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Fao/Government Cooperative Programme Scientific Basis FI:GCP/RLA/140/JPN TECHNICAL DOCUMENT No. 3 FAO/GOVERNMENT COOPERATIVE PROGRAMME SCIENTIFIC BASIS FOR ECOSYSTEM-BASED MANAGEMENT IN THE LESSER ANTILLES INCLUDING INTERACTIONS WITH MARINE MAMMALS AND OTHER TOP PREDATORS CETACEAN SURVEYS IN THE LESSER ANTILLES 2000-2006 FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Barbados, 2008 FI:GCP/RLA/140/JPN TECHNICAL DOCUMENT No. 3 FAO/GOVERNMENT COOPERATIVE PROGRAMME SCIENTIFIC BASIS FOR ECOSYSTEM-BASED MANAGEMENT IN THE LESSER ANTILLES INCLUDING INTERACTIONS WITH MARINE MAMMALS AND OTHER TOP PREDATORS CETACEAN SURVEYS IN THE LESSER ANTILLES 2000-2006 Report prepared for the Lesser Antilles Pelagic Ecosystem Project (GCP/RLA/140/JPN) FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Barbados, 2008 The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of FAO. All rights reserved. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product for educational or other non-commercial purposes are authorized without any prior written permission from the copyright holders provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of material in this information product for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission of the copyright holders. Applications for such permission should be addressed to: Chief Electronic Publishing Policy and Support Branch Communication Division FAO Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy or by e-mail to: [email protected] © FAO 2008 ABSTRACT Scientific Basis for Ecosystem-Based Management in the Lesser Antilles Including Interactions with Marine Mammals and Other Top Predators: Cetacean Surveys in the Lesser Antilles - 2000-2006, FAO, Barbados, 2008. ix + 57 pp., 11 Figures and 17 Tables, FI:GCP/RLA/140/JPN. Technical Document No. 3 Sighting surveys are the principal means of obtaining information about the species, abundance, distribution and movements of marine mammals and other air-breathing groups. During the course of the project a number of cetacean sighting surveys were conducted in both near-shore (small-scale) and offshore (large-scale) waters of the Lesser Antilles Pelagic Ecosystem (LAPE). In addition, the results from additional surveys, conducted in the same area for the period 2000-2003, were compiled and incorporated into the present analysis. With one exception, statistical analysis of the surveys was not possible due to small numbers of sightings. In the one case where an analysis was completed it was based on species aggregated into groups of similar behaviour (for sighting purposes). Estimates of the abundance of the aggregate groups had high coefficients of variation, ranging from 0.34 to 0.89. The species identified in the surveys were all known to be present in the region although one important group of cetaceans reported to be in the region, the killer whales (e.g. Orcinus orca, Pseudorca crassidens, Feresa attenuate), was not observed during any of the LAPE project surveys. iii iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES.......................................................................................................... VI LIST OF FIGURES..................................................................................................... VIII GLOSSARY ................................................................................................................... IX BACKGROUND............................................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 3 LARGE-SCALE SURVEYS ........................................................................................... 5 2000 - USA/NOAA Humpback Survey (R/V Gordon Gunter)......................... 5 2004 - LAPE Large-scale Sighting Survey (R/V Shonan Maru)......................... 7 Survey design........................................................................................................ 7 Research vessel ..................................................................................................... 9 Survey strategy and procedure ........................................................................ 10 Survey Results..................................................................................................... 12 2006 - LAPE Ecosystem Survey (R/V Celtic Explorer)...................................... 22 Design and Operations ...................................................................................... 22 Results ................................................................................................................. 23 SMALL-SCALE SURVEYS ......................................................................................... 25 Small-scale Survey Effort ....................................................................................... 27 Small-scale survey Sightings ................................................................................. 27 Small-scale Survey Abundance Estimation......................................................... 27 CONCLUSIONS........................................................................................................... 39 REFERENCES............................................................................................................... 41 APPENDIX 1 TAXONOMY AND CODES FOR CETACEANS AND TURTLES ............................................................................................................ 43 APPENDIX 2 SIGHTING SURVEY MANUAL - 2004 ........................................ 46 Procedures for Cetacean Sighting Survey in the Lesser Antilles in 2004, under the FAO LAPE Project (GCP/RLA/140/JPN)......................................... 46 Operational Strategy............................................................................................... 46 Primary Searching .............................................................................................. 46 Secondary Searching.......................................................................................... 47 DATA DEFINITIONS AND RECORDING PROCEDURES ................................. 47 Effort and Weather Form .................................................................................. 47 Sighting Record Form ........................................................................................ 51 Observer shift form ............................................................................................ 56 Fishing vessels and gears information ............................................................ 57 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Functional group assignments with selected examples of cetacean species in the LAPE area. ......................................................................................5 Table 2 Sighting counts for taxa identified in or near the LAPE area during sighting survey by NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter in 2000 and functional groups to which they would be assigned. ..........................................................6 Table 3 Sighting frequency and total counts by functional groups during the survey in and near the LAPE area in 2000 by the NOAA ship Gordon Gunter. Figures in parentheses are unidentified species assumed to belong to the given group. ....................................................................................7 Table 4. Summary of survey design and execution based on spatial strata shown on Figure 1. Design targets were based on total area and relative sampling intensity. The randomly generated survey track lines which were used for this survey were based on a total of 2100 n. miles of primary effort. Weather conditions reduced the primary sighting effort actually realized......................................................................................................8 Table 5 Survey effort completed each day during 2004 Large-scale Sighting Survey ....................................................................................................................12 Table 6 Primary survey effort in each stratum during the 2004 Large-scale Sighting Survey.....................................................................................................15 Table 7 Species sighted in primary and secondary searching during the LAPE Large-scale Sighting Survey, 17 April-14 May 2004. Results show the number of sightings/ total number of animals sighted and the functional group (FG) assigned.............................................................................................16 Table 8 Sample sizes and abundance-related parameter estimates from the LSS. All statistics were obtained after right-truncating the data for estimation of esw. L is the survey effort (N. Mi.), n is the number of primary sightings and k is the number of samples (transect lines). n/L
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