Mark-recapture abundance estimate of tucuxi dolphins (Sotalia fluviatilis) in a lake system of the Central Amazon

2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 241-251
Author(s):  
Zulmira H. Coimbra ◽  
Carlos A. Assis ◽  
Vera M. F. da Silva ◽  
Manuel E. dos Santos
Author(s):  
Maureen Gerondeau ◽  
Christophe Barbraud ◽  
Vincent Ridoux ◽  
Cécile Vincent

It has been suggested that the large grey seal colonies around the British Isles form local populations within a metapopulation, and that seal movements outside the breeding season lead to considerable overlap between individual home ranges. Individual behaviour and population dynamics of small peripheral colonies may also play a role in the metapopulation. We studied the French grey seal colony of the Molène archipelago, at the southern-most limit of the species' range. We analysed photo-identification data with capture–mark–recapture techniques in order to estimate the total seasonal abundance of grey seals in the archipelago and to quantify the seasonal rates of occurrence or movements of male and female seals. We found that between 58 (95% confidence interval: 48–71) and 98 (95% CI: 75–175) individuals hauled out in the archipelago during the summers of 1999 and 2000. The use of multistate models allowed the assessment of seasonal site fidelity and indicated that it varied between key periods of the annual cycle, particularly for females. Males showed a constant fidelity rate of 56% from one season to another. Hence, even though they showed high inter-annual site fidelity, they did not seem to have a preferred season for using the archipelago. On the contrary, female grey seals showed the highest site fidelity between moult and summer (around 80%), and the lowest fidelity between summer and the breeding period (34–43%). Thus, females seem to use the Molène archipelago preferentially in summer and leave the site before the breeding season, which explains the very low local pup production. Philopatry may explain this pre-breeding emigration, and we suggest that most grey seals observed in the Molène archipelago were born and breed in other local breeding populations, probably the south-western British Isles.


2008 ◽  
Vol 35 (7) ◽  
pp. 593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vimoksalehi Lukoschek ◽  
B. Louise Chilvers

Marine megafauna populations in coastal waters are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic impacts. Moreton Bay, a large embayment in south-east Queensland, lies adjacent to one of the fastest growing regions in Australia and has a resident population of bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops aduncus. Evaluation of the effectiveness of any proposed management strategy requires robust population abundance estimates. We estimated abundances of bottlenose dolphins in central eastern Moreton Bay (350 km2) using two commonly used abundance estimation methods for cetaceans: photo-identification mark–recapture and line-transect surveys. Mark–recapture data were analysed in CAPTURE using a model that allowed capture probabilities to vary between sampling events and between individuals. Based on an estimated 76% of the population identifiable photographically, total abundance estimates were 673 ± 130 s.e. (1997) and 818 ± 152 s.e. (1998). Line-transect data, analysed using DISTANCE, gave an abundance estimate of 407 ± 113.5 s.e. (2000). These abundance estimates are large compared with many other coastal bottlenose dolphin populations. The line-transect surveys comprised a pilot study, and the lower line-transect abundance estimate is probably best attributable to methodological issues. In particular, smaller mean group size was estimated for the line-transects surveys (2.85 ± 0.29 s.e.) than the mark–recapture surveys (4.87 ± 0.39 s.e., 1997; 5.78 ± 0.73 s.e., 1998), and line-transect group sizes were probably underestimated. In addition, the line-transect detection probability (g(o)) was assumed to be one but was almost certainly less than one. However, the possibility of an actual decline in population size cannot be ruled out. Coefficients of variation (CV) were lower for mark–recapture than for line-transect surveys, however, CVs of line-transect estimates could be lowered through improved survey design. We evaluated the power of these surveys to detect trends in potential population declines for bottlenose dolphins in Moreton Bay and make recommendations for ongoing monitoring strategies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 52 ◽  
pp. 39-47
Author(s):  
Austin Flanigan ◽  
◽  
Noah Perlut ◽  
James Sulikowski

Abundance estimates are essential for fisheries management, but estimating the abundance of open populations with low recapture rates has historically been unreliable. However, by using mark-recapture data modulated with survivability parameters obtained from analysis of acoustic telemetry data, more accurate abundance estimates can be made for species that exhibit these characteristics. One such species is the Atlantic sturgeon, for which abundance estimates were designated a research priority following precipitous population declines throughout the 20th century. We addressed this research need in the Saco River Estuary (SRE), a system where the Atlantic sturgeon has been extensively studied using mark-recapture and acoustic telemetry methods since 2009. These data were analyzed using Bayesian analysis of a Lincoln-Peterson estimator, constrained with parameters from a Cormack-Jolly-Seber model, to provide an initial abundance estimate for the system. The resulting estimate indicated that approximately 3 299 (95% Credible Interval: 1 462–6 828) Atlantic sturgeon utilize the SRE yearly, suggesting that the SRE provides critical foraging habitat to a large contingent of the species within the Gulf of Maine. The present study demonstrated the method utilized herein was effective in generating a reasonable estimate of abundance in an open system where recapture events are rare, and therefore may provide a valuable technique for supplying initial estimates of fish abundance in additional systems that display similar characteristics.


1999 ◽  
Vol 249 (4) ◽  
pp. 455-461
Author(s):  
El Hassan El Mouden ◽  
Mohammed Znari ◽  
Richard P. Brown

Author(s):  
B.R. FORSBERG, ◽  
M. GASTIL, ◽  
S.K. HAMILTON, ◽  
L.L. HESS, ◽  
I.B.T. LIMA, ◽  
...  
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