Primer registro de la ballena de aleta Balaenoptera physalus para el Caribe mexicano

Background. Until 2015, the aquatic mammals biodiversity in the Mexican Caribbean was unknown, but was in that year when 18 species were confirmed to be distribute in this region, none of them a Rorcual species. Goals. The aim of this work is to report the first sighting of a Balaenopteridae whale in the Mexican Caribbean. Methods. CONANP patrolling activities at the National Park Isla Contoy were conduced. Results On 2th August 2018, a stranded-live whale was found. The animal was identified as a ~18m (in length)  fin whale Balaenoptera physalus (Linnaeus, 1758). Conclusions. This note is the first confirmed record of this species in the Mexican Caribbean increasing the list of confirmed aquatic mammal species distributed in this region.Antecedentes. Hasta 2015 la biodiversidad de los mamíferos acuáticos en el Caribe mexicano era desconocida, pero en ese año se confirmó la distribución de 18 especies en esta región, ninguna de ellas una especie Rorcual. Objetivos. El objetivo de este trabajo es reportar el primer avistamiento de una ballena Balaenopteridae en el Caribe mexicano. Métodos. Se llevaron a cabo actividades de patrullaje de la CONANP en el Parque Nacional Isla Contoy. Resultados. El 2 de agosto de 2018, se encontró una ballena varada la cual se identificó como una ballena de aleta Balaenoptera physalus con una longitud de 18 m. Conclusiones. Esta nota es el primer registro confirmado de esta especie en el Caribe mexicano y aumenta la lista de especies confirmadas de mamíferos acuáticos distribuidas en esta región.&nbsp

Aquatic mammals from the Mexican Caribbean; a review

We present a review of the aquatic mammal species occurring in the Mexican Caribbean. Several published sources were reviewed to find information about aquatic mammals reported for the Mexican Caribbean. Additionally, we consulted 29 national and international collections and museums. Based on documents, collections, direct records and local news, we analyzed 18 confirmed species of aquatic mammals for the study area [Tursiops truncatus, Stenella clymene, S. frontalis, S. longirostris, Steno bredanensis, Grampus griseus, Globicephala macrorhynchus, Peponocephala electra; Pseudorca crassidens, Orcinus orca, Physeter macrocephalus, Kogia breviceps, K. sima, Ziphius cavirostris, Mesoplodon europaeus, Trichechus manatus manatus, Lontra longicaudis annectens and Monachus tropicalis (extinct)]. In order to gather solid baseline information that enhances efficient long-term management, regular and systematic population censuses of the aquatic mammal community are recommended. We recommend the use of the Mexican Caribbean area as a separate unit of management and conservation, differently as has been included in the macro region Gulf of Mexico/Mexican Caribbean

Ecological Niche Modeling of Three Species of Stenella Dolphins in the Caribbean Basin, With Application to the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve

Dolphins of the genus Stenella occur in pelagic waters of both tropical and warm-temperate oceans. Three species, the Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis), the pantropical spotted dolphin (S. attenuata), and the spinner dolphin (S. longirostris) are abundant worldwide, but in the Caribbean Basin they have been poorly studied and information on their distribution patterns is scarce. Specifically, in Colombia’s remote Seaflower Biosphere Reserve (SFBR) S. attenuata has been reported occasionally, but S. frontalis and S. longirostris have never been recorded before. To address this information gap, an ecological niche modeling approach was used to determine the potential distribution patterns of these three dolphin species in the region. Records of these species for the Caribbean Basin were compiled, including both published and unpublished data. Environmental information, including bathymetry, bathymetric slope, distance to shore, sea surface temperature, sea surface salinity, and chlorophyll-a concentration was gathered from public databases (MARSPEC and Bio-ORACLE) in raster format. The maximum entropy algorithm (Maxent) for modeling species’ geographic distributions with presence-only data was used. After filtering the data, 210 records of S. attenuata, 204 of S. frontalis, and 80 of S. longirostris were used to run models. The best configuration for each model was chosen based on the ΔAICc criterion. For all three species, the final ecological niche models returned AUC test values higher than 0.8, indicating satisfactory model performance. The resulting potential distribution maps suggested that areas closest to continental shorelines of the Caribbean Basin and surrounding islands had the highest environmental suitability for all species (>70%). All models reported high environmental suitability for S. attenuata and S. longirostris in the SFBR, mainly in the southernmost part surrounding San Andrés and Providence Archipelago. Assessment of niche overlap from the predictions of species distributions using the similarity statistic and pairwise map overlap indicated that S. frontalis and S. longirostris had niches slightly more similar in comparison to S. attenuata. As this was a first effort to fill a gap in our understanding of the distribution of species in the genus Stenella in the Caribbean Basin, further studies are necessary using both niche modeling and biological/ecological approaches

Ecología, comportamiento y uso de hábitat de manatíes en la Bahía de Chetumal

Chetumal, Quintana Roo, México : El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, 2010

Estudio del comportamiento de Manatí amazónico Trichechus inunguis en cautiverio (Puerto Nariño - Amazonas, Colombia)

The behavior of the amazon manatee, which is classified as “vulnerable”, has been poorlystudied. This research constitutes the first ethological study of one Trichechus inunguis. Theanimal concerned was a juvenile male held in captivity and bottle-fed with an artificial milkformula. The manatee was undergoing a long-term rehabilitation process for re-introducing itin to the wild. Ethological records during 149 hours in 2 different sized facilities were collected.Ad libitumobservations were used to describe behavior and events. The 30-minute recordingsessions were divided into 1-minute intervals. The first ethological catalog for this species wasdesigned, including 87 behavior patherns classified into 8 general categories. The studypresents an analysis of each type of activity for both facilities. Activity rhythm and the use ofspace by the manatee were also studied.El manatí amazónico es una especie considerada vulnerable, cuyo comportamiento ha sidoescasamente descrito. Esta investigación constituye el primer estudio sistemático delcomportamiento de un Trichechus inunguis. El individuo estudiado fue un juvenil macho, lactadoartificialmente, y para el cual se planea la reintroducción al medio silvestre. Se efectuaron 149horas de registro en dos estanques de diferente tamaño. Se realizó la descripción de conductasy el conteo de eventos, por observación ad libitum. La frecuencia de estados se hizo por mediode muestreos instantáneos de 30 minutos, con intervalos de un minuto. Se obtuvo el primercatálogo etológico para la especie, que incluye la descripción de 87 conductas, clasificadas enocho categorías comportamentales. Este trabajo presenta el análisis de cada tipo de actividadpara ambos sitios de cautiverio. Además, se estudió el uso del tiempo (ritmo de actividad) y delespacio del manatí

Study of the behavior of Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis) in captivity (Puerto Nariño – Amazonas, Colombia)

The behavior of the amazon manatee, which is classified as “vulnerable”, has been poorlystudied. This research constitutes the first ethological study of one Trichechus inunguis. Theanimal concerned was a juvenile male held in captivity and bottle-fed with an artificial milkformula. The manatee was undergoing a long-term rehabilitation process for re-introducing itin to the wild. Ethological records during 149 hours in 2 different sized facilities were collected.Ad libitumobservations were used to describe behavior and events. The 30-minute recordingsessions were divided into 1-minute intervals. The first ethological catalog for this species wasdesigned, including 87 behavior patherns classified into 8 general categories. The studypresents an analysis of each type of activity for both facilities. Activity rhythm and the use ofspace by the manatee were also studied

Áreas de distribución y alimentación del manatí Trichechus manatus manatus en época de aguas altas en la zona de influencia Puerto Carreño, Vichada, Colombia

En los meses de junio a octubre del año 2003, correspondientes a la época hidroclimática de aguas altas, se realizó un estudio sobre el río Orinoco, en la zona de influencia de Puerto Carreño cuyo objetivo perseguía la descripción de aspectos alimentarios del manatí antillano (Trichechus manatus manatus). Se recorrieron las orillas continentales y de las islas localizadas en el área comprendida entre Puerto Carreño y Tronconal. En estos recorridos se hizo la búsqueda de rastros de alimentación dejados por el manatí (comederos) y se caracterizó cada comedero con tres variables: especie vegetal consumida, profundidad y tamaño del comedero. Paralelo a los recorridos, se realizaron entrevistas a los pobladores locales en las que se indagó acerca de la dieta del manatí y las áreas donde es posible encontrarlo en la época del estudio. Según el testimonio de los entrevistados, las áreas en las que es posible encontrar el manatí son: isla Caño Negro, Guaripa, isla Bizal, isla Charal, isla El Indio, isla Pañuelo, isla Santa Helena, La Ángela, La Orera, Tronconal, Boca del Bita, Hormiga, San José y Zazafra. En los recorridos se pudo confirmar la presencia de manatí en San José, la India, isla Charal e islas El Indio. En total se encontraron 39 comederos en los sectores San José (tres comederos), La Ángela (dos comederos) y en las islas El Indio (13 comederos), Playa Caimanes (ocho comederos), Charal (12) y Chimborazo (un comedero). El primer período fue en el que se encontró la mayoría de comederos (19), en este período el nivel del río aún estaba en aumento, el registro de comederos varió a lo largo de los períodos de estudio. Se encontraron tres especies vegetales que presentaban tallos con rastros de alimentación de manatí, éstas fueron: paja  anatiza (Cf. Paspalum sp.), paja de agua (Paspalum fasciculatum) y gramalote (Paspalum repens). La profundidad a la cual se encontró la mayoría de comederos fue entre 3 y 4 m. En general el tamaño de los comederos fue menor a 6 m2, encontrando solo cuatro con dimensiones mayores. Con base en las entrevistas realizadas, se elaboró un listado de 30 ítems alimentarios que son consumidos por el manatí en la zona de estudio durante el período de aguas altas. Entre las plantas más mencionadas se encuentran gramalote (P. repens), paja de agua (P. fasciculatum), arizo (Alchornea castanaeifolia), buchón (Eichhornia crassipes), el boro (Ceratopteris thalictroides), bejuco guaco (Mikonia sp.), paja manatiza (Cf. Papapalum sp.), entre otras