Accord Pelagos Accordo Pelagos relatif à la création en Méditerranée relativo alla creazione nel Mediterraneo d’un Sanctuaire pour les mammifères marins di un Santuario per i mammiferi marini
6ème Réunion des Parties VI Riunione delle Parti Hyères, 15-16 décembre 2015 Hyères, 15-16 dicembre 2015
Pelagos_COP6_Inf10 Français / Italiano Distribution / Distribuzione: 07/12/2015
PROJECT “DOLPHIN WITHOUT BORDERS”
Secrétariat Permanent de l’Accord Pelagos / Segretariato Permanente dell’Accordo Pelagos Palazzo Ducale – Piazza Matteotti, 9 – IT-16123 Genova Tel: +39 010 570 22 01 – Email: [email protected] - Web: www.pelagos-sanctuary.org
Modulo di presentazione dettagliata/Formulaire de présentation détaillée
DOLPHINS WITHOUT BORDERS DAUPHINS SANS FRONTIÈRES DELFINI SENZA FRONTIERE
a project of bottlenose dolphin research, conservation, and awareness
GENERAL INFORMATION
Person in charge of the project: Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara President Organisation: Tethys Research Institute (“Istituto Tethys ONLUS”, www.tethys.org) Tel: +39 335 6376035 - Email: [email protected]
Partners: 1. GIS3M, France (www.gis3m.org) Person in charge: Hélène Labach 2. Fondazione Acquario di Genova ONLUS, Italy (www.fondazioneacquariodigenova.it) Person in charge: Guido Gnone 3. CE.TU.S., Italy (www.cetusresearch.eu) Person in charge: Silvio Nuti 4. Università di Sassari, Italy (www.uniss.it/php/dipnet.php) Person in charge: Renata Manconi PROJECT DESCRIPTION
1. Goals. a) To support the conservation of common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus in the Pelagos Sanctuary; b) at the same time taking advantage of the popularity of these charismatic mammals to help raising awareness within the wider public on the conservation of the marine environment; and c) strengthening the links among Pelagos and the many MPAs and National Parks existing within the Sanctuary boundaries by promoting a sustained coordination and systematic implementation of dolphin monitoring and conservation action in the area. 2. Expected outcomes. This one-year project will take place in the Italian portion of the Pelagos Sanctuary (Fig. 1), and is designed to complement parallel activities conducted in French Mediterranean waters by the partner organisation GIS3M with its GDEGeM project (Fig. 2). Accordingly, activities will be conducted in tight coordination between the Tethys Research Institute and GIS3M, particularly as far as monitoring, conservation and management aspects are concerned. Through the implementation of this project in partnership with the GDEGeM project, and the ensuing development and adoption of a shared monitoring protocol among research groups and MPA management bodies, including the creation of a shared photo-ID database, it will be possible to contribute substantively to the creation of a comprehensive picture of bottlenose dolphin abundance, distribution, movement patterns, home range, habitat preferences, population structure, and possibly contaminants, in the Pelagos Sanctuary area. Italian protected areas that will be approached to solicit cooperation in the project, as an integration to the French MPAs approached in the GDEGeM project, shall include three National Parks (Arcipelago Toscano, Isola dell’Asinara, Arcipelago della Maddalena) and four Marine Protected Areas (Isola di Bergeggi, Portofino, Cinque Terre, Secche della Meloria). The National Parks in particular are all known to contain important bottlenose dolphin habitat, and their cooperation will entail significant conservation importance for the species. The dolphins’ ecological data collected through approximately 180 cumulative days of field campaigns, combined with the data collected in the French waters through GDEGeM, and historical data collected by project partners or available from the literature and online databases (e.g., Fig. 3), will create the basis for the development of proposals for place-based conservation for the bottlenose dolphins of the area, including the assessment of the specific conservation importance of the existing protected areas, the proposals for new areas (if needed), and recommendations for the adoption of specific management measures to counteract threats. Ad hoc training programmes on monitoring, photo-ID techniques, management and conservation best practices will be organised to the benefit of interested MPA management bodies, enforcement officials and local research groups. Finally, the 31 Italian municipalities from Liguria, Tuscany and Sardinia that have formally engaged in partnership with the Pelagos Sanctuary (as of 31 January 2013) will be contacted in order to explore the implementation of joint programmes of information, awareness building and local involvement in bottlenose dolphin conservation activities, to be strengthened and prolonged in future years with additional human and financial resources. 3. Interest of the study and expected contribution to knowledge. This project aims at improving the knowledge and conservation of common bottlenose dolphin in the Pelagos Sanctuary and improve the public awareness on marine conservation thanks to the bottlenose dolphin image, gathering scientist and managers from France and Italy. Dolphin Without Borders will allow the development of full integration between actions in Italian waters, foreseen in the present project, and actions implemented in the French waters of the Pelagos Sanctuary and beyond, foreseen in the GDEGeM project. GDEGeM (“Bottlenose Dolphin Study and Management in the Mediterranean Sea”), coordinated by the GIS3M (“Group of Scientific Interest for Mediterranean Marine Mammals”), is a collaborative and multi-disciplinary, 2.5 years-long project started in early 2013 (Fig. 2). This project, supported by the MAVA Foundation, the Endowment Fund for Biodiversity through the « Save Your Logo » program, and the French Marine Protected Area Agency, involves the cooperation between scientists and managers, and is implemented in partnership with the Pelagos Sanctuary, ACCOBAMS, the French Marine Protected Area Agency and the MedPAN network. The main goal of the project - improving the conservation of this sub-population – is being achieved through three specific and complementary objectives:
! 2! • to improve the knowledge on the population through photo-identification campaigns and analyses, genetic analyses and passive acoustic monitoring; • to provide technical support to MPA managers for monitoring the species and implementing conservation measures through training sessions, standard protocols and the proposal of measures; • to strengthen the MPA network by providing a wider regional management tool through the improvement of communication and exchange. Dolphins Without Borders will contribute to accrue the most updated comprehensive information on bottlenose dolphin ecology and conservation status available from the northwestern Mediterranean. These efforts will facilitate advances in local knowledge of the species’ abundance, distribution, movement patterns, habitat selection, population structure, and threats, which will be subject of publications in the international, peer- reviewed literature. Although a substantive contribution to knowledge increase is expected from this project, a significant effort during its duration (limited to one year) will also be devoted to lay the foundations for the continuation of monitoring efforts by available MPA management bodies and local research groups, on the basis of shared data collection protocols, thereby enhancing the future sustainability of obtained results. 4. Communication: types and proposed means. A dedicated webpage and a Facebook page to describe the project and its progress and outcomes will be created in Italian and French, with links to the sites of the Pelagos Sanctuary, of the relevant National Parks and MPAs, and of corresponding organisations. Local communication efforts, tailored to specific needs, will also be carried out in cooperation with the municipalities that are partners of the Pelagos Sanctuary, and may include proposals of participatory activities (e.g., adoption programmes, respectful dolphin watching from land and from vessels, dolphin watching rules) for the wider public.
METHODS Dolphins Without Borders will implement actions for bottlenose dolphin monitoring and management in the Italian waters of the Pelagos Sanctuary in parallel to similar actions implemented in the French waters through the GDEGeM project, and will develop a coordination allowing a strong collaboration, overall analyses and standardized protocols and measures for bottlenose dolphin monitoring and management in the Pelagos Sanctuary area. 1. Overall methods description Scientific actions • about 180 days of field campaigns will be organised in the Italian continental waters of the Pelagos Sanctuary to collect photo-identification and ecological data (Fig. 1). The northern area will be covered by the Tethys Research Institute, the north-eastern area by Fondazione Acquario di Genova ONLUS, and the eastern area by CE.TU.S. and the Tethys Research Institute). • Bottlenose dolphin abundance, distribution, seasonality, home range and movements in the Pelagos Sanctuary will be investigated through the analysis of sighting and photo-identification data collected in this project and in GDEGeM, and will generate encounter rate values and habitat maps through spatial modelling, thereby identifying the distribution of the species’ critical habitats in the project area. • A shared northwestern Mediterranean bottlenose dolphin photo-ID catalogue will be promoted with inclusion of old and new data in the INTERCET platform (see below). • A rapid index of abundance will be developed, to be periodically measured by non-specialised personnel, in order to support the regular detection of time series and population trends in specific relevant locations (e.g., protected areas). • Small biopsy samples, remotely collected from bottlenose dolphins during the field cruises whenever opportunities will arise, will be analysed and compared to genetic analyses performed within the framework and timetable of the GDEGeM project, and will allow investigating the Sanctuary’s bottlenose dolphin population structure, and possibly toxicological contamination. The required CITES permits will be obtained whenever needed. Management and conservation actions • Bottlenose dolphin conservation status within the project area will be assessed by applying Red List criteria (www.redlist.org) to the area’s population, which will include the identification of existing and potential threats and an assessment of extinction risk.
! 3! • The capacity of MPA management personnel of ensuring the future systematic monitoring and conservation of bottlenose dolphins will be enhanced through dedicated training sessions, which can also be extended to enforcement personnel (e.g., Coast Guard), and local research groups. • A framework of management guidelines and rules, based on risk assessments, will be developed in cooperation with available MPA management bodies and the Pelagos Sanctuary, to support bottlenose dolphin conservation in the area. These will include standardized bottlenose dolphin conservation measures, including systematic monitoring, which we suggest should be incorporated into the MPAs’ management plans. • Based on the results of monitoring efforts and an evaluation of the existing risks, assessments will be made that sufficient connectivity and corridors are ensured amongst the existing protected areas as far as the area’s bottlenose dolphin conservation needs are concerned, and identify the eventual need for establishing supplementary conservation areas to support better protection (e.g., by proposing new marine Natura 2000 sites; see Fig. 4). Education and awareness actions • Project webpage and a Facebook page in the two official languages of the Pelagos Sanctuary will be created to communicate the project’s results and to catalyse public interest around bottlenose dolphin conservation efforts and the project’s activities and results. • The Italian coastal municipalities having formally declared their partnership with the Pelagos Sanctuary will be approached with a view of engaging them in joint programmes of information, awareness building and local involvement in bottlenose dolphin conservation activities, to the benefit of the local communities, in cooperation with the participating MPAs and the Pelagos Sanctuary. Work with the Italian municipalities will create a model that the Pelagos Sanctuary could then apply in the future to engage French and Monegasque municipalities. 2. Quantified objectives (expected research effort, use of existing data, expected duration of activities) • Project final report inclusive of: a) protocols (monitoring, photo-ID techniques, inclusion of data into INTERCET, index of abundance), assessment of conservation status inclusive of a summary of existing threats, rules for management, assessment of place-based conservation and eventual suggestions of new Natura 2000 sites. • Project webpage and Facebook page established. • Survey of existing knowledge, with placement of a list of the relevant scientific literature and of relevant links on the project webpage. • Publications in the scientific literature. • Field research effort: research cruises with a minimum of 3 different research vessels for a cumulative total of about 180 days at sea. • Common bottlenose dolphin photo-ID catalogue loaded onto INTERCET and made available to users. • Skin and subcutaneous biopsies secured to genetic and contaminant analyses. • Training programmes of personnel from Italian MPAs and National Parks in the project area that have expressed their availability to participate. Entities to be contacted include: Arcipelago Toscano, Isola dell’Asinara, Arcipelago della Maddalena, Isola di Bergeggi, Portofino, Cinque Terre, Secche della Meloria. Training may also involve enforcement personnel (e.g., Coast Guard) and local research groups. • Contacts established with Italian municipalities that are partners of the Pelagos Sanctuary, and engagements established with available municipalities. Awareness material (e.g., flyers, information leaflets, etc.) will be prepared and distributed in cooperation with the municipalities. 3. Proposed means (logistics – human resources and materials – statistical methods): • The project will last 12 months, and can begin in any time of the year. • Human resources and tasks: o Tethys Research Institute: 7 persons ! project coordination ! field work ! photo-ID catalogue ! INTERCET and data management ! development of index of abundance
! 4! ! description of threats and assessment of risks ! assessment of conservation status ! development of rules for management ! proposals for Natura 2000 sites ! training ! awareness campaign ! website o GIS3M: 2 persons ! project coordination ! genetic analysis ! management rules ! place-based conservation proposals o Fondazione Acquario di Genova ONLUS: 4 persons ! field work ! photo-ID catalogue ! INTERCET and data management ! development of index of abundance ! description of threats and assessment of risks ! assessment of conservation status ! development of rules for management ! proposals for Natura 2000 sites ! training ! awareness campaign o CE.TU.S.: 3 persons ! field work ! photo-ID catalogue ! INTERCET and data management ! development of index of abundance ! description of threats and assessment of risks ! assessment of conservation status ! development of rules for management ! proposals for Natura 2000 sites ! training ! awareness campaign o Università di Sassari: 2 persons ! INTERCET and data management ! development of rules for management ! proposals for Natura 2000 sites ! training ! awareness campaign. • Field research effort: about 180 days of research cruises with a minimum of 3 different research vessels across the 3 portions in which the project area is subdivided: north-western area by the Tethys Research Institute, north-eastern area by Fondazione Acquario di Genova ONLUS, eastern area by CE.TU.S. and the Tethys Research Institute (Fig. 1). In addition, extra vessel time by Tethys and CE.TU.S. deriving from cruises conducted for other projects in the same area, where bottlenose dolphins have been observed in the past, will be also included as an in-kind contribution. • Assessment of encounter rates (ER) throughout the project area, and creation of habitat maps through spatial modelling (Generalised Linear Models, GLMs). • Probability map of the species presence obtained from the analysis of presence/absence data (logistic GLMs assuming a binomial distribution for a binary response variable). • Skin biopsies for genetic analyses will be transmitted to GIS3M and analysed together with samples derived from the GDEGeM project to investigate population structure and levels of gene flow within the project area. The sub-cutaneous blubber portion of the biopsies will be stored and made available for subsequent contaminant analyses by specialised laboratories, pending the securing of the necessary funds.
! 5! • Promotion and facilitation of the use of a common northwestern Mediterranean bottlenose dolphin photo-ID catalogue, to support the investigation of ecological and demographic parameters (distribution, movements, home ranges, abundance, death and birth rates, etc.). For this purpose all the data collected in the project will be uploaded to INTERCET (the Web-GIS platform developed within the GIONHA project, www.gionha.eu), under the coordination of Fondazione Acquario di Genova ONLUS. In the INTERCET platform the photo-ID data will be integrated and matched with data coming from the French side of the Pelagos area, collected within the GDEGeM project under the coordination of GIS3M, and with other dataset already stored in INTERCET (GIONHA, Go Green, etc.). • One coordination meeting of all partners and involved parties will be organised during the first trimester. • From the organisational point of view, a Franco-Italian regular cooperation routine will be maintained to integrate scientific data, maintain the website and Facebook page in the respective languages, and develop and implement standard protocols and measures to be implemented in the MPAs found in the Pelagos Sanctuary’s area.
4. Timetable
Activity trimester 1 trimester 2 trimester 3 trimester 4
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII
Project start-up and organisation Meetings Field work Data analysis, photo catalogue Desk work Training Awareness campaign Project conclusion and reporting
! 6! BUDGET. 1. Detailed description of the overall budget
2. Financial support requested from the Pelagos Sanctuary The financial support requested from the Pelagos Sanctuary is € 69,997.77 (Euro sixty nine thousands nine hundred ninety seven/77). A proposal to the Albert II Prince of Monaco Foundation to support the “Dolphin Without Borders” project with matching funds will be submitted in March 2014. Should support from the Prince of Monaco Foundation not be granted, this proposal will be reformulated to account for the available funds, in a way in which the project goals stated herein will still be attained.
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Fig. 1. The project’s study area, i.e., parts of the Italian Ecological Protection Zone comprised within the boundaries of the Pelagos Sanctuary. The shaded area represents the portions of the continental shelf comprised between the 400 m isobath and the coastline, which includes the common bottlenose dolphins’ primary habitat, where dolphin searching effort will be conducted with particular intensity. Protected areas to be included in the project activities (small circles = MPAs; large circles = National Parks): 1. Isola di Bergeggi; 2. Portofino; 3. Cinque Terre; 4. Secche della Meloria; 5. Arcipelago Toscano; 6. Arcipelago della Maddalena; 7. Isola dell’Asinara.
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Fig. 2. The GEDEGeM project areas.
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Fig. 3. The OBIS SEAMAP database http://seamap.env.duke.edu/species/180425 already contains several sighting records of Tursiops truncatus in the project area, which are, however, not normalised by effort. The project will integrate the existing information, including the OBIS SEAMAP data, with new data and generate updated, effort-corrected distribution maps.
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Fig. 4. Locations of existing Natura 2000 sites in the project area (from http://natura2000.eea.europa.eu/#).
! 11! APPENDIX
Selected bibliographical references of special relevance to the proposed project
Arcangeli A., Marini L., Nannarelli S. 2001. "Progetto Tursiope": dati preliminari sulla presenza di Tursiops truncatus in Sardegna. Natura, Società Italiana di Scienze Naturali, Museo Civico di Storia Naturale e Acquario Civico, Milano 90(2):11-20. Azzellino A., Gaspari S., Airoldi S., Nani B. 2008. Habitat use and preferences of cetaceans along the continental slope and the adjacent pelagic waters in the western Ligurian Sea. Deep Sea Research Part I. 55:296-323. doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2007.11.006 Bearzi G., Fortuna C.M., Reeves R.R. 2009. Ecology and conservation of common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus in the Mediterranean Sea. Mammal Review 39(2):92-123. DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2907.2008.00133.x Bearzi G., Fortuna C.M., Reeves R.R. 2012. Tursiops truncatus (Mediterranean subpopulation). In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.1.
! 12! Lauriano G., Fortuna M.C., Moltedo G., Mackelworth P., Notarbartolo di Sciara G. 2003. Presenza e distibuzione dei cetacei nelle aree limitrofe al Parco Nazionale dell'Asinara (Sardegna nord-occidentale). Biologia Marina Mediterranea 10(2):848-852. Lauriano G., Mackelworth P., Fortuna M.C., Moltedo G., Notarbartolo di Sciara G. 2003. Densità e abbondanza del tursiope (Tursiops truncatus) nel Parco Nazionale dell'Asinara, Sardegna. Biologia Marina Mediterranea 10(2):717-720. Manfredini E., Frau F., Fossa F., Bellingeri M., Gnone G., Saporiti F. 2007. Presence and abundance of bottlenose dolphin along the East Ligurian coast in relation to the pleasure boating. European Research on Cetacean 21. Marini L., Consiglio C., Angradi A.M., Catalano B., Sanna A., Valentini T., Finoia M.G., Villetti G. 1996. Distribution, abundance and seasonality of cetaceans sighted during scheduled ferry crossings in the central Tyrrhenian Sea: 1989-1992. Italian Journal of Zoology 63(4):381-388. Marini L., Consiglio C., Arcangeli A., Torchio A., Casale M., Cristo B., Nannarelli S. 1996. Socio-ecology of bottlenose dolphins along the north-eastern coast of Sardinia (Italy): preliminary results. European Research on Cetaceans 9:139-141. Notarbartolo di Sciara G., Agardy T., Hyrenbach D., Scovazzi T., Van Klaveren, P. 2008. The Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean marine mammals. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 18: 367–391. Natoli, A., Birkun, A., Aguilar, A., Lopez, A., Hoelzel, AR. 2005. Habitat structure and the dispersal of male and female bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 272: 1217–1226. Nuti S., Chiericoni V., Virgilio M. 2001. Preliminary data on the occurrence, distribution, and feeding behaviour of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in a southern location of the "International Sanctuary for Mediterranean cetaceans". European Research on Cetaceans 15:448. Politi E., Bearzi G., Pesante G., Barbieri G. 2002. Resoconto delle attività di ricerca sul comportamento e l'ecologia alimentare del tursiope (Tursiops truncatus) presso l'Isola dell'Asinara. Luglio 1999 – ottobre 2001. Tethys Research Institute Report TRI/ASI 01/2002. Rapporto realizzato per conto di ICRAM, Roma. 40 p. Ripoll T., Dhermain F., Barril D., Trucchi R., Bonsignori B., Roussel E., David L., Beaubrun P. 2001. First summer population estimate of bottlenose dolphins along the north-western coasts of the occidental Mediterranean basin. European Research on Cetaceans 15:393-396.
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