Dear All, For those who might be interested, the following paper was recently published:
VÁZQUEZ-CASTÁN, L., SERRANO, A., LÓPEZ-ORTEGA, M., GALINDO, J.A., VALDES-ARELLANES, M. & NAVAL-ÁVILA, C. 12007. Habitat characterization of two populations of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus Montagu 1821) in the Northern coast of the State of Veracruz, Mexico. UDO Agrícola. 7(1): 285-292. ABSTRACT Marine mammals require special habitat characteristics for their reproduction, breeding and feeding. There are no studies regarding marine mammal habitat characterization in the northern coast of the state of Veracruz, Mexico. The goal of this study was to characterize the habitat of two populations of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus, Montagu 1821) along the northern coast of Veracruz, Mexico. The study area was divided into two zones: Tamiahua, and Tuxpan; 22 boat-based surveys were carried out during 18 months, and dolphins where sighted in 16 of these surveys. The environmental variables measured included: depth, bottom type, sea surface temperature, salinity, pH, sea conditions, conductivity, salinity and total dissolved solids. Also, we estimated chlorophyll concentration (mg/m3) using images obtained by the SeaWifs satellite. The main factors that characterized bottlenose dolphins habitat for these 16 sightings were: bottom type, water depth, sea conditions and chlorophyll concentration. In all the areas dolphins preferred the sandy bottom over other bottom types. Mean bottom depth for sightings were observed was 25,9 m (s.d. ±18,33) in Tamiahua, and 28,9 m (s.d. ±26,50) in Tuxpan. Mean chlorophyll concentration for dolphin sighting locations were 663,6 mg/m3 (s.d. ±871,08) in Tamiahua, and 1.579,63 mg/m3 (s.d. ±1525,68) in Tuxpan. This study shows that there are differences in habitat characteristics among the two bottlenose dolphins populations studied. Key words: Habitat characterization, population, bottlenose dolphins, bathymetry, physical-chemical parameters. ______________________________ Dr. Arturo Serrano Laboratorio de Mamíferos Marinos Universidad Veracruzana km 7.5 Carretera Tuxpan-Tampico C.P. 92850 Tuxpan, Veracruz MEXICO Cel.: (783) 112 0346
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