Marine mammals and Good Environmental Status: Science, Policy and Society; Challenges and Opportunities

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive has become the key instrument for marine conservation in European seas. We review its implementation, focusing on cetacean biodiversity, using the examples of Spain and the Regional Seas Convention, OSPAR. The MSFD has been widely criticised for legal vagueness, lack of coordination, uncertainty about funding, and poor governance; its future role within EU Integrated Maritime Policy remains unclear. Nevertheless, the first stages of the process have run broadly to schedule: current status, environmental objectives and indicators have been described and the design of monitoring programmes is in progress, drawing on experience with other environmental legislation. The MSFD is now entering its critical phase, with lack of funding for monitoring, limited scope for management interventions, and uncertainty about how conservation objectives will be reconciled with the needs of other marine and maritime sectors, being among the main concerns. Clarity in governance, about the roles of the EU, Member States, Regional Seas Conventions and stakeholders, is needed to ensure success. However, even if (as seems likely) good environmental status cannot be achieved by 2020, significant steps will have been taken to place environmental sustainability centre-stage in the development of Integrated Maritime Policy for EU seas.Postprin

The Role of Canine Distemper Virus and Persistent Organic Pollutants in Mortality Patterns of Caspian Seals (Pusa caspica)

Persistent organic pollutants are a concern for species occupying high trophic levels since they can cause immunosuppression and impair reproduction. Mass mortalities due to canine distemper virus (CDV) occurred in Caspian seals (Pusa caspica), in spring of 1997, 2000 and 2001, but the potential role of organochlorine exposure in these epizootics remains undetermined. Here we integrate Caspian seal mortality data spanning 1971-2008, with data on age, body condition, pathology and blubber organochlorine concentration for carcases stranded between 1997 and 2002. We test the hypothesis that summed PCB and DDT concentrations contributed to CDV associated mortality during epizootics. We show that age is the primary factor explaining variation in blubber organochlorine concentrations, and that organochlorine burden, age, sex, and body condition do not account for CDV infection status (positive/negative) of animals dying in epizootics. Most animals (57%, n = 67) had PCB concentrations below proposed thresholds for toxic effects in marine mammals (17 μg/g lipid weight), and only 3 of 67 animals had predicted TEQ values exceeding levels seen to be associated with immune suppression in harbour seals (200 pg/g lipid weight). Mean organonchlorine levels were higher in CDV-negative animals indicating that organochlorines did not contribute significantly to CDV mortality in epizootics. Mortality monitoring in Azerbaijan 1971-2008 revealed bi-annual stranding peaks in late spring, following the annual moult and during autumn migrations northwards. Mortality peaks comparable to epizootic years were also recorded in the 1970s-1980s, consistent with previous undocumented CDV outbreaks. Gompertz growth curves show that Caspian seals achieve an asymptotic standard body length of 126-129 cm (n = 111). Males may continue to grow slowly throughout life. Mortality during epizootics may exceed the potential biological removal level (PBR) for the population, but the low frequency of epizootics suggest they are of secondary importance compared to anthropogenic sources of mortality such as fishing by-catch

A Robust Design Capture-Recapture Analysis of Abundance, Survival and Temporary Emigration of Three Odontocete Species in the Gulf of Corinth, Greece

<div><p>While the Mediterranean Sea has been designated as a Global Biodiversity Hotspot, assessments of cetacean population abundance are lacking for large portions of the region, particularly in the southern and eastern basins. The challenges and costs of obtaining the necessary data often result in absent or poor abundance information. We applied capture-recapture models to estimate abundance, survival and temporary emigration of odontocete populations within a 2,400 km² semi-enclosed Mediterranean bay, the Gulf of Corinth. Boat surveys were conducted in 2011–2015 to collect photo-identification data on striped dolphins <i>Stenella coeruleoalba</i>, short-beaked common dolphins <i>Delphinus delphis</i> (always found together with striped dolphins in mixed groups) and common bottlenose dolphins <i>Tursiops truncatus</i>, totaling 1,873 h of tracking. After grading images for quality and marking distinctiveness, 23,995 high-quality photos were included in a striped and common dolphin catalog, and 2,472 in a bottlenose dolphin catalog. The proportions of striped and common dolphins were calculated from the photographic sample and used to scale capture-recapture estimates. Best-fitting robust design capture-recapture models denoted no temporary emigration between years for striped and common dolphins, and random temporary emigration for bottlenose dolphins, suggesting different residency patterns in agreement with previous studies. Average estimated abundance over the five years was 1,331 (95% CI 1,122–1,578) striped dolphins, 22 (16–32) common dolphins, 55 (36–84) “intermediate” animals (potential striped x common dolphin hybrids) and 38 (32–46) bottlenose dolphins. Apparent survival was constant for striped, common and intermediate dolphins (0.94, 95% CI 0.92–0.96) and year-dependent for bottlenose dolphins (an average of 0.85, 95% CI 0.76–0.95). Our work underlines the importance of long-term monitoring to contribute reliable baseline information that can help assess the conservation status of wildlife populations.</p></div