Dear Colleagues, On behalf of all authors, I am pleased to announce the following open access paper recently published in Scientific Reports: Hunt TN, Allen SJ, Bejder L, Parra GJ. 2020. Identifying priority habitat for conservation and management of Australian humpback dolphins within a marine protected area. Scientific Reports 10:14366.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-69863-6 Abstract: Increasing human activity along the coast has amplified the extinction risk of inshore delphinids. Informed selection and prioritisation of areas for the conservation of inshore delphinids requires a comprehensive understanding of their distribution and habitat use. In this study, we applied an ensemble species distribution modelling approach, combining results of six modelling algorithms to identify areas of high probability of occurrence of the globally Vulnerable Australian humpback dolphin in northern Ningaloo Marine park (NMP), north-western Australia. Model outputs were based on sighting data collected during systematic, boat-based surveys between 2013 and 2015, and in relation to various ecogeographic variables. Water depth and distance to coast were identified as the most important variables influencing dolphin presence, with dolphins showing a preference for shallow waters (5-15 m) less than 2 km from the coast. Areas of high probability (> 0.6) of dolphin occurrence were primarily (90%) in multiple use areas where extractive human activities are permitted, and were poorly represented in sanctuary (no-take) zones. This spatial mismatch emphasises the need to reassess for future spatial planning and marine park management plan reviews for NMP. Shallow, coastal waters identified here should be considered priority areas for the conservation of this Vulnerable species. The paper is freely available for download at: www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-69863-6<http://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-69863-6> All the best, Guido
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Guido J. Parra, PhD Associate Professor | College of Science and Engineering Research leader | Cetacean Ecology, Behaviour and Evolution Lab (CEBEL) Staff: http://www.flinders.edu.au/people/guido.parra [cid:image001.png@01D68120.8AE7EC40]@GuidoJParra<https://twitter.com/GuidoJParra> | @CEBELresearch | <https://twitter.com/CEBELresearch> GoogleScholar<https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?hl=en&user=7YisEoAAAAAJ> | ResearchGate<https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Guido_Parra> | LinkedIn<https://www.linkedin.com/in/guido-j-parra-093217183/> Flinders University, GPO Box 2100 Adelaide, SA 5001 Australia Tel: +61 8 8201 3565|email: guido.pa...@flinders.edu.au<mailto:guido.pa...@flinders.edu.au> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please consider the environment before printing this email
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