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Cetacean stranding rate correlates with fish stock dynamics: research of harbour porpoises in the Sea of Azov

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Abstract

The dynamics of the endangered population of the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) in the Azov Sea is currently unknown. It can be, however, estimated by stranding analysis. In 1999–2014, the porpoise stranding rates were regularly monitored at the southern coast of the Azov Sea, particularly at the uninhabited abraded coast of the Tarkhan Cape. Specifically, the general trends and annual fluctuations in strandings were compared to the catch reports of the Azov anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus), an important prey for porpoises. It was observed that the fluctuations in stranding rates closely correlated with the population dynamics of the anchovy stock. A cosine function, based on the data from 1999–2012, correctly predicted maximum strandings in 2013 and their substantial decline in 2014. The function worked particularly well, when possible biases affecting carcass preservation, such as discovery rate and drift conditions, were reduced. In certain environments and over established time periods, the cetacean stranding rate can be an indicator of population trends. The use of stranding rates as such indicator may be verified by external factors, including the dynamics of prey stocks.

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Acknowledgments

We sincerely thank D. Markov, E. Gladilina, V. Sokhin, E. Kushnir, V. Serbin, Yu. Lyashenko, L. Godlevska, A. Nadolny, M. Kovalyova, O. Savenko, N. Kukharev and other colleagues and volunteers who took part in the field excursions and provided information on strandings; A. Chashchin for the fruitful discussion of the results, A. Lukyanenko for his recommendations on statistics, S. Tynazov for the design of figures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. South Scientific Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography, 2 Sverdlova St., Kerch, Crimea, 98300, Ukraine

    Karina Vishnyakova

  2. Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 15 Bogdan Khmelnytskyi Street, Kiev, 01601, Ukraine

    Pavel Gol’din

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  1. Karina Vishnyakova
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  2. Pavel Gol’din
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Correspondence to Pavel Gol’din.

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Communicated by U. Siebert.

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Vishnyakova, K., Gol’din, P. Cetacean stranding rate correlates with fish stock dynamics: research of harbour porpoises in the Sea of Azov. Mar Biol 162, 359–366 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-014-2600-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-014-2600-x

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