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Summer distribution and relative abundance of cetacean populations off north-west Scotland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2003

K. Macleod ,
M.P. Simmonds  and
E. Murray
K. Macleod*
Affiliation:
Sea Mammal Research Unit, School of Evolutionary and Environmental Science, St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, KY16 8LB, UK
M.P. Simmonds
Affiliation:
Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, Brookfield House, 38 St Paul Street, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN15 1LY, UK
E. Murray
Affiliation:
Greenpeace, Canonbury Villas, London, N1 2PN, UK
*
∫Corresponding author, e-mail: km53@st-andrews.ac.uk
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Abstract

A line transect survey was conducted in July/August 1998 to investigate the distribution and abundance of cetaceans off north-west Scotland. Over 2156.5 km of survey effort, 304 sightings were recorded of which 184 were identified to species. Nine species were identified: Atlantic white-sided dolphin Lagenorhynchus acutus, fin whale Balaenoptera physalus, sei whale Balaenoptera borealis, long-finned pilot whale Globicephala melas, sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus, common dolphin Delphinus delphis, harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena, white beaked dolphin Lagenorhynchus albirostris and Risso's dolphin Grampus griseus. The Atlantic white-sided dolphin was the most relatively abundant species. The relative abundance of large whales and dolphins was greatest in the Faroe–Shetland Channel. The continental slopes of this area are undergoing development by oil industries and concerns have been raised about the potential impacts of these activities on cetaceans. These waters are used year-round by cetaceans and provide feeding and breeding grounds and are a migration route for large whales.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 83 , Issue 5 , October 2003 , pp. 1187 - 1192
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2003

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