@article{,

title = {The World's Most Isolated and Distinct Whale Population? Humpback Whales of the Arabian Sea},

author = {Pomilla, Cristina,Amaral, Ana R.,Collins, Tim,Minton, Gianna,Findlay, Ken,Leslie, Matthew S.,Ponnampalam, Louisa,Baldwin, Robert,Rosenbaum, Howard},

url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0114162},

year  = {2014},

date = {2014-01-01},

journal = {PLoS ONE},

volume = {9},

number = {194},

pages = {e114162},

publisher = {Public Library of Science},

abstract = {
A clear understanding of population structure is essential for assessing conservation status and implementing management strategies. A small, non-migratory population of humpback whales in the Arabian Sea is classified as “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, an assessment constrained by a lack of data, including limited understanding of its relationship to other populations. We analysed 11 microsatellite markers and mitochondrial DNA sequences extracted from 67 Arabian Sea humpback whale tissue samples and compared them to equivalent datasets from the Southern Hemisphere and North Pacific. Results show that the Arabian Sea population is highly distinct; estimates of gene flow and divergence times suggest a Southern Indian Ocean origin but indicate that it has been isolated for approximately 70,000 years, remarkable for a species that is typically highly migratory. Genetic diversity values are significantly lower than those obtained for Southern Hemisphere populations and signatures of ancient and recent genetic bottlenecks were identified. Our findings suggest this is the world's most isolated humpback whale population, which, when combined with low population abundance estimates and anthropogenic threats, raises concern for its survival. We recommend an amendment of the status of the population to “Critically Endangered” on the IUCN Red List.
},

keywords = {Arabian Sea, Evolution, Genetic differentiation, Humpback Whale, megaptera novaeangliae, migration, population identity, Stock identity, Threats},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{,

title = {Tattoo-like skin disease in the endangered subpopulation of the Humpback Whale, },

author = {Van Bressem, Marie-Françoise,Minton, Gianna,Collins, Tim,Willson, Andrew,Baldwin, Robert,Van Waerebeek, Koen},

url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09397140.2014.994316},

issn = {0939-7140},

year  = {2014},

date = {2014-01-01},

journal = {Zoology in the Middle East},

number = {489},

pages = {1-8},

publisher = {Taylor & Francis},

abstract = {The presence of tattoo-like skin disease is reported in an endangered, non-migratory subpopulation of Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) from Oman. We examined 522 images taken during small-boat surveys in the Gulf of Masirah and in Dhofar in 2000-2006 and in 2010-2011. Tattoo-like lesions were detected in regular, good and outstanding images. They appeared as irregular or rounded, light grey marks often showing a whitish outline, and were located on the flanks, dorsum, dorsal fin and caudal peduncle. They could be relatively small to very large and cover up to an estimated 40% of the visible body surface. Over the whole study period disease prevalence reached 21.7% in 60 whales and 16.7% in 36 adults. In this category, prevalence was higher in males (26.7%, N=15) than in females (9.1%, N=11), but the difference was not significant. Lesions appeared larger in males than in the positive female and progressed in two males. Disease prevalence increased significantly from 2000 through 2011 (r2 =0.998). Advanced tattoo skin disease, with lesions extending over more than 10% of the visible body surface seemed to occur more frequently in 2010-2011 than in 2000-2006, but samples were small. This is the first confirmed report of tattoo-like disease in the Balaenopteridae family and the first time it is documented in the Arabian Sea. The disease high prevalence, its increase over time and its progression in some individuals are of concern.},

keywords = {Arabian Sea, health, Humpback Whale, lesions, megaptera novaeangliae, Oman, photo-ID, skin, tattoo, Threats},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{,

title = {Effects of Tour Boats on Dolphin Activity Examined with Sensitivity Analysis of Markov Chains},

author = {Dans, Silvana Laura,Degrati, Mariana,Pedraza, Susana NoemÍ,Crespo, Enrique Alberto},

url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2012.01844.x},

issn = {1523-1739},

year  = {2012},

date = {2012-01-01},

journal = {Conservation Biology},

volume = {26},

number = {356},

pages = {708-716},

publisher = {Blackwell Publishing Inc},

abstract = {In Patagonia, Argentina, watching dolphins, especially dusky dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obscurus), is a new tourist activity. Feeding time decreases and time to return to feeding after feeding is abandoned and time it takes a group of dolphins to feed increase in the presence of boats. Such effects on feeding behavior may exert energetic costs on dolphins and thus reduce an individual's survival and reproductive capacity or maybe associated with shifts in distribution. We sought to predict which behavioral changes modify the activity pattern of dolphins the most. We modeled behavioral sequences of dusky dolphins with Markov chains. We calculated transition probabilities from one activity to another and arranged them in a stochastic matrix model. The proportion of time dolphins dedicated to a given activity (activity budget) and the time it took a dolphin to resume that activity after it had been abandoned (recurrence time) were calculated. We used a sensitivity analysis of Markov chains to calculate the sensitivity of the time budget and the activity-resumption time to changes in behavioral transition probabilities. Feeding-time budget was most sensitive to changes in the probability of dolphins switching from traveling to feeding behavior and of maintaining feeding behavior. Thus, an increase in these probabilities would be associated with the largest reduction in the time dedicated to feeding. A reduction in the probability of changing from traveling to feeding would also be associated with the largest increases in the time it takes dolphins to resume feeding. To approach dolphins when they are traveling would not affect behavior less because presence of the boat may keep dolphins from returning to feeding. Our results may help operators of dolphin-watching vessels minimize negative effects on dolphins.

Resumen: La observación de delfines, especialmente Lagenorhynchus obscurus, es una actividad turística nueva en Patagonia, Argentina. En presencia de barcos, el tiempo de alimentación disminuye y el tiempo para volver a alimentarse después de abandonar la alimentación y el tiempo que toma un grupo de delfines para alimentarse aumentan. Tales efectos sobre la conducta de alimentación puede implicar costos energéticos en los delfines y por lo tanto reducir la supervivencia y la capacidad reproductiva de un individuo o quizá asociarse con cambios en la distribución. Tratamos de predecir los cambios conductuales que más modifican el patrón de actividad de los delfines. Modelamos secuencias conductuales de delfines mediante cadenas de Markov. Calculamos las probabilidades de transición de una actividad a otra y las acomodamos en un modelo matricial estocástico. Calculamos la proporción de tiempo que los delfines dedicaron a una actividad determinada (presupuesto de actividad) y el tiempo que le llevó a un delfín reanudar esa actividad después de abandonarla (tiempo de recurrencia). Utilizamos un análisis de sensibilidad de cadenas de Markov para calcular la sensibilidad del presupuesto de tiempo y el tiempo de reanudación de la actividad a los cambios de las probabilidades de transición conductual. El presupuesto de tiempo para alimentación fue más sensible a los cambios en la probabilidad de que los delfines cambien de conducta de traslado a conducta de alimentación y de que mantengan la conducta de alimentación. Por lo tanto, un incremento en esas probabilidades pudiera ser asociada con la mayor reducción en el tiempo dedicado a la alimentación. Una reducción en la probabilidad de cambiar de traslado a alimentación también estaría asociada con los mayores incrementos en el tiempo que toman los delfines para reanudar la alimentación. Acercarse a los delfines cuando se están trasladando no afectaría menos su conducta porque la presencia del barco puede evitar que los delfines regresen a alimentarse. Nuestros resultados pueden ayudar a que los operadores de embarcaciones para observación de delfines minimicen los efectos negativos sobre los delfines.},

keywords = {activity budget, Argentina, disturbance, dolphin watching, dusky dolphins, impact, Lagenorhynchus obscurus, management, Patagonia, sensitivity analysis, stochastic matrix models, Threats, tourism, Whale watching},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{,

title = {Arabian Sea Humpback Whales:  Canaries for the Northern Indian Ocean?},

author = {Baldwin, R.,Collins, T.,Minton, G.,Findlay, K.,Corkeron, P.,Willson, A.,Van Bressem, M.F.},

year  = {2010},

date = {2010-01-01},

journal = {Document presented to the 62nd meeting of the  Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission. SC/62/SH20},

number = {305},

pages = {1-5},

abstract = {Both historic whaling data and recent field research confirm the presence of a resident sub-population of humpback whales in the western Arabian Sea (Breeding Stock X). This endangered population is geographically, demographically and genetically isolated and is thought to have been greatly reduced in size by Soviet whaling in 1966; it likely remains severely depleted. Current threats to this population, including incidental capture in fishing gear, coastal development and hydrocarbon exploration have increased in recent years and, coupled with possible underlying health issues, raise significant concerns about this population’s viability. When compared with effort and resources aimed at other whale stocks, Breeding Stock X receives disproportionately meagre support for its research and conservation, whilst its status, health and the precautionary principle, imply that it merits at least the same level of concern.},

keywords = {Arabian Sea, Humpback Whale, megaptera novaeangliae, mitigation, Oman, Threats},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{,

title = {The wrong spin on dolphins},

author = {Ellison, K.},

year  = {2009},

date = {2009-01-01},

journal = {Frontiers in Ecology},

volume = {7},

number = {366},

pages = {452},

abstract = {I was kayaking in a bay along Hawai’i’s Big Island when they surfaced: an undulating line of fins that suggested

why so many ancient explorers believed in sea monsters. The pod of spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) looked like

nothing so much as a dragon’s back, until one of the creatures leaped and twisted aloft, as if – it seemed to me, at least

– inviting admiration. My young son splashed into the water to swim with them, to my vicarious joy. Just seeing these wild creatures at such

close range was something we’d never forget. Only after returning to the pier did I notice the billboards posted by the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Half-hidden, these urged visitors to stay at least 50

yards away from the dolphins, and never to approach them. The rule is more than reasonable. The dolphins hunt in

deep water by night, using the shallow bay – where it’s easier to spot predators – to rest. Dolphins can

nap even while they’re swimming together. In other words, we were paddling through their bedroom.

Nor were we alone. Half a dozen other kayaks and a noisy tour boat were also following the dolphin pod

that afternoon. While not endangered per se, these cetaceans are certainly at risk of being run ragged by misguided human affection. Take this

to the extreme and you get Joan Ocean and the Sirius Institute, both based on the Big Island. Ocean’s website

describes her as a psychologist, shaman, and “authority on the subject of Dolphin Tel-Empathic Communication”. She

runs week-long excursions – for $1795 – in which participants progress from swimming with dolphins to “merging

with their group mind, their patterns of higher consciousness, and their telepathic visions and loving messages”.

(Incidentally, Ocean has recently branched out into reporting on her alleged encounters with “Sasquatch”.) Several years ago, Ocean was charged and fined under a

federal statute prohibiting harassment of marine mammals. Yet according to Jayne LeFors, NOAA’s point woman for

dolphin protection in Hawai’i, the fine amounted to less than the revenue generated by one seminar participant, and,

understandably, wasn’t much of a deterrent. The similarly fervent Sirius Institute champions the “dolphinization

of the planet”. Among other activities, it has developed a center for women to give birth underwater,

“assisted” by dolphins. The institute’s cofounder, Paradise Newland, says she gave birth to her own son while surrounded

by dolphins, and maintains that a dolphin healed the injured vertebrae in her neck with its sonar.

Reports of such “dolphin-assisted therapy” are increasing worldwide, despite strong indications that many of them

amount to dangerous wishful thinking. The internet is brimming with stories of dolphins supposedly mitigating symptoms of disorders,

 including cerebral palsy, Down’s syndrome, and autism. But in 2007, writing in Anthrozoös, the journal of the

International Society for Anthrozoology, two Emory University researchers warned that the trend is a “lose–lose”

proposition for both people and dolphins. They concluded that no valid evidence exists for any long-term benefit from

the therapy, while people who spend thousands of dollars to interact with dolphins not only lose money but put themselves

and the dolphins at risk of injury and infection. According to LeFors, Hawai’i’s dolphin-loving commerce has intensified in recent years, for several reasons. The law

meant to shield the creatures is not only toothless, but vexingly vague. As LeFors explained, “harassment” – defined as pursuit,

torment, and annoyance – is difficult to prove. “You almost have to be in the mind of the dolphin to know if

it’s being tormented or annoyed”, she added wearily. Furthermore, the dolphins may in fact approach swimmers

or boats in a seemingly playful manner, which LeFors compares to a child staying up watching videos,

long after bedtime. “They don’t necessarily know what’s good for them”, she explained. Another problem is a lack of data pointing to harm from

these activities. A 2006 study in Conservation Biology documented significant declines of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops

truncatus) in Shark’s Bay, Australia, after several years of similar intrusions by tourists. LeFors suspects the Hawaiian

spinner dolphin population has also declined, a hunch that has led NOAA to commission research to explore this question.

Better data could help justify tighter restrictions. In 2004, Egypt set strict limits on swimming and boating in a

Red Sea bay frequented by spinner dolphins, after researchers demonstrated the toll from overenthusiastic

hordes of humans. As I learned to my embarrassment, it’s easy to misinterpret the charismatic dolphins. We see what we want to see, with

dolphins as with life. Where I’d anthropomorphically assumed their leaping in the air to be playful and friendly,

LeFors said it more likely meant they were annoyed at being disturbed. It’s a lot like that famous scene from The

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, in which the dolphins – after trying to warn humans about the planet’s impending

destruction, only to be cheered for their supposed antics – abruptly depart with},

keywords = {disturbance, Dolphin assisted therapy, dolphin watching, Hawaii, regulations, Spinner dolphin, Stenella longirostris, Threats},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}