Geospatial Technology: An Effective tool for marine mammal conservatio

Jayasankar, J

Jeyabaskaran, R

John, Seban

Kripa, V

Lavanya, S

Padua, Shelton

Prema, D

Vysakhan, P

Lavanya, R

CMFRI Digital Repository

IntroductionObjectives➢Marine mammals exert huge influence on the marine food webs and forms an importantcomponent of the marine ecosystem. They have a major say on the structure and functions ofmarine ecosystems.➢A total of 130 marine mammal species have been reported world wide. Indian seas support26 species out of which 25 are cetaceans and one is sirenian (Kumaran, 2002; Vivekandan andJeyabaskaran, 2012).➢Stranding of marine mammals are reported world wide. In most of the occurrences, causeof stranding is unknown. Some of the identified causes are infectious disease includingparasite infestation, starvation, exposure to pollution, trauma (e.g., injuries from ship strikesor fishery entanglements), sound (human-generated or natural), harmful algal blooms andassociated biotoxins, unusual weather or oceanographic events and ingestion of marinedebris (http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/)➢The information collected from stranded mammals provide insights into their livesincluding seasonal distribution, natural history, population health, environmentalcontaminant levels, cases of human interaction, and incidence of disease.➢Information on common stranding locations and can be of great aid to marine biologistsand conservationists.➢To map marine mammal strandings along the Indian coast and to identify the hot spot area.➢To develop an interactive map of the same, enriched with information useful for conservationactivists.Geospatial Technology: An effective tool for Marine Mammal ConservationShelton Padua *, Jeyabaskaran, R., Jayasankar, J., Kripa, V., Prema, D., Lavanaya, R.,  Seban John and Vysakhan, P. ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi, India*Email: shelton_padua@yahoo.comResults and DiscussionMethodology➢Area : Indian Coast➢Period : 1874 to 2016➢ Species studied: Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus)Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni)Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus)Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus)➢Data source : Published literature➢The western coast is more prone to marine mammal stranding, with an exception of TamilNadu.➢Mandapam-Rameswaram region of Tamil Nadu is a hot spot area for marine mammalstranding.➢Forty two percentage of the strandings were reported from eastern coast while, fifty eightpercentage of the strandings occurred in western coast. This possibly indicate a better reportingof marine mammal stranding from west coast than the east coast.➢The interactive map developed was enriched with species information, standard operatingprocedure in case of stranding, reference information, name of the stranding location, state/UT,year of stranding etc.Extraction of Coordinates/Passive Geocoding Marine Mammal Stranding InformationGeneration of Marine Mammal Stranding MapHot Spot AnalysisHot Spot MapInteractive Map Reference Vivekandan, E. and Jeyabaskaran, R. 2012. Marine mammal species of India, Central MarineFisheries Research Institute, Kochi, 228 p.ConclusionInteractive map is very handy and packed with information required for field levelconservationists and policy makers alike. Marine mammal stranding hot spot area (Mandapam-Rameswaram region) requires special attention and further research is needed to find out thereasons behind it.Marine mammal strandings along  Indian coast Hot spot area of marine mammal strandingsPalk BayGulf of MannarBay of BengalArabian SeaScreenshot of the interactive map showing pop-up windowScreenshot of the hyperlinked reference displayed on the pageScreenshot of the hyperlinked species information drawn from SealifebaseScreenshot of the hyperlinked stranding SOP displayed on the page AcknowledgementAuthors are thankful to Dr. A. Gopalakrishnan, Director, CMFRI for the facility and encouragementfor the study. We also thank Dr. V. Kripa, Head, FEMD, CMFRI for her support during the studyBlue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni) Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus)Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus)

Geospatial Technology: An Effective tool for marine mammal conservation

http://eprints.cmfri.org.in/12878/1/Shelton%20Padua_2018_Geospatial%20Technology%20An%20Effective%20tool%20for%20marine%20mammal%20conservation_Poster.pdf

Geospatial Technology: An Effective tool for marine mammal conservation

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