A comprehensive risk assessment to evaluate the vulnerability of the nearshore cetaceans to increasing marine traffic is lacking.In this study,the risk to Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins(Sousa chinensis)in the main hab...A comprehensive risk assessment to evaluate the vulnerability of the nearshore cetaceans to increasing marine traffic is lacking.In this study,the risk to Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins(Sousa chinensis)in the main habitats in China was assessed based on a semiquantitative spatial vulnerability analysis.85%of the(sub)population which overlapped with the lanes of ferries and/or cargo vessels,with exposure scores of 1.23±0.31(calculated based on the proportion of sea routes that overlap the dolphin’s range).A combination of high exposure to the sea routes and sensitivity to marine traffic would render the(sub)populations to be highly vulnerable(EPRE:5.21 and XM:4.47).A low frequency of vessels and an awareness of the ecology assures a low vulnerability(SH:2.43,EZ:2.73).Uncertainty scores were commonly lower for the higher vulnerable populations,and higher for the lower vulnerable populations,suggesting additional field data and more monitoring are necessary.Six years of field data have been used to analyze the influences of various types of marine traffic on humpback dolphin behavior.Fishing and non-fishing vessels were significantly different(χ^(2)=65.19,p<0.01).The humpback dolphins were attracted by fishing vessels(83.1%)but avoided non-fishing vessels(95.2%).We recommend a management with seasonal and geographical constraints,to balance economic development and environmental conservation.展开更多
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No.2022 YFF1301603)the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (No.2021A1515011467)in China+2 种基金the Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai),China (Nos.311020003 and 311021004)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.32201290)the 71st batch of China Postdoctoral Science Funding (No.2022M713560)。
文摘A comprehensive risk assessment to evaluate the vulnerability of the nearshore cetaceans to increasing marine traffic is lacking.In this study,the risk to Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins(Sousa chinensis)in the main habitats in China was assessed based on a semiquantitative spatial vulnerability analysis.85%of the(sub)population which overlapped with the lanes of ferries and/or cargo vessels,with exposure scores of 1.23±0.31(calculated based on the proportion of sea routes that overlap the dolphin’s range).A combination of high exposure to the sea routes and sensitivity to marine traffic would render the(sub)populations to be highly vulnerable(EPRE:5.21 and XM:4.47).A low frequency of vessels and an awareness of the ecology assures a low vulnerability(SH:2.43,EZ:2.73).Uncertainty scores were commonly lower for the higher vulnerable populations,and higher for the lower vulnerable populations,suggesting additional field data and more monitoring are necessary.Six years of field data have been used to analyze the influences of various types of marine traffic on humpback dolphin behavior.Fishing and non-fishing vessels were significantly different(χ^(2)=65.19,p<0.01).The humpback dolphins were attracted by fishing vessels(83.1%)but avoided non-fishing vessels(95.2%).We recommend a management with seasonal and geographical constraints,to balance economic development and environmental conservation.