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- Amundin, Mats, et al.
(författare)
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Estimating the abundance of the critically endangered Baltic Proper harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) population using passive acoustic monitoring
- 2022
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Ingår i: Ecology and Evolution. - : Wiley. - 2045-7758. ; 12:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Knowing the abundance of a population is a crucial component to assess its conservationstatus and develop effective conservation plans. For most cetaceans, abundanceestimation is difficult given their cryptic and mobile nature, especially when thepopulation is small and has a transnational distribution. In the Baltic Sea, the numberof harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) has collapsed since the mid-20thcenturyand the Baltic Proper harbour porpoise is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCNand HELCOM; however, its abundance remains unknown. Here, one of the largestever passive acoustic monitoring studies was carried out by eight Baltic Sea nationsto estimate the abundance of the Baltic Proper harbour porpoise for the first time. Bylogging porpoise echolocation signals at 298 stations during May 2011–April2013,calibrating the loggers’ spatial detection performance at sea, and measuring the clickrate of tagged individuals, we estimated an abundance of 71–1105individuals (95% CI,point estimate 491) during May–Octoberwithin the population's proposed managementborder. The small abundance estimate strongly supports that the Baltic Properharbour porpoise is facing an extremely high risk of extinction, and highlights theneed for immediate and efficient conservation actions through international cooperation.It also provides a starting point in monitoring the trend of the populationabundance to evaluate the effectiveness of management measures and determine itsinteractions with the larger neighboring Belt Sea population. Further, we offer evidencethat design-basedpassive acoustic monitoring can generate reliable estimatesof the abundance of rare and cryptic animal populations across large spatial scales.
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| 2. |
- Laska, Matthias, 1960-, et al.
(författare)
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Successful acquisition of an olfactory discrimination paradigm by South African fur seals, Arctocephalus pusillus
- 2008
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Ingår i: Physiology and Behavior. - : Elsevier BV. - 0031-9384 .- 1873-507X. ; 93:4-5, s. 1033-1038
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The present study demonstrates that South African fur seals, Arctocephalus pusillus, can successfully be trained to discriminate between objects on the basis of odor cues. Using a task based on a food-rewarded two-choice discrimination of simultaneously presented odor stimuli the animals acquired the basic operant conditioning paradigm within 480 to 880 stimulus contacts. Moreover, the fur seals could readily transfer to new S+ and S- stimuli, were capable of distinguishing between fish- and non-fish odors as well as between two fish odors, and were able to remember the reward value of previously learned odor stimuli even after 2- and 15-week breaks. The precision and consistency of the fur seals' performance in tests of discrimination ability and memory demonstrate the suitability of this paradigm for assessing olfactory function in this pinniped. An across-species comparison of several measures of olfactory learning capabilities such as speed of initial task acquisition and ability to master transfer tasks shows that A. pusillus is similar in performance to non-human primates, but inferior to rodents such as mice and rats. The results support the assumption that fur seals may use olfactory cues for social communication and food selection and that the sense of smell may play an hitherto underestimated role in the control of their behavior. © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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