Abstract
Marine mammal stranding events are used as an important tool for understanding cetacean biology worldwide. Nonetheless, there are vast gaps of knowledge to be filled in for a wide range of species. Reputable information is required regarding species from large baleen whales to sperm and beaked whales, as well as pelagic dolphins. This paper describes new cetacean records from north and north-eastern Brazil, which are both the least surveyed areas regarding aquatic mammals. Regular beach surveys were conducted to recover cetacean carcasses along the coast of Pará beginning November 2005. At the coasts of the Maranhão and Piauí states, the surveys were conducted between 2003 and 2013. From 2003 to 2014, 34 strandings of cetaceans were registered. The study provides four additional species records’ in the area based on strandings (Balaenoptera borealis, Balaenoptera physalus, Peponocephala electra, and Pseudorca crassidens). A mass stranding of Guiana dolphins (Sotalia guianensis, N = 12), the most common species for the region, was reported for the first time. The records presented herein are of special concern, since they expand the knowledge on cetaceans from the Brazilian coast. In addition, this study conducted an analysis to verify the similarity between cetacean compositions described for north and north-eastern Brazil and the southern Caribbean region. The results showed a high similarity between these regions, proving the connection with the Caribbean cetacean fauna.
Highlights
The Amazon Coastal Zone (ACZ), between 4°N and 4°S, presents a singular environment, characterized by the immense discharge of the Amazon River
One report made a compilation of cetacean records from this area (Siciliano et al 2008) bringing the number of recorded species to 22, including large whales and dolphins
Species richness was represented for 15 taxa, within three distinct families: Balaenopteridae (B. borealis, B. physalus, B. brydei, M. novaeangliae), Physeteridae (P. macrocephalus) and Delphinidae (Delphinus sp., G. macrorhynchus, G. griseus, Lagenodelphis hosei, P. electra, P. crassidens, S. guianensis, S. attenuata, S. bredanensis, T. truncatus) (Table 1)
Summary
The Amazon Coastal Zone (ACZ), between 4°N and 4°S, presents a singular environment, characterized by the immense discharge of the Amazon River. ACZ is an unique aquatic ecosystem where the largest continuum of mangrove belt of the world is found (Souza-Filho et al 2005). These characteristics combined with the recent coral reef ecosystem discovered in the mouth of the Amazon (Moura et al 2016) make this region a top priority for conservation among Brazilian coastal environments. In this vast coastal area cetacean records have been documented only in the last decade. Stranding events is one of the best ways to access data on biology and ecology of marine mammals (Norman et al 2004, Evans et al 2005, Pyenson 2010, Santos et al 2010, Peltier et al 2012, Covelo et al 2015)
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