AUTHOR=Courtin Baptiste , Millon Cédric , Feunteun Aurore , Safi Morjane , Duporge Nathalie , Bolaños-Jiménez Jaime , Barragán-Barrera Dalia C. , Bouveret Laurent , de Montgolfier Benjamin 

TITLE=Site fidelity and population parameters of pantropical spotted dolphins in the Eastern Caribbean through photographic identification

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.939263

DOI=10.3389/fmars.2023.939263

ISSN=2296-7745

ABSTRACT=The Agoa protected marine area, located in the French West Indies, Eastern Caribbean, holds several cetacean species, from which the pantropical spotted dolphin Stenella attenuata is the most observed. Therefore, this species is target of whale-watching activities in the leeward coasts of Guadeloupe and Martinique, which has allowed the development of a citizen science program to characterize individuals through photo data collection. Here, we conducted a photo-identification study with a sample of 115,705 photos collected between 2014 and 2019, in which 290 marked individuals (179 in Guadeloupe and 111 in Martinique) were identified. Based on the Agglomerative Hierarchical Classification (AHC) analysis, dolphins from each island were separated into two residence clusters, indicative of potential fusion-fission societies. The Catch-Mark-Release (CMR) POPAN statistical modelling for open populations estimated the pantropical spotted dolphin populations in Guadeloupe and Martinique at 657 (95% CI: 525-821) and 336 (95% CI: 253-446) individuals for frequent users, respectively, while occasional visitors were 3,063 (95% CI: 2133-4398) and 1,443 (95% CI: 1024-2033), respectively. The Martinique population tended to use a reduced coastal area, and appear to be smaller and stable, while the Guadeloupe one showed a slight decline in abundance throughout the study period. These results showed the leeward coasts of Guadeloupe and Martinique are of particular importance for pantropical spotted dolphin populations, highlighting the need for continuing monitoring through both scientific and citizen science programs, in order to overcome the information gaps of this species in the Eastern Caribbean.