Common Indicator 3: Species distributional range - Marine Mammals

Reporter:: SPA/RAC
Geographical scale of the assessment:: Regional, Mediterranean Sea
Contributing countries:
Mid-Term Strategy (MTS) Core Theme:: 2-Biodiversity and Ecosystems
Ecological Objective:: EO1: Biological diversity is maintained or enhanced. The quality and occurrence of coastal and marine habitats and the distribution and abundance of coastal and marine species are in line with prevailing physiographic, hydrographic, geographic and climatic conditions.
IMAP Common Indicator:: Common Indicator 3 (CI3): Species distributional range (related to marine mammals)
Indicator Assessment Factsheet Code:: EO1CI3

GES Definition: Monk Seal is present along recorded Mediterranean coasts with suitable habitats for the species.

GES Targets:

State: The distribution of Monk Seal remains stable or expanding and the species is recolonizing areas with suitable habitats.
Pressure: Human activities having the potential to exclude marine mammals from their natural habitat within their range area or to damage their habitat are regulated and controlled.
Pressure: Conservation measures implemented for the zones of importance for cetaceans.
Pressure: Fisheries management measures that strongly mitigate the risk of incidental taking of monk seals and cetaceans during fishing operations are implemented.

Background

Robust information on species occurrence, distribution and ranges is the baseline to perform any further in depth investigation and to gain insights on the conservation status of the target populations. These are therefore pivotal to inform conservation and management at the diverse temporal and spatial scale. Cetaceans in the Mediterranean Sea are protected under statutory regulations (e.g. the Habitat Directive and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive) and by several international agreements such as ACCOBAMS among the others, which not only indicates to some extent the priorities in terms of conservation, but also clearly states the details of monitoring activities that should be in place. By consequence, these information and the process to gather them are necessary to abide to national and international regulations.

Assessment methods

Visual and acoustic surveys.Before conducting any type of monitoring of animal populations aimed at assessing the species distribution, it is essential to define the main objectives of the programme, alongside with the collection of relevant information on the target study area and the species presence, occurrence and behaviour. These elements are critical to choose the right data collection methodology, survey design approach and analytical framework.

Results and Status, including trends

This assessment presents a brief overview of the key results and status of twelve species of marine mammals, one seal and 11 cetaceans that are regularly present in the Mediterranean Sea and face several threats due to heavy anthropogenic pressures throughout the entire Mediterranean basin.

Conclusions

Current knowledge about the presence, distribution, habitat use and preferences of Mediterranean marine mammals is limited and regionally biased, due to an unbalanced distribution of research effort during the last decades, mainly focused on specific areas of the Basin. Throughout the Mediterranean Sea, the areas with less information and data on presence, distribution and occurrence of marine mammals, are the south-eastern portion of the basin, including the Levantine basin and the North Africa coasts. In addition, the summer months are the most representative in the censuses and very few information have been provided for the winter months in the data pool, when conditions to conduct off-shore research campaigns are particularly hard due to meteorological adversity.

A risk based approach for monitoring should be carried out to assess the marine mammal distribution throughout the whole Mediterranean Sea.
More effort should be devoted in poorly monitored areas.

References

Aguilar, A., and L. Lowry. (IUCN SSC Pinniped Specialist Group). 2010. Monachus monachus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

Azzellino, A., Airoldi, S., Gaspari, S., Lanfredi, C., Moulins, A., Podestà, M., Rosso, M., Tepsich, P., 2016. Chapter Seven - Risso’s Dolphin, Grampus griseus, in the Western Ligurian Sea: Trends in Population Size and Habitat Use, in: Giuseppe Notarbartolo Di Sciara, M.P. and B.E.C. (Ed.), Advances in Marine Biology, Mediterranean Marine Mammal Ecology and Conservation. Academic Press, pp. 205–232.

Azzellino, A., Gaspari, S., Airoldi, S., Nani, B., 2008. Habitat use and preferences of cetaceans along the continental slope and the adjacent pelagic waters in the western Ligurian Sea. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 55, 296–323. doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2007.11.006

Azzellino, A., Panigada, S., Lanfredi, C., Zanardelli, M., Airoldi, S., Notarbartolo di Sciara, G., 2012. Predictive habitat models for managing marine areas: Spatial and temporal distribution of marine mammals within the Pelagos Sanctuary (Northwestern Mediterranean sea). Ocean & Coastal Management 67, 63–74. doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2012.05.024

Bearzi, G., Reeves, R.R., Notarbartolo-Di-Sciara, G., Politi, E., Cañadas, A., Frantzis, A., Mussi, B., 2003. Ecology, status and conservation of short-beaked common dolphins Delphinus delphis in the Mediterranean Sea. Mammal Review 33, 224–252. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2907.2003.00032.x

Carlucci, R., Fanizza, C., Cipriano, G., Paoli, C., Russo, T., Vassallo, P., 2016. Modeling the spatial distribution of the striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) and common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) in the Gulf of Taranto (Northern Ionian Sea, Central-eastern Mediterranean Sea). Ecological Indicators 69, 707–721. doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.05.035

Carnabuci, M., Schiavon, G., Bellingeri, M., Fossa, F., Paoli, C., Vassallo, P., Gnone, G., 2016. Connectivity in the network macrostructure of Tursiops truncatus in the Pelagos Sanctuary (NW Mediterranean Sea): does landscape matter? Popul Ecol 58, 249–264. doi:10.1007/s10144-016-0540-7

Carpinelli, E., Gauffier, P., Verborgh, P., Airoldi, S., David, L., Di-Méglio, N., Cañadas, A., Frantzis, A., Rendell, L., Lewis, T., Mussi, B., Pace, D.S., De Stephanis, R., 2014. Assessing sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) movements within the western Mediterranean Sea through photo-identification. Aquatic Conserv: Mar. Freshw. Ecosyst. 24, 23–30. doi:10.1002/aqc.2446

Caruso, F., Sciacca, V., Bellia, G., Domenico, E.D., Larosa, G., Papale, E., Pellegrino, C., Pulvirenti, S., Riccobene, G., Simeone, F., Speziale, F., Viola, S., Pavan, G., 2015. Size Distribution of Sperm Whales Acoustically Identified during Long Term Deep-Sea Monitoring in the Ionian Sea. PLOS ONE 10, e0144503. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0144503

Cucknell, A.-C., Frantzis, A., Boisseau, O., Romagosa, M., Ryan, C., Tonay, A.M., Alexiadou, P., Öztürk, A.A., Moscrop, A., 2016. Harbour porpoises in the Aegean Sea, Eastern Mediterranean: the species, presence is confirmed. Marine Biodiversity Records 9. doi:10.1186/s41200-016-0050-5

Drouot, V., Gannier, A., Goold, J.C., 2004b. Summer social distribution of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in the Mediterranean Sea. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 84, 675–680. doi:10.1017/S0025315404009749h

Druon, J., Panigada, S., David, L., Gannier, A., Mayol, P., Arcangeli, A., Cañadas, A., Laran, S., Di Méglio, N., Gauffier, P., 2012. Potential feeding habitat of fin whales in the western Mediterranean Sea: an environmental niche model. Marine Ecology Progress Series 464, 289–306. doi:10.3354/meps09810

Esteban, R., Verborgh, P., Gauffier, P., Alarcón, D., Salazar-Sierra, J.M., Giménez, J., Foote, A.D., de Stephanis, R., 2016. Chapter Five - Conservation Status of Killer Whales, Orcinus orca, in the Strait of Gibraltar, in: Giuseppe Notarbartolo Di Sciara, M.P. and B.E.C. (Ed.), Advances in Marine Biology, Mediterranean Marine Mammal Ecology and Conservation. Academic Press, pp. 141–172.

Fontaine, M.C., 2016. Chapter Eleven - Harbour Porpoises, Phocoena phocoena, in the Mediterranean Sea and Adjacent Regions: Biogeographic Relicts of the Last Glacial Period, in: Giuseppe Notarbartolo Di Sciara, M.P. and B.E.C. (Ed.), Advances in Marine Biology, Mediterranean Marine Mammal Ecology and Conservation. Academic Press, pp. 333–358.

Gannier, A., 2011. Using existing data and focused surveys to highlight Cuvier’s beaked whales favourable areas: a case study in the central Tyrrhenian Sea. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 63, 10–17. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2010.03.037

Gannier, A., Epinat, J., 2008. Cuvier’s beaked whale distribution in the Mediterranean Sea: results from small boat surveys 1996–2007. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 88. doi:10.1017/S0025315408000428

Gannier, A., Praca, E., 2007. SST fronts and the summer sperm whale distribution in the north-west Mediterranean Sea. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 87, 187. doi:10.1017/S0025315407054689

Giménez, J., Gómez-Campos, E., Borrell, A., Cardona, L., Aguilar, A., 2014a. The uncertain status of the Mediterranean and northeastern North Atlantic fin whale subpopulations: Reply to Castellote et al., Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 2014, 28, 665–667. Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 28, 668–670. doi:10.1002/rcm.6817

Giménez, J., Gómez-Campos, E., Borrell, A., Cardona, L., Aguilar, A., 2013. Isotopic evidence of limited exchange between Mediterranean and eastern North Atlantic fin whales. Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 27, 1801–1806. doi:10.1002/rcm.6633

Güçlüsoy, H., C. O. Kıraç, N. O. Veryeri, and Y. Savaş. 2004. Status of the Mediterranean monk seal, Monachus monachus (Hermann, 1779) in the coastal waters of Turkey. Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 21:201-210.

Karaa, S., Bradai, M.N., Jribi, I., Hili, H.A.E., Bouain, A., 2012. Status of cetaceans in Tunisia through analysis of stranding data from 1937 to 2009. mammalia 76, 21–29. doi:10.1515/mamm.2011.100

Karamanlidis, A. A., and P. Dendrinos. 2015. Monachus monachus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Karamanlidis, A. A., P. Dendrinos, P. Fernandez de Larrinoa, A. C. Gücü, W. M. Johnson, C. O. Kıraç and R. Pires. 2015. The Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus: status, biology, threats, and conservation priorities. Mammal Review 46:92-105.

Kerem, D., Goffman, O., Elasar, M., Hadar, N., Scheinin, A., Lewis, T., 2016. Chapter Eight - The Rough-Toothed Dolphin, Steno bredanensis, in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea: A Relict Population, in: Giuseppe Notarbartolo Di Sciara, M.P. and B.E.C. (Ed.), Advances in Marine Biology, Mediterranean Marine Mammal Ecology and Conservation. Academic Press, pp. 233–258.

Lanfredi, C., Azzellino, A., D’Amico, A., Centurioni, L., Rella, M.A., Pavan, G., Podesta, M., 2016. Key Oceanographic Characteristics of Cuviers Beaked Whale (Ziphius cavirostris) Habitat in the Gulf of Genoa (Ligurian Sea, NW Mediterranean). Journal of Oceanography and Marine Research.

Laran, S., Gannier, A., 2008. Spatial and temporal prediction of fin whale distribution in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. ICES Journal of Marine Science 65, 1260–1269. doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsn086

Mo, G., H. Bazairi, A. Bayed. and S. Agnesi. 2011. Survey on Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus): sightings in Mediterranean Morocco. Aquatic Mammals 37:248-255.

NOAA, 2017. Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) 5-Year Review: summary and evaluation. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources (301) 427-8403, http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/hot_topics/2017/October/5-year_review_mediterranean_monk_sea_final-accessible_v2.pdf

Notarbartolo di Sciara, G., Venturino, M.C., Zanardelli, M., Bearzi, G., Borsani, F.J., Cavalloni, B., 1993. Cetaceans in the central Mediterranean Sea: Distribution and sighting frequencies. Bolletino di zoologia 60, 131–138. doi:10.1080/11250009309355800

Notarbartolo di Sciara, G., S., and S. Kotomatas. 2016. Chapter twelve-are Mediterranean monk seals, Monachus monachus, being left to save themselves from extinction? Advances in Marine Biology 75:359-386.

Panigada, S., Zanardelli, M., MacKenzie, M., Donovan, C., Mélin, F., Hammond, P.S., 2008. Modelling habitat preferences for fin whales and striped dolphins in the Pelagos Sanctuary (Western Mediterranean Sea) with physiographic and remote sensing variables. Remote Sensing of Environment 112, 3400–3412. doi:10.1016/j.rse.2007.11.017

Pirotta, E., Matthiopoulos, J., MacKenzie, M., Scott-Hayward, L., Rendell, L., 2011. Modelling sperm whale habitat preference: a novel approach combining transect and follow data. Marine Ecology Progress Series 436, 257–272. doi:10.3354/meps09236

Praca, E., Gannier, A., 2008. Ecological niches of three teuthophageous odontocetes in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Ocean Science 4, 49–59. doi:10.5194/os-4-49-2008

Praca, E., Gannier, A., Das, K., Laran, S., 2009. Modelling the habitat suitability of cetaceans: Example of the sperm whale in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 56, 648–657. doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2008.11.001

Praca, E., Laran, S., Lepoint, G., Thomé, J.-P., Quetglas, A., Belcari, P., Sartor, P., Dhermain, F., Ody, D., Tapie, N., Budzinski, H., Das, K., 2011. Toothed whales in the northwestern Mediterranean: insight into their feeding ecology using chemical tracers. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 62, 1058–1065. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.02.024

Sciacca, V., Caruso, F., Beranzoli, L., Chierici, F., Domenico, E.D., Embriaco, D., Favali, P., Giovanetti, G., Larosa, G., Marinaro, G., Papale, E., Pavan, G., Pellegrino, C., Pulvirenti, S., Simeone, F., Viola, S., Riccobene, G., 2015. Annual Acoustic Presence of Fin Whale ( Balaenoptera physalus ) Offshore Eastern Sicily, Central Mediterranean Sea. PLOS ONE 10, e0141838. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0141838

UNEP-MAP-RAC/SPA, IUCN. 1988. Report of the joint expert consultation on the conservation of the Mediterranean monk seal. Athens, 11-12 January 1988. IUCN/UNEP/MEDU/MM-IC/5. 8 p

UNEP-MAP-RAC/SPA. 2003. Action Plan for the management of the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus). Reprinted, RAC/SPA, Tunis. 12 p.

UNEP-MAP-RAC/SPA.2013, Regional Strategy for the Conservation of Monk Seals in the Mediterranean (2014-2019), http://www.rac-spa.org/nfp11/nfpdocs/working/wg_382_9_eng_2106.pdf

Biodiversity and Ecosystem (EO 1)