title: Passive Acoustic Monitoring the Diel, Lunar, Seasonal and Tidal Patterns in the Biosonar Activity of the Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins (Sousa chinensis) in the Pearl River Estuary, China.
abstract: A growing demand for sustainable energy has led to an increase in construction of offshore windfarms. Guishan windmill farm will be constructed in the Pearl River Estuary, China, which sustains the world's largest known population of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis). Dolphin conservation is an urgent issue in this region. By using passive acoustic monitoring, a baseline distribution of data on this species in the Pearl River Estuary during pre-construction period had been collected. Dolphin biosonar detection and its diel, lunar, seasonal and tidal patterns were examined using a Generalized Linear Model. Significant higher echolocation detections at night than during the day, in winter-spring than in summer-autumn, at high tide than at flood tide were recognized. Significant higher echolocation detections during the new moon were recognized at night time. The diel, lunar and seasonal patterns for the echolocation encounter duration also significantly varied. These patterns could be due to the spatial-temporal variability of dolphin prey and illumination conditions. The baseline information will be useful for driving further effective action on the conservation of this species and in facilitating later assessments of the effects of the offshore windfarm on the dolphins by comparing the baseline to post construction and post mitigation efforts.
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, P. R. China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China.|Marine Mammal Research Program, Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii, Hawaii, United States of America.
authors.forename: Zhi-Tao
authors.initials: ZT
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Marine Mammal Research Program, Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii, Hawaii, United States of America.
authors.forename: Paul E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Nachtigall
authors.affiliation: National Research Institute of Fisheries Engineering, Fisheries Research Agency, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomonari
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akamatsu
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Ke-Xiong
authors.initials: KX
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yu-Ping
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Transport Planning and Research Institute, Ministry of Transport, Beijing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jian-Chang
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Hongkong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Authority, Guangzhou, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Guo-Qin
authors.initials: GQ
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: Hongkong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Authority, Guangzhou, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Han-Jiang
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Ding
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000162:Acoustics; D000818:Animals; D002681:China; D004289:Dolphins / Q000502:physiology*; D004455:Echolocation; D045483:Rivers; D055871:Tidal Waves; D014828:Vocalization, Animal / Q000502:physiology*