Modeling the impacts of cetacean-focused tourism in Taiwan: observations from cetacean watching boats: 2002-2005

Integrating Multiple Perspectives Into an Impact Mitigation Program for Sustainable Whale and Dolphin Tourism Management

Balancing the sustainable practices of whale watching and cetacean species conservation is an enormous challenge for the countries that rely on whale watching tourism industry. In this study, we employ the choice experiment method to estimate the tourists' heterogeneity preferences (THP) on different attributes to establish an impact mitigation program in Taiwan. We found that the scenario of integrated cetacean conservation and sustainable whale-dolphin watching has the highest welfare effects among all the proposed scenarios. Features that affect the differentiation of THP are: (1) tourists' awareness, and conservation attitudes, (2) nationality, and (3) monthly income. The findings from this research could assist the government and tour operators to tailor their policy and management strategy that respond to the present issues by focusing on time schedule management, vessel slowdown distance, set up maximum boat numbers, build-up operational guidance, and by establishing a conservation fund.

Conservation Status of the Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin (Sousa chinensis) in the Northern Beibu Gulf, China

There has been very little previous research on Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) in the Beibu Gulf of southern China. Here, we report on the population size, habitat and ecology, threats, and overall conservation status of this putative population. 'Population size' was estimated based on photo-identification mark/recapture analysis. It was estimated to number a total of 398-444 individuals (95% CI: 393-506), with two apparently distinct groups in the Dafengjiang-Nanliujiang Estuary and at Shatian-Caotan. Movements of dolphins in the Beibu Gulf appear to be limited, with high site fidelity. These dolphins were found to occur mainly in shallow coastal waters near estuaries. The main threats are fisheries interactions (including by-catch), vessel traffic, mariculture operations, dolphin-watching tourism, and habitat degradation (including marine construction activities and large-scale land reclamation). Although the conservation status of this putative population has been considered to be better than that of other populations of the species in more northern areas of China, there is still reason for strong concern about its future, and several management recommendations are made.

Stress physiology in marine mammals: how well do they fit the terrestrial model?

Stressors are commonly accepted as the causal factors, either internal or external, that evoke physiological responses to mediate the impact of the stressor. The majority of research on the physiological stress response, and costs incurred to an animal, has focused on terrestrial species. This review presents current knowledge on the physiology of the stress response in a lesser studied group of mammals, the marine mammals. Marine mammals are an artificial or pseudo grouping from a taxonomical perspective, as this group represents several distinct and diverse orders of mammals. However, they all are fully or semi-aquatic animals and have experienced selective pressures that have shaped their physiology in a manner that differs from terrestrial relatives. What these differences are and how they relate to the stress response is an efflorescent topic of study. The identification of the many facets of the stress response is critical to marine mammal management and conservation efforts. Anthropogenic stressors in marine ecosystems, including ocean noise, pollution, and fisheries interactions, are increasing and the dramatic responses of some marine mammals to these stressors have elevated concerns over the impact of human-related activities on a diverse group of animals that are difficult to monitor. This review covers the physiology of the stress response in marine mammals and places it in context of what is known from research on terrestrial mammals, particularly with respect to mediator activity that diverges from generalized terrestrial models. Challenges in conducting research on stress physiology in marine mammals are discussed and ways to overcome these challenges in the future are suggested.