Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation Strandings

Original provider: Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation Dataset credits: Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation Abstract: The Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation has a long-term study that has been documenting the occurrence, distribution, and abundance of marine mammals around the islands of The Bahamas since 1991. With more than 1,900 marine mammal encounters in the Bahamas, we are providing the only comprehensive documentation of the marine mammal fauna in this part of the world. Our research is based on the use of systematic boat-based surveys for describing the distribution and habitat use of different marine mammal species. We employ photo-identification techniques for the recognition of individual whales and dolphins, and we have developed new statistical approaches for using these data to determine abundance estimates and occupancy patterns. This photographic sampling is complemented by the collection of skin and faecal samples for molecular genetic analysis, which are being used to assess levels of genetic diversity and investigate the structuring of marine mammal populations.<br><br> The dataset presented here includes only marine mammal strandings, and other sea turtle and marine mammal sightings are included in separate datasets in OBIS-SEAMAP. The dataset presented here includes 89 stranding records between 1944 and 2005, including 15 species with Cuvier's beaked whale being the most common. The entire dataset consists of 444 marine mammal sightings between 1988 and 2005, including sightings reported from the public. The dataset also includes 1,934 BMMS vessel encounters with marine mammals between 1991 and 2005, comprising 20 different species, with the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin representing 60% of all encounters. Finally, the dataset includes 101 sightings of turtles comprising 3 different species between 1991 and 2005.原始提供方：巴哈马海洋哺乳动物研究组织 数据集致谢：巴哈马海洋哺乳动物研究组织 摘要： 巴哈马海洋哺乳动物研究组织自1991年起启动长期研究项目，持续记录巴哈马群岛周边海域海洋哺乳动物的出现情况、分布范围与种群丰度。该团队累计完成超过1900次巴哈马海域海洋哺乳动物目击调查，形成了当前全球该区域唯一一份全面的海洋哺乳动物区系名录。本研究采用系统化船舶巡航调查方法，用以刻画不同海洋哺乳动物物种的分布特征与栖息地利用模式；同时运用照片识别（photo-identification）技术对单只鲸类与海豚个体进行识别，并开发了全新的统计分析方法，依托这些调查数据计算种群丰度估算值与栖息占用模式。此外，本研究还同步采集皮肤与粪便样本开展分子遗传学分析，用以评估海洋哺乳动物种群的遗传多样性水平，并解析其种群结构特征。 本次公开的数据集仅包含海洋哺乳动物搁浅记录，其余海龟与海洋哺乳动物目击数据已收录于OBIS-SEAMAP的独立数据集当中。本数据集涵盖1944年至2005年间的89条海洋哺乳动物搁浅记录，涉及15个物种，其中以居氏喙鲸（Cuvier's beaked whale）最为常见。完整数据集包含1988年至2005年间的444条海洋哺乳动物目击记录，其中也包含公众上报的目击信息。此外，数据集还收录了1991年至2005年间的1934次巴哈马海洋哺乳动物研究组织（简称BMMS）的船舶海洋哺乳动物目击记录，涵盖20个不同物种，其中大西洋宽吻海豚占所有目击记录的60%。最后，数据集还包含1991年至2005年间的101条海龟目击记录，涉及3个不同物种。