Cetacean surveys in the Lesser Antilles - 2000-2006

Sighting surveys are the principal means of obtaining information about the species, abundance, distribution and movements of marine mammals and other air-breathing groups. During the course of the project a number of cetacean sighting surveys were conducted in both near-shore (small-scale) and offshore (large-scale) waters of the Lesser Antilles Pelagic Ecosystem (LAPE). In addition, the results from additional surveys, conducted in the same area for the period 2000-2003, were compi led and incorporated into the present analysis. With one exception, statistical analysis of the surveys was not possible due to small numbers of sightings. In the one case where an analysis was completed it was based on species aggregated into groups of similar behaviour (for sighting purposes). Estimates of the abundance of the aggregate groups had high coefficients of variation, ranging from 0.34 to 0.89. The species identified in the surveys were all known to be present in the reg ion although one important group of cetaceans reported to be in the region, the killer whales (e.g. Orcinus orca, Pseudorca crassidens, Feresa attenuate), was not observed during any of the LAPE project surveys.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	FAO;Fishery and Aquaculture Economics and Policy Division
Format:	Project biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	2007
Online Access:	https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/AJ256E http://www.fao.org/3/a-aj256e.pdf
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