Artur Andriolo

Federal University of Juiz de Fora · Departamento de Zoologia (ZOO)

Aerial photogrammetry protocols using drones have proved efficient in monitoring free‐living cetaceans. In this work an aerial photogrammetry protocol using a drone was applied to estimate morphometric measurements and body condition variation in two endangered cetacean species, franciscanas (Pontoporia blainvillei, n = 122) and Guiana dolphin (Sot...

Increasing anthropogenic threats in the marine environment requires continued assessments of their potential effects on the marine megafauna. In recent years, ship strikes have become an important source of mortality to large whales. Here we integrated telemetry and traffic data to assess vessel collision risk on humpback whales ( Megaptera novaean...

Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) is an increasingly used technique to access the occurrence, distribution, and abundance of cetaceans that may be visually unavailable most of the time. The largest tailings dam failure disaster occurred on 5 November 2015, when the Fundão dam collapsed, releasing over 50 million cubic meters of tailings into the Do...

Satellite telemetry is a powerful method to study the movements and habitat use of cetaceans. The deployment of transmitters is usually conducted using remote techniques and involves close approaches to the target animals. The present study reports on an accidental collision between a female humpback whale and an inflatable boat, which occurred on...

Line transect aerial surveys are widely used for estimating abundance of biological populations, including threatened species. However, estimates obtained with data collected from aircraft are often underestimated because of visibility bias and bias in estimating group sizes from a fast-moving platform. An assessment of multiple sources of bias in...

Environmental and social drivers of humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, diving behavior during their migratory cycle is poorly known. In this study, we used satellite telemetry to investigate the diving behavior of individuals from the Western Atlantic Ocean population from their breeding grounds to their feeding grounds. Archival Argos satell...

Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) perform seasonal migrations from high latitude feeding grounds to low latitude breeding and calving grounds. Feeding grounds at polar regions are currently experiencing major ecosystem modifications, therefore, quantitatively assessing species responses to habitat characteristics is crucial for understandi...

Anthropogenic activities have altered the structure and function of coastal and estuarine ecosystems, affecting the animals that occur in these areas. Predictive models are useful to evaluate the impact of anthropogenic characteristics over species distribution. In this study, we used generalized linear models to assess the influence Valo Grande ca...

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are showing strong recovery from commercial whaling in the western South Atlantic. In this region, humpback whales migrate annually from their winter breeding grounds off the coast of Brazil to their summer feeding grounds near to the Polar Front, an area that includes the waters of South Georgia and the Sou...

Cetaceans depend highly on acoustic signals, such as whistles, for social communication. Mixed-species associations (MSAs), temporary or long-term encounters between different species, may play an important role on the acoustic dynamics of the species involved. Because of whistles’ communication function, we used these sounds to investigate the aco...

Conservation actions often rely on some knowledge of the status of a population and can be more effectively implemented if trends in population size are known. Therefore, estimation of abundance is key to contributing to the conservation of the franciscana (Pontoporia blainvillei), the most endangered small cetacean in the western South Atlantic. A...

Some studies published in the last decade have provided a substantial advance in the knowledge about the franciscana’s acoustic repertoire. The species produces narrowband high-frequency pulsed sounds, with a peak frequency at 130 kHz and no essential energy below 100 kHz. Social sounds such as burst pulses and whistles have been observed for the s...

Southern right whale vocalizations were recorded concurrently with visual observations off the sub-Antarctic Island of South Georgia, and the characteristics of these calls were described. Calls were also compared to those of humpback whales at South Georgia, to determine how the two species might reliably be distinguished acoustically. The souther...

The Amazon river dolphin, or boto (Inia geoffrensis), is an endangered species, distributed over an extensive area of the Amazon–Orinoco basin. Here, we analyzed the acoustic behavior of a previously unstudied population of botos at the Juami-Japurá Ecological Station, Amazonas. We categorized call types according to their visual and acoustical par...

Echolocation clicks can reflect the anatomy of the vocalizing animal, enabling the distinction of species. River dolphins from the family Iniidae are formally represented by one species and two subspecies (Inia geoffrensis geoffrensis and I. g. humboldtiana). Additionally, two other species have been proposed (I. boliviensis and I. araguaiaensis) r...

Dolphins’ whistles are strongly diversified mainly related to physiology and behaviour. We present the whistle characteristics and intraspecific variations of short-beaked common dolphins Delphinus delphis of the Western South Atlantic Ocean (WSAO). A total of 1630 whistles from six encounters were analysed considering group size, contours and acou...

Around 176500 whales were killed in the sub-Antarctic waters off South Georgia (South Atlantic) between 1904 and 1965. In recent decades, whales have once again become summer visitors, with the southern right whale (SRW) the most commonly reported species until 2011. Here, we assess the distribution, temporal pattern, health status and likely prey...

Understanding how organisms respond to environmental change is one of the most pressing grand challenges of organismal biology. In the vast oceans that cover 71% of Earth’s surface, remote sensing technologies have created unprecedented opportunities to create new knowledge and deliver integrated understandings of marine organism-environment intera...

• This study used models to assess how the type of prey caught by artisanal fishermen influenced the occurrence of Guiana dolphins (Sotalia guianensis ) in the region of the estuarine lagunar comple.x of Cananéia (São Paulo, Brazil). • The data were collected from January 2012 to November 2014, during three fieldwork expeditions per season (spring,...

The presence of domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) in natural areas can generate several environmental problems, such as competition with other species, disease transmission, and predation. Male cats generally tend to be more territorial than female cats. Male cats also tend to have larger home ranges than female cats. In this study, we used ra...

As species recover from exploitation, continued assessments of connectivity and population structure are warranted to provide information for conservation and management. This is particularly true in species with high dispersal capacity, such as migratory whales, where patterns of connectivity could change rapidly. Here we build on a previous long-...

Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) diving behavior are relatively well studied in feeding areas (FAs), but information from breeding (BAs) and migratory (MAs) habitats is not as well known. Here we describe the diving behavior of 19 females with calves and 9 males tagged with archival satellite tags deployed in wintering grounds of the coast o...

A velocidade é um padrão de movimentação que afeta diretamente o comportamento dos animais, podendo determinar o destino dos indivíduos. As baleias-jubarte (Megaptera novaeangliae) são animais que realizam longas migrações anuais entre áreas de alimentação no verão e áreas de reprodução no inverno, apresentando grande variação em seus movimentos, e...

The franciscana (Pontoporia blainvillei) is endemic to coastal waters from Brazil to Argentina. The species is regarded as one of the most threatened cetaceans in South America due to high bycatch levels. Four management units (FMAs) were defined throughout the species’ range. FMA II includes states along southeastern and southern Brazil, and repre...

This study presents an integrative bioacoustics approach to discriminate eight species of odontocetes found on the outer continental shelf and slope of the western South Atlantic Ocean. Spinner, Atlantic spotted, rough-toothed, Risso's, bottlenose, short-beaked common dolphins, killer and long-finned pilot whales were visually confirmed during reco...

The presence of domestic cats in natural areas is considered one of the main reasons for species loss, especially on islands and among native small non-volant mammals, birds and reptiles. However, in this study, we detected values opposite to those expected for species richness, abundance, and diversity among different areas when considering the pr...

Humpback whales follow well-defined long-distance migratory corridors - over prolonged periods (>15+ years) - despite environmental, oceanographic and geomagnetic change.

A previous comparison of whistles using data sampled at 48 kHz suggested that certain frequency parameters vary along a latitudinal gradient. This geographical pattern may be biased because whistles sampled at higher frequencies could potentially have very different frequency contents. The current study compared the acoustic parameters of Guiana do...

Trabalho preliminar a respeito da caracterização de mergulho da população de baleia jubarte do Oceano Atlântico Sul Ocidental através de telemetria satelital.

The Clymene dolphin despite being endemic for the Atlantic Ocean continues to be the least known species in the genus Stenella without available information on their vocal repertoire in Brazilian waters. Data were obtained during mitigation and monitoring work required by IBAMA under the federal environmental licensing as conditions of the license...

The franciscana (Pontoporia blainvillei) is the most threatened small cetacean of South America. The species isendemic to coastal waters of the western South Atlantic Ocean, where it is distributed from Itaúnas (Brazil) toGolfo San Matias (Argentina). Its range was divided in four Franciscana Management Areas (FMAs) for con-servation purposes. Howe...

O Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Biológicas – Comportamento e Biologia Animal (PPGCB-CBA) da UFJF iniciou suas atividades em 1993, tornando-se assim o primeiro curso de pós-graduação stricto-sensu do Instituto de Ciências Biológicas da Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora. O objetivo geral do PPGCB-CBA é a formação e capacitação de estudant...

Whales are difficult to study. These large marine mammals cannot be maintained in captivity so they have to be studied in nature, and observing their underwater behavior becomes a challenge. The extensive distribution, large size, and aquatic life style of these leviathans constrain efforts to observe and understand the scale of what is being studi...

Anthropogenic changes are a major threat to biodiversity. One of these possible changes that affect biodiversity is the introduction of domestic species in the environment, which might represent a threat to wild species. The domestic cat, in particular, has biological and behavioral characteristics that allow a great adaptability to natural areas,...

Estimation of visibility bias is critical to accurately compute abundance of wild populations. The franciscana, Pontoporia blainvillei, is considered the most threatened small cetacean in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Aerial surveys are considered the most effective method to estimate abundance of this species, but many existing estimates have b...

Acoustic technologies have been applied in order to investigate and monitor underwater sound and have promoted achievements on the understanding of animal biology, behavior and ecology. Whales and dolphins produce sounds, which are unique, compared to other sounds in the marine environment. Passive acoustic surveys using a towed hydrophone array ha...

The conservation and protection of marine megafauna require robust knowledge of where and when animals are located. Yet, our ability to predict animal distributions in space and time remains limited due to difficulties associated with studying elusive animals with large home ranges. The widespread deployment of satellite telemetry technology create...

Humpback whales were hunted almost to extinction in the 20th century, providing an opportunity to measure their post-exploitation population growth rates. Variation in growth rates may be related to many factors, and little work has been done to understand the differences among populations. First, we provided an estimate of the growth rate for the...

The field of bioacoustics and the applications of passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) methods to investigate aquatic mammals have grown worldwide. In Latin America, a number of researchers are using PAM to investigate different species and habitats. However, due to the lack of a proper venue to discuss research findings and priorities, collaboration...

Inia spp. (boto) and Sotalia fluviatilis (tucuxi) are freshwater cetacean that occurs in the South American River systems of Orinoco, Amazonas and Tocantins-Araguaia. The construction of hydroelectric dams is of great concern because dam implantation will cause habitat fragmentation, habitat loss and reproductive isolation. In this study, an assess...

Some complex features found in tonal emissions may be the result of nonlinear phenomena in sound production systems, which may result in individually acoustic signals highly variable and complex. From the analysis of five opportunistic acoustic records of distinct groups, two of spinner (Stenella longirostris) and three of Atlantic spotted dolphins...

The western South Atlantic (WSA) humpback whale population inhabits the coast of Brazil during the breeding and calving season in winter and spring. This population was depleted to near extinction by whaling in the mid-twentieth century. Despite recent signs of recovery, increasing coastal and offshore development pose potential threats to these an...

Satellite transmitters were attached to seven southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) in their breeding grounds in Golfo Nuevo, Península Valdés, Argentina, to monitor their movements and migration towards feeding destinations. Fifteen integrated transdermal implanted tags were deployed in juvenile and adult whales. Tag duration varied between...

In this abstract/presentation we describe the first record of scream emissions by Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean.

Accurate estimates of group sizes through line transect sampling methods are important to correctly ascertain the abundance of animals that occur in groups. Since the average observed group size is a component of the distance sampling formula, bias in these data leads to biased abundance estimates. This study aimed to evaluate the potential errors...

The factors that affect the home range size of domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) in a semi-domesticated condition (i.e., cats that receive shelter and food from humans but are free to move in the wider natural environment) is not completely understood. Here, using radio telemetry, we present the first assessment of the home range size and acti...

The vocal repertoire of the Amazon river dolphin and its geographic variations are still poorly known, especially in relation to ecological variables. Here the acoustic characteristics of low frequency pulsed vocalizations, with single or multiple pulses, recorded in two protected areas of the Amazon were described and differences in acoustic emiss...

The vocal repertoire of the Amazon river dolphin and its geographic variations are still poorly known, especially in relation to ecological variables. Here the acoustic characteristics of low frequency pulsed vocalizations, with single or multiple pulses, recorded in two protected areas of the Amazon were described and differences in acoustic emiss...

Group-living in carnivores is mostly associated with cooperative hunting and anti-predator defense. Giant otters (Pteronura brasiliensis) live in monogamous and cooperative breeding groups, where mechanisms other than cooperative foraging may be driving group maintenance in the species. We herein describe three interactions between giant otters and...

Studies have documented the importance of understanding the traditional knowledge of artisanal fishermen regarding fishery-cetacean interactions. In this paper, we identified the effects of artisanal fisheries on bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in southern Brazil (~30 S e 32 S) and searched for alternatives to decrease the possible negativ...

Bryde's whales are among the lesser known balaenopterids found in Brazilian waters, as well as globally. At the beginning of this project, only occasional sightings of this species were identified off the coast of São Paulo State. In this paper, we present the results of our investigations into the occurrence and behaviour of Bryde's whales along t...

In order to evaluate strategies of cohesion in a fission-fusion society, the occurrence of signature and copied whistles were investigated in free-ranging spinner dolphins, Stenella longirostris. Through an one-element hydrophone array towed over the Brazilian continental shelf break, a group of approximate 400 dolphins were recorded at 96 kHz/24 b...

Passive acoustic towed array during ship surveys has being applied to increase the knowledge about cetacean. From 2012 to 2015, towed arrays were used to investigate cetacean distribution along the western South Atlantic shelf break. Research cruises were performed between 26°S and 38°S over the continental shelf break and slope. Acoustic trackline...

Acoustic parameters for the spinner dolphins' bioacoustic sounds have previously been described. However, the dolphins in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean were only recently studied near the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago. Therefore, to contribute to additional knowledge of this cosmopolitan species, this study compares previous results with a Br...

Acoustic parameters of killer whale (Orcinus orca) whistles were described for the western South Atlantic Ocean and highlight the occurrence of high frequency whistles. Killer whale signals were recorded on December of 2012, when a pod of four individuals was observed harassing a group of sperm whales. The high frequency whistles were highly stereo...

Pulsed sounds produced by the amazon river dolphin compose their acoustic repertoire, and possibly have communicative function. We analyzed the acoustic behavior of amazon river dolphin under two water turbidity conditions in the Brazilian Amazon. Data were collected during three days when animals exhibited foraging behavior. The sounds were classi...

Considering the success of mobile computing, realtime identification of Passive Acoustic Monito