Perez-Gil
Monica
Perez-Gil
Monica
No Thumbnail Available
Search Results
Now showing
1 - 2 of 2
-
ArticleDolphin whistles can be useful tools in identifying units of conservation(BMC, 2021-07-29) Papale, Elena B. ; Azzolin, Marta A. ; Cascão, Irma ; Gannier, Alexandre ; Lammers, Marc O. ; Martin, Vidal M. ; Oswald, Julie N. ; Perez-Gil, Monica ; Prieto, Rui ; Silva, Mónica A. ; Torri, Marco ; Giacoma, CristinaPrioritizing groupings of organisms or ‘units’ below the species level is a critical issue for conservation purposes. Several techniques encompassing different time-frames, from genetics to ecological markers, have been considered to evaluate existing biological diversity at a sufficient temporal resolution to define conservation units. Given that acoustic signals are expressions of phenotypic diversity, their analysis may provide crucial information on current differentiation patterns within species. Here, we tested whether differences previously delineated within dolphin species based on i) geographic isolation, ii) genetics regardless isolation, and iii) habitat, regardless isolation and genetics, can be detected through acoustic monitoring. Recordings collected from 104 acoustic encounters of Stenella coeruleoalba, Delphinus delphis and Tursiops truncatus in the Azores, Canary Islands, the Alboran Sea and the Western Mediterranean basin between 1996 and 2012 were analyzed. The acoustic structure of communication signals was evaluated by analyzing parameters of whistles in relation to the known genetic and habitat-driven population structure.
-
ArticleTrue’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon mirus) in Macaronesia(PeerJ, 2017-03-07) Aguilar De Soto, Natacha ; Martín, Vidal ; Silva, Monica A. ; Edler, Roland ; Reyes, Cristel ; Carrillo, Manuel ; Schiavi, Agustina ; Morales, Talia ; García-Ovide, Belen ; Sanchez-Mora, Anna ; Garcia-Tavero, Nerea ; Steiner, Lisa ; Scheer, Michael ; Gockel, Roland ; Walker, Dylan ; Villa, Enrico ; Szlama, Petra ; Eriksson, Ida K. ; Tejedor, Marisa ; Perez-Gil, Monica ; Quaresma, João ; Bachara, Wojtek ; Carroll, EmmaThe True’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon mirus, True 1913) is a poorly known member of the Ziphiidae family. Its distribution in the northern hemisphere is thought to be restricted to the temperate or warm temperate waters of the North Atlantic, while a few stranding records from the southern hemisphere suggest a wider and antitropical distribution, extending to waters from the Atlantic coast of Brazil to South Africa, Mozambique, Australia and the Tasman Sea coast of New Zealand. This paper (i) reports the first molecular confirmation of the occurrence of the True’s beaked whale at the southern limit of its distribution recorded in the northeast Atlantic: the Azores and Canary Islands (macaronesian ecoregion); (ii) describes a new colouration for this species using evidence from a whale with molecular species confirmation; and (iii) contributes to the sparse worldwide database of live sightings, including the first underwater video recording of this species and close images of a calf. Species identification was confirmed in two cases using mitochondrial DNA control region and cytochrome b gene markers: a subadult male True’s beaked whale that stranded in El Hierro, Canary Islands, in November 2012, and a subadult male found floating dead near Faial, the Azores, in July 2004. The whale that stranded in the Canary Islands had a clearly delimited white area on its head, extending posteriorly from the tip of the beak to cover the blowhole dorsally and the gular grooves ventrally. This colouration contrasts with previous descriptions for the species and it may be rare, but it exemplifies the variability of the colouration of True’s beaked whales in the North Atlantic, further confirmed here by live sightings data. The recording of several observations of this species in deep but relatively coastal waters off the Azores and the Canary Islands suggests that these archipelagos may be unique locations to study the behaviour of the enigmatic True’s beaked whale.