Cecilia Passadore

The sub‐Antarctic waters of South Georgia Island (Islas Georgias del Sur, SG/IG) are a regularly visited feeding ground for southern right whales ( Eubalaena australis , SRW) in the southwest Atlantic. Satellite telemetry and photo‐identification records were compared to better understand the role of SG/IG in the SRW migratory network. We present t...

Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) has become a priority for many states wanting to develop national blue economy plans and meet international obligations in response to the increasing cumulative impacts of human activities and climate change. In areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ), MSP is proposed as part of a package of solutions for multi-secto...

Marine protected areas (MPAs) have been considered one of the most effective instruments to protect marine biodiversity, including endangered species. However, the effectiveness of MPAs in conserving coastal, long-living, and mobile species, such as the franciscana, is quite challenging. In this chapter, we evaluate the existing MPAs’ potential to...

The franciscana ranges from Itaúnas (18°25’S), Espírito Santo State, Brazil, to Golfo San Matías (42°10’S), Chubut, Argentina. It is considered the most threatened small cetacean in South America. Incidental catches in gillnets are the main threat. This chapter aims to give an overview of the international, national, provincial, and local legislati...

Assessments of species distributions are crucial for informing conservation and management action. In this study, we used ensemble modelling to explain the distribution of Near Threatened Indo-Pacific (IP) bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in coastal waters at the North West Cape (NWC), Western Australia (WA), an area encompassing a marine pro...

Las mediciones continuas de variables ambientales en zonas costeras son fundamentales para comprender la compleja dinámica de los procesos oceanográficos y atmosféricos, así como mejorar nuestra comprensión del medio marino para fines operativos y de conservación que se puedan integrar en un proceso de planificación espacial marina. En Uruguay se h...

Social relationships in female mammals are usually determined by an interplay among genetic, endogenous, social and ecological factors that ultimately affect their lifetime reproductive success. However, few studies have attempted to control for, and integrate these factors, hampering our understanding of drivers underlying female sociality. Here,...

Social relationships represent an adaptive behavioral strategy that can provide fitness benefits to individuals. Within mammalian societies , delphinids are known to form diverse grouping patterns and show a variety of social systems. However, how ecological and intrinsic factors have shaped the evolution of such diverse societies is still not well...

Fisheries interactions with non-target marine vertebrates are a worldwide problem. The impact of coastal bottom trawl fisheries on marine mammals has never been evaluated before in the Río de la Plata estuary and adjacent Atlantic Ocean. Our aim was estimate the bycatch per unit effort (BcPUE) and incidental mortality rates of marine mammals caused...

Male mammals employ a wide variety of mating strategies in order to increase their reproductive success, which in turn influence their social behavior. In some populations of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops spp.), males cooperate in small groups or alliances to gain access to females for mating. However, the occurrence of these male cooperative group...

As marine predators experience increasing anthropogenic pressures, there is an urgent need to understand their distribution and their drivers to inform spatial conservation planning. We used an ensemble modelling approach to investigate the spatio-temporal distribution of southern Australian bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops cf. australis) in relation...

Information on site fidelity and ranging patterns of wild animals is critical to understand how they use their environment and guide conservation and management strategies. Delphinids show a wide variety of site fidelity and ranging patterns. Between September 2013 and October 2015, we used boat-based surveys, photographic identification, biopsy sa...

Supplementary material

Information on site fidelity and ranging patterns of wild animals are critical to understand how they use their environment and guide conservation and management strategies. Delphinids show a wide variety of site fidelity and ranging patterns, but the factors driving such patterns remain unclear. We used boat-based surveys, photo-identification, bi...

Assessments of demographic parameters and site fidelity are essential to understand the dynamics of wild populations and for their efficient conservation and management. We investigate sex-specific abundance, apparent survival, temporary emigration, site fidelity and ranging patterns of southern Australian bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops cf. australi...

Assessments of demographic parameters are essential to understand the dynamics of wild populations, and for their efficient conservation and management. Here, sex‐specific abundance, apparent survival and temporary emigration of southern Australian bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops cf. australis ) in Coffin Bay (CB), South Australia, is investigated....

Modelling dolphin distribution is key for understanding their ecology and for their conservation and management. Information on the distribution and preferred habitats of southern Australian bottlenose dolphins Tursiops sp. is lacking, particularly in metropolitan areas where the species is under threat from anthropogenic activities. Here, we used...

This study analyses depredation by killer whales (Orcinus orca) and false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) on catches of the Uruguayan pelagic longline fishery in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean between 1998 and 2007. Data were collected by scientific observers from the National Observer Program of the Tuna Fleet operating in the area between 1...

Bycatch is one of the main causes of human-caused mortality and population decline of many marine mammals. Monitoring bycatch is the first step to understand the impact of the fisheries on the species affected. Understanding how the interaction between marine mammals and fishing operations varies in space and time, and how it is influenced by envir...

Artisanal fisheries in Uruguay involve directly or indirectly more than 5,000 people and constitute the main source of income in several coastal communities. However, and despite its economic and environmental importance, this activity is poorly documented. As such, this scarcity of information constrains the understanding and effective management...

Killer whale (Orcinus orca) is frequently encountered in coastal and high productive pelagic waters, near the shelf break. In the south-western Atlantic Ocean, spatial and temporal occurrence patterns are poorly known. However, the monitoring of the interaction between killer whales and longline fishery suggests that the species is frequent in this...

The seasonal dynamics of the fish community in the Pando estuary on the Uruguayan coast were studied in relation to environmental sampled monthly between May 2002 and June 2003. Individuals collected were identified, and classified into stages (juveniles, adults) and functional groups. Relationships between community dynamics and environmental vari...

ABSTRACT: The franciscana dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei) is the most threatened small cetacean in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Its incidental capture in the Uruguayan fisheries of the Atlantic oceanic coast (AOC) has been recorded since 1940 and was systematically studied from 1974 to 1994, providing the most recent by-catch per unit of effor...

SUMMARY This document presents information obtained by the National Observer Program on Board the Uruguayan Tuna Fleet (PNOFA) which fished using surface longline in the 1998-2006 period. During this period 1,196 fishing sets were observed (2,369,500 hooks) which corresponds to 26% coverage of the total effort reported by the fleet during this same...

SUMMARY This paper used information collected by the Observer Program of the Tuna Fleet (PNOFA) between 1998 and 2007. The observers reported the presence of marine mammals when hauling in the drift pelagic longline and the incidental catches of this gear. Besides the killer whale (Orcinus orca), which had already been reported on several occasions...

Durante las últimas décadas se ha observado un incremento de la captura (descartada y retenida) de condrictios en las pesquerías artesanales e industriales, conjuntamente con un rápido crecimiento de las pesquerías no reguladas, lo cual ha ocasionado una disminución en muchas poblaciones de este grupo de peces en todos los mares del mundo. La sobre...

This document synthesizes the information obtained on yellowfin tuna (YFT) from the fishing logbooks of the Uruguayan tuna fleet that fished in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean from 1981 to 2006. Information is given on the fleet characteristics, fishing effort and CPUE by 1ºx1º and 5ºx5º by year and by vessel type. During this period 19,390 fishing...

La zona costera constituye una interfase entre la tierra y el mar; en ella el uso de la tierra y las características ambientales afectan directamente las condiciones ecológicas marinas, y viceversa. Es un área de actividad bio-geoquímica muy dinámica, pero con una limitada capacidad para soportar las alteraciones antrópicas y los intensos procesos...

We studied the temporal patterns of macroinfaunal distribution in the estuarine portion of Pando Stream, Uruguay. We found a very low number of species and a high dominance of the polychaete Heteromastus similis. There were clear seasonal patterns in abundance with almost all species peaking in autumn, coinciding with the periods of higher salinity...

Information obtained between 2002 and 2006 from the National Program of Observers on the Tuna Fleet (PNOFA) of Uruguay, on the sighting of orcas (Orcinus orca) in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Area distribution was analyzed and values of the sightings per unit of effort (APUE = no. of sightings/10 days of effort) were calculated. Also studied wa...