2016 SoE Marine Chapter - State and Trends - Dolphins and porpoises

The Marine chapter of the 2016 State of the Environment (SoE) report incorporates multiple expert templates developed from streams of marine data. This metadata record describes the Expert Assessment "The state and trends of quality of species and groups – dolphins and porpoises". The full Expert Assessment, including figures and tables (where provided), is attached to this record. Where available, the Data Stream(s) used to generate this Expert Assessment are accessible through the "On-line Resources" section of this record.

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DESCRIPTION OF TAXONOMIC GROUP FOR EXPERT ASSESSMENT
Following taxonomic standards, 20 dolphin species in the Family Delphinidae and one species in the Family Phocoenidae occur in Australian waters. A number of these species (e.g. common bottlenose dolphins) are distributed nationally, others are restricted to particular latitudes (e.g. dusky dolphin) and others consist of populations that are highly restricted to embayments and tributaries within particular regions (e.g. the endemic snub-fin dolphin).

DATA STREAM(S) USED IN EXPERT ASSESSMENT
This assessment is based on peer-review papers and reports provided by a series of researchers working on dolphin and porpoises in Australia. Data on state and trends and associated spatial and temporal coverage are detailed in the publications provided in the reference list. Specific data products used to generate the assessment are not listed.

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2016 SOE ASSESSMENT SUMMARY [see attached Expert Assessment for full details]

• 2016 •
Assessment grade: Good
Assessment trend: Unclear
Confidence grade: Limited evidence or limited consensus
Confidence trend: Limited evidence or limited consensus
Comparability: Grade and trend are somewhat comparable to the 2011 assessment
• 2011 •
Assessment grade: Good
Assessment trend: Stable
Confidence grade: Limited evidence or limited consensus
Confidence trend: Limited evidence or limited consensus

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CHANGES SINCE 2011 SOE ASSESSMENT
The 2016 assessment is similar to the 2011 assessment. With very little information on most species abundances and no long-term monitoring of populations with which clear trends could be determined it was considered appropriate to alter the trend assignment to ‘unclear’ rather than ‘stable’.

2016年《环境状况报告》（State of the Environment, SoE）的海洋章节纳入了多套基于海洋数据流构建的专家模板。本元数据记录用于说明专家评估（Expert Assessment）报告《物种及类群质量的现状与趋势——海豚与鼠海豚》。完整的专家评估报告（含所附图表）已附加至本记录。若有可用数据，生成该专家评估所用的数据流（Data Stream）可通过本记录的"在线资源"板块获取。

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专家评估分类类群说明
按照分类学标准，澳大利亚海域分布有海豚科（Delphinidae）下的20种海豚，以及鼠海豚科（Phocoenidae）下的1种鼠海豚。其中部分物种（如宽吻海豚）为全国性分布，部分物种（如暗色斑纹海豚）仅分布于特定纬度海域，还有部分物种的种群仅局限于特定区域内的海湾与支流，如特有短鳍海豚（snub-fin dolphin）。

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专家评估所用数据流
本评估基于澳大利亚海豚与鼠海豚领域多位研究者提交的同行评议论文与报告。评估所需的现状、趋势数据及相关时空覆盖范围细节，均已在参考文献列表中的出版物中详述。生成本评估所用的具体数据产品未在此列出。

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2016年SOE评估总结（完整细节请参阅所附专家评估报告）
• 2016年 •
评估等级：良好
评估趋势：不明
置信等级：证据有限或共识不足
置信趋势：证据有限或共识不足
可比性：本次评估等级与趋势与2011年评估具有一定可比性
• 2011年 •
评估等级：良好
评估趋势：稳定
置信等级：证据有限或共识不足
置信趋势：证据有限或共识不足

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2011年环境状况评估以来的变更
本次2016年评估与2011年评估结果相近。由于多数物种的种群丰度数据稀缺，且缺乏可用于明确判定种群趋势的长期监测数据，因此将趋势判定由"稳定"调整为"不明"更为合理。