortuna, C.M., Giusti, M., Lauriano, G., Salvati, E. and Greco, S. (2006) The first known winter feeding ground of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) in the Mediterranean Sea. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 86, 903–907.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Comparetto, G., Galante, I., Poledri, B., Giacoma, C. and Azzolin, M. (2006) Permanenza e composizione dei gruppi di tursiope (Tursiops truncatus) nelle acque circostanti Lampedusa. In Cimmaruta, R. and Bondanelli, P. (eds) Proceedings of the XVI Congress of the Italian Ecology Society (S.I.T.E.) Civitavecchia 19–22 September 2006, p. 172.Google Scholar
Díaz López, B. (2009) The bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus foraging around a fish farm: effects of prey abundance on dolphins' behaviour. Current Zoology 55, 243–248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fiorentino, F., Garofalo, G., Gristina, M., Gancitano, S. and Norrito, G. (2002) Some relevant information on the spatial distribution of demersal resources, benthic biocoenoses and fishing pressure in the Strait of Sicily. MedSudMed Technical Documents. Rome: FAO-MIPAAF, pp. 50–66.Google Scholar
Forcada, J., Gazo, M., Aguilar, A., Gonzalvo, J. and Fernandez-Contreras, M. (2004) Bottlenose dolphin abundance in the NW Mediterranean: addressing heterogeneity in distribution. Marine Ecology Progress Series 275, 275–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fortuna, C.M., Wilson, B., Wiemann, A., Riva, L., Gaspari, S., Matesic, M., Oehen, S. and Pribanic, S. (2000) How many dolphins are we studying and is our study area big enough? European Research on Cetaceans 14, 370–373.Google Scholar
Genov, T., Kotnjek, P., Lesjak, J., Hace, A. and Fortuna, C.M. (2008) Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Slovenian and adjacent waters (northern Adriatic Sea). Annales (Series Historia Naturalis) 18, 227–244.Google Scholar
Giacoma, C., Azzolin, M., Richard, P. and Galante, I. (2006) Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and fisheries around Lampedusa island (Sicily, Italy). Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals (CBMM), San Diego, CA, USA, December 12–December 16.Google Scholar
Gnone, G., Bellingeri, M., Dhermain, F., Dupraz, F., Nuti, S., Bedocchi, D., Moulins, A., Rosso, M., Alessi, J., McCrea, R.S., Azzellino, A., Airoldi, S., Portunato, N., Laran, S., David, L., Di Meglio, N., Bonelli, P., Montesi, G., Trucchi, R., Fossa, F. and Wurtz, M. (2011) Distribution, abundance, and movements of the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) in the Pelagos Sanctuary MPA (north-west Mediterranean Sea). Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 21, 372–388.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gomez de Segura, A., Crespo, E.A., Pedraza, S.N., Hammond, P.S. and Raga, J.A. (2006) Abundance of small cetaceans in the waters of the central Spanish Mediterranean. Marine Biology 150, 149–160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gristina, M., Bahri, T., Fiorentino, F. and Garofalo, F. (2006) Comparison of demersal fish assemblages in three areas of the Strait of Sicily under different trawling pressure. Fisheries Research 81, 0–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hammond, P.S. (1986) Estimating the size of naturally marked whale populations using capture–recapture techniques. Report of the International Whaling Commission (Special Issue) 8, 253–282.Google Scholar
La Manna, G., Clò, S., Papale, E. and Sarà, G. (2010) Boat traffic in the Lampedusa waters (Strait of Sicily, Mediterranean Sea) and its relationship to common bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus coastal distribution. Ciencias Marinas 36, 71–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levi, D., Andreoli, M.G. and Giusto, G.B. (1993) An analysis based on trawl-survey data of the state of the ‘Italian’ stock of Mullus barbatus in the Sicilian Channel, including management advice. Fisheries Research 17, 333–341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ligi, R., Ciappa, A., Giacoma, C., Azzolin, M., Richard, P. and Galante, I. (2005) Integration of remote sensing data with Tursiops truncatus sightings in the Pelagie islands. In Proceedings of the XV National Congress of Italian Ecology Society (S.I.T.E.), Torino, 12–14 September 2005, p. 99.Google Scholar
Lauriano, G., Mackelworth, P. and Fortuna, C.M. (2003) Densità e abbondanza relativa del tursiope (Tursiops truncatus) nel parco nazionale dell'Asinara, Sardegna. Biologia Marina Mediterranea 10, 717–720.Google Scholar
Margaritoulis, D., Argano, R., Baran, I., Bentivegna, F., Bradai, M.N., Caminas, J.A., Casale, P., De Metrio, G., Demetropoulos, A., Gerosa, G., Godley, B., Houghton, J., Laurent, L. and Lazar, B. (2003) Loggerhead turtles in the Mediterranean Sea: present knowledge and conservation perspectives. In Bolten, A.B. and Witherington, B. (eds) Loggerhead sea turtles. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, pp. 175–198.Google Scholar
Mingozzi, T., Masciari, G., Paolillo, G., Pisani, B., Russo, M. and Massolo, A. (2007) Discovery of a regular nesting area of loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta in southern Italy: a new perspective for national conservation. Biodiversity Conservation 16, 3519–3541.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Notarbartolo di Sciara, G., Hyrenbach, D., Scovazzi, T., Van Klaveren, P. and Agardy, T. (2008) The Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean marine mammals. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 18, 367–391.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pace, D.S., Pulcini, M. and Triossi, F. (1999) Tursiops truncatus population at Lampedusa Island (Italy): preliminary results. European Research on Cetaceans 13, 165–169.Google Scholar
Pace, D.S., Pulcini, M. and Triossi, F. (2003) Interactions with fisheries: modalities of opportunistic feeding for bottlenose dolphins at Lampedusa island. European Research on Cetaceans 17, 132–135.Google Scholar
Pace, D.S., Pulcini, M. and Triossi, F. (2011) Anthropogenic food patches and association patterns of Tursiops truncatus at Lampedusa Island, Italy. Behavioral Ecology 23, 254–264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Papale, E., Azzolin, M. and Giacoma, C. (2011) Vessel traffic affects bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) behaviour in waters surrounding Lampedusa Island, south Italy. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 92, 1877–1885.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pernice, G. (2002) The HRPT station at IRMA—CNR in Mazara del Vallo for the acquisition and analysis of satellite data in the Strait of Sicily. MedSudMed Technical Documents No. 2, 98–102.Google Scholar
Pulcini, M., Triossi, F. and Pace, D.S. (1997) Presenza di Tursiops truncatus lungo le coste dell'Isola di Lampedusa (Arcipelago delle Pelagie). Memorie della Società Itatiana di Scienza Naturali e del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale in Milano 90, 189–193.Google Scholar
Pulcini, M., Triossi, F. and Pace, D.S. (2004) Distribution, habitat use and behaviour of bottlenose dolphins at Lampedusa Island (Italy): results of five years of survey. European Research on Cetaceans 18, 453–456.Google Scholar
Thompson, W.L., White, G. and Gowan, C. (1998) Monitoring vertebrate populations. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Wilson, B., Hammond, P.S. and Thompson, P.M. (1999) Estimating size and assessing trends in a coastal bottlenose dolphin population. Ecological Applications 9, 288–300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Würsig, B. and Jefferson, T.A. (1990) Methods of photo-identification for small cetaceans. Report of the International Whaling Commission (Special Issue) 12, 43–52.Google Scholar