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Dugong (Dugong dugon) movements and habitat use in a coral reef lagoonal ecosystem
- Source :
- Endangered Species Research, Vol 43, Pp 167-181 (2020), Endangered Species Research, Endangered Species Research, Oldendorf/Luhe : Inter-Research, 2020, 43, p. 167-181. ⟨10.3354/esr01061⟩
- Publication Year :
- 2020
-
Abstract
- Little is known about how the Vulnerable dugong Dugong dugon uses coral reef lagoons despite the importance of these habitats throughout much of its vast range. We used GPS satellite tracking systems to explore the space use of 12 dugongs at 3 locations in the coral reef lagoons of the main island of New Caledonia in the southwest Pacific: Cap Goulvain, Ouano and Nouméa. The movements of the tracked dugongs varied among individuals and all except one animal undertook large-scale movements (>15 km; mean [±SE] 37.7 ± 5.2 km) from their capture location (maximum waterway distance range: 13.8 to 72.9 km). The straight-line distances between the furthest GPS locations during each animal’s tracking period ranged from 21.3 to 74.5 km. We identified areas used intensively by dugongs in all 3 study areas, some of which were areas where seagrass presence has not been verified, or where dugongs have not been observed during past aerial surveys. Dugongs spent most of their tracking time within the lagoons, with 99.4% of GPS locations found inside the barrier reef. Nonetheless, where the lagoon was narrow and confined, 3 tracked dugongs used the fore reef shelf outside the barrier reef in the open ocean to commute between bays. Our findings can inform conservation and management initiatives in New Caledonia as well as other countries within the dugong’s range which have similar habitat geomorphology but where dugongs occur in numbers too low to be tracked and are considered Critically Endangered.
- Subjects :
- CONSERVATION DE LA NATURE
0106 biological sciences
Dugong
Range (biology)
Movement
Conservation
DEPLACEMENT
010603 evolutionary biology
01 natural sciences
Critically endangered
LAGON
lcsh:Botany
[SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology
lcsh:Zoology
14. Life underwater
lcsh:QL1-991
MAMMIFERE MARIN
HABITAT
Reef
Nature and Landscape Conservation
geography.geographical_feature_category
Ecology
biology
GPS satellite technology
010604 marine biology & hydrobiology
Pelagic zone
Coral reef
biology.organism_classification
lcsh:QK1-989
RECIF CORALLIEN
Fishery
GPS.SYSTEME DE POSITIONNEMENT GLOBAL
Geography
Seagrass
Habitat
NOUVELLE CALEDONIE
Coral reef lagoons
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 18635407 and 16134796
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Endangered Species Research, Vol 43, Pp 167-181 (2020), Endangered Species Research, Endangered Species Research, Oldendorf/Luhe : Inter-Research, 2020, 43, p. 167-181. ⟨10.3354/esr01061⟩
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....6bfaa4dc8c10ff57a4a52991123a1535