ABUNDANCE AND DISTRIBUTION OF DELPHINIDS IN THE RED SEA (EGYPT) Marina Costa A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 2015 Full metadata for this item is available in Research@StAndrews:FullText at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/6802 This item is protected by original copyright This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence Abundance and Distribution of Delphinids in the Red Sea (Egypt) Marina Costa This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews June 2015 Delfini Dolphins (translation) Una foto-poema A picture as a poem due figure parallele, two parallel figures, più piccola l’una dell’altra. one smaller than the other. Nel profondo del mare - In the depth of the sea - che assomiglia a un cielo that seems the sky nel giorno migliore del mondo - in the best day of the world - quasi a sembrare in volo, as if they were flying, un delfino e il suo nato. a dolphin and its newborn. Il loro verso attraversa Their voices cross la mente. Linguaggio the mind. Mysterious language misterioso e canto di luce. and light song. Prodigio d’amore e sapienza, Wonder of love and wisdom, che seduce ogni dio e that seduces every God and ostacola forze predatrici impedes marauder forces nel paradiso di acque in the paradise of waters e di paure. and fears. Di chi siete la voce? Whose are you the voice? Quale divinità celate? Which deity do you hide? Dai tempi più antichi From the most ancient times simboli di ogni bene. you are the symbol of every good. Dal mito celebrati. Celebrated by the myth. Apollo diede, a Delfi, Apollo gave, to Delphi, il vostro nome… your name… Ogni arte vi onora. Every art honours you. Protettori degli uomini in mare; You are the guardians of humans at the dei fanciulli gioiosa guida sea; e salvazione. you are the joyful guide of children Leggenda vuole che and their salvation too. - con affezione - A legend tells that siate voi a condurre - with affection - gli umani you lead humans nel viaggio supremo, in their last journey, perché l’ultimo luogo because the ultimate place giace - forse - lies - perhaps - proprio al di là del mare right to the other side of the sea Poem by Ornella Ferrerio (26th of April 2012, Milan, Italy) 1. Candidate’s declarations: I, Marina Costa, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 54,700 words in length, has been written by me, and that it is the record of work carried out by me, or principally by myself in collaboration with others as acknowledged, and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. I was admitted as a research student in November 2010 and as a candidate for the degree of PhD in November 2011 the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between 2010 and 2014. Date signature of candidate 2. Supervisor’s declaration: I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of PhD in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. Date signature of supervisor Date signature of supervisor 3. Permission for publication: In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews I understand that I am giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. I also understand that the title and the abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker, that my thesis will be electronically accessible for personal or research use unless exempt by award of an embargo as requested below, and that the library has the right to migrate my thesis into new electronic forms as required to ensure continued access to the thesis. I have obtained any third-party copyright permissions that may be required in order to allow such access and migration, or have requested the appropriate embargo below. The following is an agreed request by candidate and supervisor regarding the publication of this thesis: PRINTED COPY a) No embargo on print copy ELECTRONIC COPY a) No embargo on electronic copy Date signature of candidate signature of supervisor signature of supervisor Table of Contents Table of Contents ...................................................................................................... i List of Figures ........................................................................................................... v List of Tables .......................................................................................................... xii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................... xvi Abstract 1 Chapter 1 General introduction ............................................................................... 2 1.1 The importance of studying cetaceans ............................................................... 2 1.2 Project background ............................................................................................. 5 1.3 The importance of the Red Sea ........................................................................... 9 1.4 Cetaceans in the Red Sea .................................................................................. 11 1.4.1 Species worldwide distribution ............................................................... 12 1.5 Red Sea: geography, climate and biogeography ............................................... 16 1.5.1 Biogeography of the Red Sea .................................................................. 19 1.5.2 Biodiversity and Endemism ..................................................................... 21 1.5.3 Lessepsian migration ............................................................................... 21 1.6 Cetacean threats in the Red Sea and legal frameworks ................................... 24 1.6.1 Further legal frameworks in Egypt .......................................................... 26 1.7 Thesis Aims and Objectives ............................................................................... 27 1.7.1 Thesis structure ....................................................................................... 27 Chapter 2 Survey Design and Pilot Survey Data Collection ...................................... 29 2.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 29 2.1.1 Estimating animals abundance ............................................................... 29 2.1.2 Theoretical considerations for survey design ......................................... 30 2.2 Study area .......................................................................................................... 33 2.3 SURVEY DESIGN ................................................................................................. 39 2.3.1 Selection of survey platform ................................................................... 39 2.3.2 Target species .......................................................................................... 40 2.3.3 Designing a line transect survey .............................................................. 41 2.4 PILOT SURVEY .................................................................................................... 46 2.4.1 Data collection ......................................................................................... 46 2.4.2 Pilot survey results .................................................................................. 49 2.5 MODIFICATIONS TO SURVEY DESIGN AND PRACTICE ....................................... 58 i 2.5.1 Considerations after the pilot survey ...................................................... 58 2.5.2 Modifications to survey ........................................................................... 60 2.5.3 Further information ................................................................................. 62 Chapter 3 The cetacean fauna of the northern Red Sea .......................................... 64 3.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 64 3.2 MATERIALS AND METHODS .............................................................................. 66 3.2.1 Study Area and Data collection ............................................................... 66 3.2.2 Incidental reporting of cetacean sightings from other sources .............. 67 3.2.3 Data Analyses .......................................................................................... 68 3.3 RESULTS ............................................................................................................. 68 3.3.1 Effort ........................................................................................................ 68 3.3.2 Sightings .................................................................................................. 72 3.3.3 Group size ................................................................................................ 73 3.3.4 Species distribution ................................................................................. 75 3.3.5 Spatial overlap of species richness and human activities ......................