Dear Colleagues, We are pleased to share with you a new open-access article focused on predicting the drift of small cetaceans along the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula.
Deslias C, Daniel P, López A, Martínez-Cedeira J, Ridoux V, Peltier H (2024) Predicting the drift of small cetaceans stranded along the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula: Parametrization of the MOTHY drift model. _PLoS ONE_ 19(12): e0315593. Read the article here [1] ABSTRACT: Marine mammal populations, particularly the common dolphin (_Delphinus delphis_) in the North-East Atlantic, play an essential role as indicators of ecosystem health. Effective monitoring of these populations is vital for assessing anthropogenic impacts, especially in the context of current threats such as fisheries bycatch. The MOTHY drift model, initially designed for oil spills and later adapted to carcass drift, has been used in parts of the North-East Atlantic (Bay of Biscay, English Channel, and North Sea) to estimate the bycatch mortality of common dolphins.This study presents the parametrization of the drift model to estimate the bycatch mortality of common dolphins in the Iberian Peninsula waters. By comparing the actual stranding locations of tagged dolphin carcasses off the Galician coast with their predicted stranding locations using the drift model, we determined the best environmental input parameters.The results reveal that a 4-arc-minute bathymetry resolution, coupled with consideration for currents, optimally predicts stranding locations along the Iberian Peninsula coast. The model's accuracy in predicting stranding locations is 18.25 ± 14.77 km.This adaptation not only contributes to the ongoing assessment of bycatch impacts on common dolphin populations in the Iberian Peninsula, but also provides a standardized methodology for estimating bycatch mortality at the population level. This work can also serve as a foundation for further applications to other small cetacean species across wider distribution areas, supporting comprehensive population-level assessments and management strategies. For any queries or discussions, please feel free to contact me. Best, Camille Deslias Doctorante / PhD Student Observatoire PELAGIS (UAR 3462) Centre d'Etude Biologique de Chizé (UMR 7372) 06.78.45.62.84 Observatoire PELAGIS LA ROCHELLE UNIVERSITÉ Centre commun d'analyse 5 allée de l'océan 17000 La Rochelle www.observatoire-pelagis.cnrs.fr [2] univ-larochelle.fr [3] Facebook [4] | Twitter [5] | Instagram [6] | Linkedin [7] | YouTube [8] Links: ------ [1] https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0315593 [2] http://www.observatoire-pelagis.cnrs.fr [3] http://www.univ-larochelle.fr [4] https://www.facebook.com/LaRochelleUniversite/ [5] https://twitter.com/UnivLaRochelle [6] https://www.instagram.com/univlarochelle/ [7] https://www.linkedin.com/school/university-of-la-rochelle/ [8] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Cf7Z00cbodH9qC8i7SHXA
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