Spatial and temporal partitioning of the Western Mediterranean Sea by resident dolphin species
Published:
Jan 17, 2023
Keywords:
common bottlenose dolphin distribution favourability fuzzy set theory modelling niche short-beaked common dolphin striped dolphin
Abstract
A classic issue in ecology is to understand how similar species coexist in a given area (i.e., sympatry). The situation of dolphins in the Western Mediterranean Sea may represent a special case of sympatry in that three similar species (the short-beaked common dolphin [Delphinus delphis], the striped dolphin [Stenella coeruleoalba], and the bottlenose dolphin [Tursiops truncatus) are under strong human impacts in the same area. From the viewpoint of ecology and conservation biology, it is challenging to determine how these three dolphin species live together and avoid competitive exclusion in the setting of such impacts. The Spanish Institute of Oceanography has a dataset of dolphin species opportunistic sightings. Using these data, we constructed three binary variables, comprising the sighting of one species versus the sighting of either of the other two species. We obtained three significant probability models after performing logistic regression of these binary variables on a set of spatio-temporal explanatory variables. We analysed these models from the perspective of fuzzy set theory by applying the favourability function to the probability models, fuzzy operations overlap, and entropy. The results show that common dolphins are differentially favoured in the eastern part of the study area and far away from main shipping routes. The striped dolphin was differentially favoured in the western part of the study area, above deep waters, near main shipping routes, and in summer and spring. Finally, bottlenose dolphins were differentially favoured in the mid-western part of the study area, in winter, and over shallow waters.
Article Details
- How to Cite
-
TORREBLANCA, E., REAL, R., CAMIÑAS, J. A., MACÍAS, D., GARCÍA-BARCELONA, S., & CARLOS BÁEZ, J. (2023). Spatial and temporal partitioning of the Western Mediterranean Sea by resident dolphin species. Mediterranean Marine Science, 24(1), 34–49. https://doi.org/10.12681/mms.25543
- Section
- Research Article
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (preferably in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Acevedo, P., Real, R., 2012. Favourability: concept, distinctive characteristics and potential usefulness. Die Naturwissenschaften, 99, 515-522.
Acevedo, P., Ward, A.I., Real, R., Smith, G.C., 2010. Assessing biogeographical relationships of ecologically related species using favourability functions: A case study on British deer. Diversity and Distributions, 16, 515-528.
Aguilar, A., Gaspari, S., 2012. Stenella coeruleoalba (Mediterranean subpopulation). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Version 2014.3. www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed 28 December 2014).
Akaike, H., 1973. Information theory as an extension of the maximum likelihood principle. p. 267-281. In: Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on Information Theory. Petrov, B.N., Csaki, F. (Eds). Akademiai Kiado, Budapest.
Alessi, J., Fiori, C., 2014. From science to policy-a geostatistical approach to identifying potential areas for cetacean conservation: A case study of bottlenose dolphins in the Pelagos sanctuary (Mediterranean Sea). Journal of Coastal Conservation, 18, 449-458.
Anderson, R.P., Lew, D., Peterson, A.T., 2003. Evaluating predictive models of species’ distributions: criteria for selecting optimal models. Ecological Modelling, 162, 211-232.
Anderwald, P., Haberlin, M.D., Coleman, M., O’Cadhla, O., 2012. Seasonal trends and spatial differences in marine mammal occurrence in Broadhaven Bay, north-west Ireland. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 92 (8), 1757-1766.
Arcangeli, A., Campana, I., Bologna, M.A., 2017. Influence of seasonality on cetacean diversity, abundance, distribution and habitat use in the western Mediterranean Sea: Implications for conservation. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 27 (5), 995-1010.
Azzellino, A., Panigada, S., Lanfredi, C., Zanardelli, M., Airoldi, S. et al., 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.
Azzellino, A., Fossi, M.C., Gaspari, S. Lanfredi, C., Lauriano, G. et al., 2014. An index based on the biodiversity of cetacean species to assess the environmental status of marine ecosystems. Marine Environmental Research, 100, 94-111.
Barbosa, A.M., Real, R., Márquez A.L., Rendón, M.A., 2001. Spatial, environmental and human influences on the distribution of otter (Lutra lutra) in the Spanish provinces. Diversity and Distributions, 7, 137-144.
Barbosa, A.M., Real, R., Muñoz, A.R., Brown, J.A., 2013. New measures for assessing model equilibrium and prediction mismatch in species distribution models. Diversity and Distributions, 19, 1333-1338.
Bearzi, G., 2003. Delphinus delphis (Mediterranean subpopulation). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Version 2014.3. www.iucnredlist.org (Accessed 28 December 2014).
Bearzi, M., 2005. Dolphin sympatric ecology, Marine Biology Research, 1 (3), 165-175.
Bearzi, G., Reeves, R., Notarbartolo di Sciara, G., Politi, E., Cañadas, A. et al., 2003. Ecology, status and conservation of short-beaked common dolphins Delphinus delphis in the Mediterranean Sea. Mammal Review, 33 (3), 224-252.
Bearzi, G., Agazzi, S., Gonzalvo, J., Costa, M., Bonizzoni, S. et al., 2008. Overfishing and the disappearance of shortbeaked common dolphins from western Greece. Endangered Species Research, 5, 1-12.
Bearzi, G., Fortuna, C., Reeves, R., 2012. Tursiops truncatus (Mediterranean subpopulation). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Versión 2014.3. www.iucnredlist.org (Accessed 24 December 2014).
Bearzi, G., Bonizzoni, S., Santostasi, N.L., Furey, N.B., Eddy, L. et al., 2016. Dolphins in a Scaled-Down Mediterranean: The Gulf of Corinth’s Odontocetes. Advances in Marine Biology, 75, 297-331.
Bellido, J., Báez, J., León, D., Castillo, J., Martín, J. et al., 2012. Geographical trends of the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) in Andalusian coastal waters inferred from stranding data. Life and Environment, 62 (2), 87-95.
Borcard, D., Legendre, P., Drapeau, P., 1992. Partialling out the spatial component of ecological variation. Ecology, 73, 1045-1055.
Cañadas, A., Hammond, P., 2006. Model-based abundance estimates for bottlenose dolphins off southern Spain: Implications for conservation and management. Journal of cetacean research and management, 8 (1), 13- 27.
Cañadas, A., Hammond, P., 2008. Abundance and habitat preferences of the short-beaked common dolphin Delphinus delphis in the southwestern Mediterranean: implications for conservation. Endangered Species Research, 4, 309-331.
Cañadas, A., Vázquez, J.A., 2017. Common dolphins in the Alboran Sea: Facing a reduction in their suitable habitat due to an increase in Sea surface temperature. Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 141, 306-318.
Cañadas, A., Sagarminaga, R., Garcia-Tiscar, S., 2002. Cetacean distribution related with depth and slope in the Mediterranean waters off southern Spain. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 49, 2053-2073.
Carlucci, R., Fanizza, C., Cipriano, G., Paoli, C., Russo, T. et al., 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.
Coomber, F.G., D’ Incà, M., Rosso, M., Tepsich, P., Notabartolo di Sciara, G. et al., 2016. Description of the vessel traffic within the north Pelagos Sanctuary: inputs for marine spatial planning and management implications within an existing international marine protected area. Marine Policy, 69, 102-113.
Cotté, C., Guinet, C., Taupier-Letage, I., Petiau, E., 2010. Habitat use and abundance of striped dolphins in the western Mediterranean Sea prior to the morbillivirus epizootic resurgence. Endangered Species Research, 12, 203-214.
Dubois, D., Prade, H., 1980. Fuzzy sets and systems: theory and applications. Academic Press, New York. 411 pp.
Dwyer, S.L., Pawley, M.D.M., Clement, D.M., Stockin, K.A., 2020. Modelling habitat use suggests static spatial exclusion zones are a non‑optimal management tool for a highly mobile marine mammal. Marine Biology, 167, 62.
Elith, J., Leathwick, J.R., 2009. Species Distribution Models: Ecological Explanation and Prediction Across Space and Time. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, 40 (1), 677-697.
Espada, R., Olaya-Ponzone, L., Haasova, L., Martín, E., García-Gómez, J.C., 2019. Hybridization in the wild between Tursiops truncates (Montagu 1821) and Delphinus delphis (Linnaeus 1758). PLoS ONE, 14(4), e0215020.
Fielding, A.H., Bell, J.F., 1997. A review of methods for the assessment of prediction errors in conservation presence/ absence models. Environmental Conservation, 24, 38-49.
Forcada, J., Hammond, P., 1998. Geographical variation in abundance of striped and common dolphins of the western Mediterranean. Journal of Sea Research, 39, 313-325.
Forcada, J., Gazo, M., Aguilar, A., Gonzalvo, J., Fernández- Contreras, M., 2004 Bottlenose dolphin abundance in the NW Mediterranean: Addressing heterogeneity in distribution. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 275, 275-287.
Gambaiani, D.D., Mayol, P., Isaac, S.J., Simmonds, M.P., 2009. Potential impacts of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions on Mediterranean marine ecosystems and cetaceans. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 89, 179-201.
Gannier, A., 2005. Summer distribution and relative abundance of delphinids in the Mediterranean Sea. Revue d’écologie (la terre et la vie), 60 (3), 223-238.
Giménez, J., Cañadas, A., Ramírez, F., Afán, I., García-Tiscar, S. et al., 2017a. Intra- and interspecific niche partitioning in striped and common dolphins inhabiting the southwestern Mediterranean Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 567, 199-210.
Giménez, J., Marçalo, A., Ramírez, F., Verborgh, P., Gauffier, P. et al., 2017b. Diet of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from the Gulf of Cadiz: In- sights from stomach content and stable isotope analyses. PLoS One, 12, e0184673.
Giménez, J., Cañadas, A., Ramírez, F., Afán, I., Fernández-Maldonado, C. et al., 2018a. Living apart together: niche partitioning among Alboran Sea cetaceans. Ecological Indicators, 95, 32-40.
Giménez, J., Marçalo, A., García-Polo, M., García-Barón, I., Castillo, J.J. et al., 2018b. Feeding ecology of Mediterranean common dolphins: the importance of mesopelagic fish in the diet of an endangered subpopulation. Marine Mammal Science, 34 (1), 136-154.
Gnone, G., Bellingeri, M., Dhermain, F., Dupraz, F., Nuti, S. et al., 2011. Distribution, abundance, and movements of the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) in the Pelagos Sanctuary MPA (northwest Mediterranean Sea). Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 21, 372-388.
Goffredo, S., Dubinsky, Z., 2014. The Mediterranean Sea: Its history and present challenges. Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 678 pp.
Gómez de Segura, A., Crespo, E., Pedraza, S., Hammond, P., Raga, J., 2006. Abundance of small cetaceans in waters of the central Spanish Mediterranean. Marine Biology, 150, 149-160.
Gómez de Segura, A., Hammond, P., Raga, J., 2008. Influence of environmental factors on small cetacean distribution in the Spanish Mediterranean. Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 88 (6), 1185-1192.
Gordon, J.C.D., Matthews, J.N., Panigada, S., Gannier, A., Borsani, JF., et al., 2000. Distribution and relative abundance of striped dolphins, and distribution of sperm whales in the Ligurian Sea cetacean sanctuary: results from a collaboration using acoustic monitoring techniques. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management, 2 (1), 27-36.
Gouveia, S.F., Rubalcaba, J.G., Soukhovolsky, V., Tarasova, O., Barbosa, A.M. et al., 2020. Ecophysics reload - exploring applications of theoretical physics in macroecology. Ecological Modelling, 424, 109032.
Guisan, A., Zimmermann, N., 2000 Predictive habitat distribution models in ecology. Ecological Modelling, 135 (2-3), 147-186.
Herzing, D.L., Elliser, C.R., 2013. Directionality of Sexual Activities During Mixed-Species Encounters between Atlantic Spotted Dolphins (Stenella frontalis) and Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). International Journal of Comparative Psychology, 26, 124-134.
Hosmer, D., Lemeshow, S., 2000. Applied Logistic Regression, 2nd Edition, Wiley & Sons Inc., Chichester, New York, 392pp.
Hooker, S.K., Whitehead, H., Gowans, S., 1999. Marine protected area design and the spatial and temporal distribution of cetaceans in a submarine canyon. Conservation biology, 13 (3), 592-602.
Hutchinson, G.E., 1957. Concluding remarks. Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology, 22 (2), 415-427.
Hutchinson, G.E., 1961. The paradox of the plankton. The American Naturalist, 95,137-145.
Karamitros, G., Gkafas, G.A., Giantsis, I.A., Martsikalis, P., Kavouras, M. et al., 2020. Model-Based Distribution and Abundance of Three Delphinidae in the Mediterranean. Animals, 10 (2), 260.
Kiszka, J., Macleod, K., Van Canneyt, O., Walker, D., Ridoux, V., 2007. Distribution, encounter rates, and habitat characteristics of toothed cetaceans in the Bay of Biscay and adjacent waters from platform-of-opportunity Data. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64, 1033-1043.
Kosko, B., 1986. Fuzzy entropy and conditioning. Information Sciences, 40, 165-174.
Kunchenva, L.I., 2001. Using measures of similarity and inclusion for multiple classifier fusion by decision templates. Fuzzy Sets and Systems, 122, 401-407.
Lambert, C., Laran, S., David, L., Doremus, G., Pettex, E. et al., 2017. How does ocean seasonality drive habitat preferences of highly mobile top predators? Part I: The north-western Mediterranean Sea. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 141, 115-132.
Laran, S., Drouot-Dulau, V., 2007. Seasonal variation of striped dolphins, fin- and sperm whales’ abundance in the Ligurian Sea (Mediterranean Sea). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 87, 345-352.
Laran, S., Joiris, C., Gannier, A., Kenney, R.D., 2010. Seasonal estimates of densities and predation rates of cetaceans in the Ligurian Sea, northwestern Mediterranean Sea: An initial examination. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management, 11 (1), 31-40.
Legendre, P., 1993. Spatial autocorrelation: Trouble or new paradigm? Ecology, 74, 1659-1673. Legendre, P., Fortin, M.J., 1989. Spatial pattern and ecological analysis. Vegetatio, 80, 107-138.
Lobo, J., Jiménez-Valverde, A., Real, R., 2008. AUC: A misleading measure of the performance of predictive distribution models. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 17, 145- 151.
MacLeod, C.D., Weir, C.R., Santos, M.B., Dunn, T.E., 2008. Temperature-based summer habitat partitioning between white-beaked and common dolphins around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 88 (6), 1193-1198.
Maguire, B. Jr., 1973. Niche response structure and the analytical potentials of its relationship to the habitat. American Naturalist, 107, 213-246.
Meléndez, M.J., Báez, J.C., Serna-Quintero, J.M., Camiñas, J.A., de Loyola Fernández, I. et al., 2017. Historical and ecological drivers of the spatial pattern of Chondrichthyes species richness in the Mediterranean Sea. PLoS ONE, 12 (4), e0175699.
McClellan, C., Brereton, T., Dell’Amico, F., Johns, D., Cucknell, A. et al., 2014. Understanding the Distribution of Marine Megafauna in the English Channel Region: Identifying Key Habitats for Conservation within the Busiest Seaway on Earth. PLoSONE, 9 (2), e89720.
Mira, F., Rubio-Guerri, C., Purpari, G., Puleio, R., Caracappa, G. et al., 2019. Circulation of a novel strain of dolphin morbillivirus (DMV) in stranded cetaceans in the Mediterranean Sea. Scientific Reports, 9, 9792.
Notarbartolo di Sciara, G., 2002. Cetaceans of the Mediterranean and Black Seas: State of Knowledge and Conservation Strategies. Cetacean Species occurring in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. A Report to the ACCOBAMS Secretariat, Section 3, 17 pp.
Notarbartolo di Sciara, G., Birkun, A., 2010. Conserving whales, dolphins and porpoises in the Mediterranean and Black Sea. An ACCOBAMS status report, 212 pp.
Notarbartolo di Sciara, G., Venturino, M.C., Zanardelli, M., Bearzi, G., Borsani, J.F. et al., 1993. Cetaceans in the central Mediterranean Sea: distribution and sighting frequencies. Bollettino di Zoologia, 60, 131-138.
Notarbartolo di Sciara, G., Agardy, T, Hyrenbach, D., Scovazzi, T., Van Klaveren, P., 2008. The Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean marine mammals. Aquatic conservation: Marine and freshwater ecosystems, 18, 367-391.
Olivero, J., Real, R., Márquez, A.L., 2011. Fuzzy chorotypes as a conceptual tool to improve insight into biogeographic patterns. Systematic Biology, 60, 645-660.
Olivero, J., Fa, J.E., Real, R., Márquez, A.L., Farfán, M.Á. et al., 2017. Recent loss of closed forests is associated with Ebola virus disease outbreaks. Scientific Reports, 7, 14291.
Panigada, S., Zanardelli, M., MacKezie, M., Donovan, C., Mélin, F. et al., 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.
Panigada, S., Lauriano, G., Burt, L., Pierantonio, N., Donovan, G., 2011. Monitoring winter and summer abundance of cetaceans in the Pelagos Sanctuary (northwestern Mediterranean Sea) through aerial surveys. PloSONE, 6 (7), e22878.
Pearson, R.G., 2007. Species’ Distribution Modeling for Conservation Educators and Practitioners. Synthesis. Lessons in Conservation, 3, 54-89.
Peng, C., Lee, K., Ingersoll, G., 2002. An Introduction to Logistic Regression Analysis and Reporting. The Journal of Educational Research, 91 (1), 3-14.
Pikesley, S.K., Witt, M.J., Hardy, T., Loveridge, J., Loveridge, J. et al., 2012. Cetacean sightings and strandings: evidence for spatial and temporal trends? Journal of the Marine Biological Association U.K., 92 (8), 1809-1820.
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.
Real, R., Barbosa, A.M., Porras, D., Kin, M.S., Márquez, A.L. et al., 2003. Relative importance of environment, human activity and spatial situation in determining the distribution of terrestrial mammal diversity in Argentina. Journal of Biogeography, 30, 939-947.
Real, R., Barbosa, A., Vargas, J., 2006a. Obtaining environmental favourability functions from logistic regression. Environmental and Ecological Statistics, 13, 237-245.
Real, R., Estrada, A., Barbosa, A.M., Vargas, J.M., 2006b. Aplicación de la lógica difusa al concepto de rareza para su uso en Gap Analysis: El caso de los mamíferos terrestres en Andalucía. Serie Geográfica, 13, 99-116.
Real, R., Barbosa, A.M., Rodríguez, A., García, F.J., Vargas, J.M. et al., 2009. Conservation biogeography of ecologically interacting species: the case of the Iberian lynx and the European Rabbit. Diversity and Distributions, 15, 390-400.
Real, R., Barbosa, A.M., Bull, J.W., 2017. Species Distributions, Quantum Theory, and the Enhancement of Biodiversity Measures. Systematic Biology, 66, 453-462.
Real, R., Báez, J.C., Fa, J.E., Olvero, J., Acevedo, P., 2022. Making the Competitive Exclusion Principle Operational at the Biogeographical Scale using Fuzzy Logic. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10, 991344.
Reilly, S.B., Fiedler, P.C., 1994. Interannual variability of dolphin habitats in the eastern tropical Pacific. I: Research vessel surveys, 1986-1990. Fisheries Bulletin, 92, 434-450.
Reino, L., Ferreira, M., Martinez-Solano, I., Segurado, P., Xu, C., Barbosa, M.A., 2017. Favourable areas for co-occurrence of parapatric species: niche conservatism and niche divergence in Iberian tree frogs and midwife toads. Journal of Biogeography, 44, 88-98.
Richardson, A.J., Poloczanska, E.S., 2008. Under-resourced, under threat. Science, 320, 1294-1295.
Robertson, M.P., Villet, M.H., Palmer, A.R., 2004. A fuzzy classification technique for predicting species’ distributions: Applications using invasive alien plants and indigenous insects. Diversity and Distributions, 10, 461-474.
Salski, A., 2006. Ecological Applications of Fuzzy Logic. pp. 3-14. In: Ecological Informatics. Recknagel, F. (Ed). Springer Heidelberg, Berlin.
Santos, M.B., German, I., Correia, D., Read, F.L., Martinez, J. et al., 2013. Long-term variation in common dolphin diet in relation to prey abundance. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 481, 249-268.
Torreblanca, E., Camiñas, J.A., Macías, D., García-Barcelona, S., Real, R. et al., 2019. Using opportunistic sightings to infer differential spatio-temporal use of western Mediterranean waters by the fin whale. PeerJ, 7, e6673.
UNEP-MAP-RAC/SPA, 2010. Overview of scientific findings and criteria relevant to identifying SPAMIs in the Mediterranean open seas, including the deep sea. http:// bit.ly/1W- 8jste (Accessed 16 December 2022).
Zadeh, L.A., 1965. Fuzzy sets. Information and Control, 8, 338-353.
