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| Format: | Artículo científico |
| Language: | en |
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Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
2016
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| Online Access: | https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=48049436003 |
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Table of Contents:
- Relative abundance of Antillean manatees in the Pantanos de Centla Biosphere Reserve in the coastal plain of Tabasco, Mexico Gissel Puc-Carrasco León David Olivera-Gómez Stefan Arriaga-Hernández Darwin Jiménez-Domínguez Ciencias de la Tierra side scan sonar Conservation freshwater ecosystems quantitative assessment Abundance estimates for the Antillean manatee, Trichechus manatus manatus , in the southern Gulf of Mexico are based on interviews, mortality reports, and opportunist ic sightings. The lack of qua ntitative data is explained by the complexity of har d-to-access fluvial- lake systems, low water transparency, and th e elusive behavior of manat ees. Side-scan sonar is a prom issory tool to detect and count manatees in fluvial systems. The Pantanos de Centla Biosphere Reserve (PCBR), in the coas tal plain of Tabasco (Mex ico), could play a key role in the regional conservation of manatees, but it is under constant pressu re, especially from the oil an d gas industry, and it is impor tant to generate quantitative data for this area. The objective of this study was to quantify the relative abundance of manatees at 4 selected s ites within PCBR and at 2 reference sites outside the reserv e using side-scan sonar, as a basis for th e long-term monitoring of the species and to determine the importance of the reserve for regional ma natee conservation. We conducted 5 to 7 boa t surveys on 10-km line transects along sel ected water courses and recorded 63 manatee sightings. Manatees occurred at all sampling sites and abundance increased upriver. The site wi th the highest mean abundance (5.17 ± 1.9 manatees/10 km) was located at the southeastern end of PCBR. There was statistical di fference among sites. The southeastern portion of Tabasco is a key re gion for manatee conservation and management in Mexico. PCBR is a key regional featu re but it is necessary to define protec tion strategies within and beyond its southern limits. 2016 artículo científico 0185-3880 https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=48049436003 en http://www.redalyc.org/revista.oa?id=480 Ciencias Marinas application/pdf Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Ciencias Marinas (México) Num.4 Vol.42