Abundance and residency dynamics of the Indo‐Pacific humpback dolphin, Sousa chinensis, in the Dafengjiang River Estuary, China

Abstract

AbstractRobust population size estimates are essential for informing population conservation status. Residency dynamics show population habitat use through time. Population size of Indo‐Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) has been extensively investigated in Chinese waters, but their residency dynamics are rarely known. Mark‐recapture analysis based on photo‐identification records was applied to humpback dolphins in the Dafengjiang River Estuary habitat, one of the key habitats in the northern Beibu Gulf, China. Movement analyses based on lagged identification rate indicated the humpback dolphins spent, on average, 78.5 days inside and 46.9 days outside the survey area. Within the study area, the humpback dolphin abundance was 83 identifiable dolphins. A total of 353–430 humpback dolphins, estimated by POPAN modeling, were involved in this fluid habitat‐use dynamic. Robust Design analysis showed strong seasonality in humpback dolphin abundance and emigration probability, implying a movement‐ and habitat‐use pattern likely associated with spatiotemporal distribution of oceanographic characteristics and prey occurrences. Population surveys and conservation measures currently conducted in Chinese waters seldom consider seasonality in movements between habitat patches, which can be addressed by genetic analyses across habitats and cross‐matching photo‐identification records among neighboring habitats.