Use of T-PODs for acoustic monitoring of Cephalorhynchus dolphins: a case study with Hector’s dolphins in a marine protected area

Endangered Species Research

Steve Dawson¹  Liz Slooten¹  William Rayment¹ 

关键词: Cephalorhynchus;    T-POD;    Acoustic monitoring;    Hector’s dolphin;    Bycatch;    Marine protected area;   

DOI  :  10.3354/esr00189

学科分类：动物科学

来源: Inter-Research

【 摘 要 】

ABSTRACT: The 4 dolphin species in the genus Cephalorhynchus have small populations, restricted distributions and are threatened by anthropogenic activities. It is therefore essential that tools be developed for assessing these threats and the effects of management actions. The T-POD is a commercially available acoustic data logger. We evaluated the efficacy of the T-POD for addressing habitat use questions relevant to management by passive acoustic monitoring of Hector’s dolphins C. hectori in the Banks Peninsula Marine Mammal Sanctuary (BPMMS), New Zealand. Three T-PODs were deployed at 3 inshore locations in summer and winter over a 2 yr period (n = 431 d). Acoustic detection data were summarised by detection-positive minutes per day. A linear regression model indicated that season had the largest effect on detection rate (F = 81.95, p < 0.001), with T-POD ID (i.e. variation in sensitivity between individual instruments) also having a significant effect (F = 9.45, p < 0.001). There was no significant difference between acoustic detection rates at night and during the day (paired t-test, t = 0.55, p = 0.59). The present study provides further evidence to support the year-round ban on all gill netting within the BPMMS. We demonstrated that T-PODs can be used to investigate temporal differences in habitat use by Cephalorhynchus dolphins. However, several issues must be considered when designing such experiments; namely the mode of deployment, accounting for variation in sensitivity between individual T-PODs and the possibility of false positive detections from non-target species.

【 授权许可】

Unknown