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Published June 13, 2022 | Version v1
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Estimating the abundance of the critically endangered Baltic Proper harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) population using passive acoustic monitoring

Creators

  • 1. Kolmarden Wildlife Park*
  • 2. AquaBiota Water Research*
  • 3. University of St Andrews
  • 4. German Oceanographic Museum
  • 5. Aarhus University
  • 6. Chelonia Ltd*
  • 7. Turku University of Applied Sciences
  • 8. University of Gdańsk
  • 9. ProMare NPO*
  • 10. Klaipėda University
  • 11. Ministry of Environment
  • 12. Western Washington University

Description

Knowing the abundance of a population is a crucial component to assess its conservation status and develop effective conservation plans. For most cetaceans, abundance estimation is difficult given their cryptic and mobile nature, especially when the population is small and has a transnational distribution. In the Baltic Sea, the number of harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) has collapsed since the mid-20th century and the Baltic Proper harbour porpoise is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN and HELCOM; however, its abundance remains unknown. Here, one of the largest ever passive acoustic monitoring studies was carried out by eight Baltic Sea nations to estimate the abundance of the Baltic Proper harbour porpoise for the first time. By logging porpoise echolocation signals at 298 stations during May 2011-April 2013, calibrating the loggers' spatial detection performance at sea, and measuring the click rate of tagged individuals, we estimated an abundance of 71-1,105 individuals (95% CI, point estimate 491) during May-October within the population's proposed management border. The small abundance estimate strongly supports that the Baltic Proper harbour porpoise is facing an extremely high risk of extinction, and highlights the need for immediate and efficient conservation actions through international cooperation. It also provides a starting point in monitoring the trend of the population abundance to evaluate the effectiveness of management measures and determine its interactions with the larger neighbouring Belt Sea population. Further, we offer evidence that design-based passive acoustic monitoring can generate reliable estimates of the abundance of rare and cryptic animal populations across large spatial scales.

Notes

See readme.txt file.

Funding provided by: European Commission
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000780
Award Number: LIFE08 NAT/S/000261

Funding provided by: Bundesamt für Naturschutz
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100010415
Award Number: SAMBAH II 5 Vw/52602/2011-Mar 36032/66

Funding provided by: Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, Bau und Reaktorsicherheit
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100005910
Award Number: COSAMM FKZ 0325238

Funding provided by: Carlsbergfondet
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100002808
Award Number: CF16-0861

Funding provided by: European Association of Zoos and Aquaria
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100009167
Award Number:

Funding provided by: Havs- och Vattenmyndigheten
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100009486
Award Number:

Funding provided by: Instytut Meteorologii i Gospodarki Wodnej – Państwowy Instytut Badawczy
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100012960
Award Number:

Funding provided by: Japanese Science and Technology Agency-CREST*
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Award Number: 7620-7

Funding provided by: Kolmårdens Djurpark*
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Award Number:

Funding provided by: Maailmann Luonnon Säätiö (WWF) Suomen Rahasto*
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Award Number:

Funding provided by: Miljøministeriet
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100002981
Award Number:

Funding provided by: Miljø- og Fødevareministeriet
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100011055
Award Number: SN 343/SN-0008

Funding provided by: Narodowy Fundusz Ochrony Środowiska i Gospodarki Wodnej
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100012962
Award Number: 561/2009/Wn-50/OP/RE-LF/D

Funding provided by: Naturvårdsverket
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100004357
Award Number:

Funding provided by: SNAK Ph.D. School, Aarhus University*
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Award Number: 91147/365

Funding provided by: Tampereen Särkänniemi Ltd., Finland*
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Award Number:

Funding provided by: Turun ammattikorkeakoulu, Finland*
Crossref Funder Registry ID:
Award Number:

Funding provided by: Gdański Uniwersytet Medyczny
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100010609
Award Number:

Funding provided by: Wojewódzki Fundusz Ochrony Środowiska i Gospodarki Wodnej w Gdańsku
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100012961
Award Number:

Funding provided by: Ympäristöministeriö
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013872
Award Number:

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Additional details

Related works

Is cited by
10.1002/ece3.8554 (DOI)
Is derived from
10.5061/dryad.n5tb2rbx7 (DOI)