Overview
Status: Completed
Topics: Research
Start date: 05/08/1992
End date: 21/08/1992
Parent project:
Project website:
Funding institutions:
Target species: Fin whale, Striped dolphin
Tethys role: Leader
Project leader: Tethys Research Institute and University of Barcelona
Project manager for Tethys: Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara
Project partners: Greenpeace
Project subcontractors:
Tethys staff: Jaume Forcada, Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara, Fabrizio Fabbri
Project other staff:
Milestone project:
Detailed description
A sightings survey was carried out in the western Ligurian Sea and in the offshore waters off western Corsica during August 1992, to estimate the density and absolute abundance of cetacean species in the area. Standard line transect analysis could be applied to the two most abundant species encountered, striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) and fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus).
Results
Whale abundance was estimated as 901 individuals (coefficient of variation (CV) = 0,217 ; 95 % confidence interval: 591-1,374 whales), and striped dolphin abundance was estimated as 25,614 individuals (CV = 0.253; 95% confidence interval: 15377-42658 dolphins). Densities of cetaceans presented here, compared to densities estimated in previous surveys across the entire western Mediterranean, highlight the importance of the Corso-Ligurian Basin as a main habitat for pelagic cetacean populations.
Output
Communication Output
Publications
Forcada J., Notarbartolo di Sciara G., Fabbri F. 1995. Abundance of fin whales and striped dolphins summering in the Corso-Ligurian Basin. Mammalia 59(1):127-140. DOI: 10.1515/mamm.1995.59.1.127