Document of bibliographic reference 321889

BibliographicReference record

Type

Bibliographic resource

Type of document

Journal article

BibLvlCode

AS

Title

Seasonal characterisation of maritime traffic and the relationship with cetacean presence in the Western Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

Seasonal maritime traffic was investigated in relation to cetaceans, through direct observations (July 2013–June 2015) along three fixed transects in Western Mediterranean. Visually obtained vessel abundance was compared with Automatic Identification System data to explore if the two methods provided different results. Traffic intensity and composition were characterised by seasons and vessel categories. Finally, cetacean presence was investigated in relation to traffic by measuring the difference of vessel abundance in the presence and absence of animal sightings. Results showed that visual sampling was consistent with AIS data, providing more information on small-medium vessels. Traffic was more intense and diverse in Spring/Summer, and the highest vessel abundance and seasonal variations in composition emerged for inshore subareas. The difference of traffic in the presence and absence of cetaceans was higher in most offshore subareas in Spring/Summer, verified for B. physalus and S. coeruleoalba; in inshore waters, mostly occupied by T. truncatus, no significant differences emerged.

WebOfScience code

https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:000394399800046

Bibliographic citation

Campana, I.; Angeletti, D.; Crosti, R.; Luperini, C.; Ruvolo, A.; Alessandrini, A.; Arcangeli, A. (2017). Seasonal characterisation of maritime traffic and the relationship with cetacean presence in the Western Mediterranean Sea. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 115(1-2): 282-291. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.12.008

Is peer reviewed

true