Quintana Martín-Montalvo Belén, Hoarau Ludovic, Deffes Ophélie, Delaspre Sylvain, Delfour Fabienne, Landes Anne-Emmanuelle
Centre d'Etude et Découverte des Tortues Marines (CEDTM), 97424 Piton Saint Leu, France.
UMR ENTROPIE, Université de La Réunion, IRD, CNRS, IFREMER, UNC, CEDEX 9, 97744 Saint Denis, France.
Animals (Basel). 2021 Sep 12;11(9):2674. doi: 10.3390/ani11092674.
Marine wildlife tourism has rapidly developed in Reunion Island, due to a large demand for interactions with a resident population of spinner dolphins (). The presence of dolphin-watching vessels close to dolphin groups can cause short-term impacts on their behaviour; cumulative incidences likely result in deleterious long-term impacts on the population. Using scan sampling, we collected behavioural data on spinner dolphins to evaluate the short-term effects of dolphin watching on their behaviour. The dolphins were less likely to begin socialising or diving while travelling and more likely to stay travelling and milling in the presence of vessels. Additionally, activity budgets for resting and socialising decreased simultaneously with increased travelling and milling. Avoidance responses significantly increased with an increase in the number of vessels and non-compliance with the local dolphin-watching guidelines. These behavioural responses are likely to have energetic costs for the dolphins, which may lead to decreased survival and reproductive success at individual and population levels. More restrictive regulations, increased surveillance and animal-based measures are key tools to adapt the conservation efforts in Reunion Island. Further studies on the island's resident dolphin populations are necessary to ensure the continuity of dolphin-watching activities in a sustainable manner.
由于对与当地的飞旋海豚种群进行互动有大量需求，海洋野生动物旅游业在留尼汪岛迅速发展起来。观海豚船只靠近海豚群体的行为会对它们的行为造成短期影响；累积发生的此类情况可能会对该种群产生有害的长期影响。我们使用扫描取样法收集了飞旋海豚的行为数据，以评估观海豚活动对其行为的短期影响。在有船只出现时，海豚在游动时开始社交或潜水的可能性降低，而更有可能持续游动和绕圈。此外，休息和社交的活动时间分配同时减少，而游动和绕圈的时间增加。随着船只数量的增加以及对当地观海豚指南的不遵守，回避反应显著增加。这些行为反应可能会给海豚带来能量消耗，这可能会导致个体和种群层面的生存和繁殖成功率下降。更严格的规定、加强监管以及基于动物的措施是留尼汪岛调整保护工作的关键手段。有必要对该岛的常驻海豚种群展开进一步研究，以确保观海豚活动能够以可持续的方式持续开展。
