The Gulf of Guinea region enjoined with the unique characteristics of the Guinea surface and underwater currents driving the upwelling season, besets the ecological importance of the area amidst growing offshore development. Though several attempts are being made to identify the various cetacean species inhabiting the area, little to no progress is made to under the animal population, their behaviour and distribution in the face of the growing threat. The study hence attempts to develop cetacean population and distribution estimation within Ghana’s offshore construction sites in the time frame of field development while emphasizing the effects of operations on animal behaviour and habitats, purpose at providing an understanding with the general behaviour of these mammals peculiar to the area and too what level the impact of change is having on distribution trends. The study finds the upwelling tends to suggest, strong animal presence in the area during feeding. Short-fin pilot whales were a dominant cetacean feature within the observed cetacean population estimated to have 160 (CV = 0.3728) presence. Findings suggest the strong biological importance, BIA (habitat, feeding and breeding), as well as operations drawing on animal curiosity, heightened animal vulnerability. Further studies are required to understand the temporal and spatial distributions patterns, while efforts are needed to ensure protected areas are established, animal surveillance and conservative attitudes are encouraged.
References
[1]
Van Waerebeek, K., Uwagbae, M., Segniagbeto, G., Bamy, I.L. and Ayissi, I. (2015) New Records of Atlantic Humpback Dolphin in Guinea, Nigeria, Cameroon and Togo Underscore Fisheries Pressure and Generalized Marine Bushmeat Demand. BioRxiv035337. https://doi.org/10.1101/035337
Valdés, L. and Déniz-González, I. (2015) Oceanographic and Biological Features in the Canary Current Large Marine Ecosystem. IOC Technical Series, IOC-UNESCO, Paris, 383 p. https://aquadocs.org/bitstream/handle/1834/9135/233299E.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
[4]
Hazevoet, C.J., Monteiro, V., López, P., Varo, N., Torda, G., Berrow, S. and Gravanita, B. (2010) Recent Data on Whales and Dolphins (Mammalia: Cetacea) from the Cape Verde Islands, Including Records of Four Taxa New to the Archipelago. Zoologia Caboverdiana, 1, 75-99. https://islandlab.uac.pt/fotos/publicacoes/publicacoes_Hazevoet10_RecentdatawhalesdolphinsMammaliaCetaceaCapeVerde.pdf
[5]
Perrin, W.F. and Van Waerebeek, K. (2012) The Small-Cetacean Fauna of the West Coast of Africa and Macaronesia: Diversity and Distribution. Western African Talks on Cetaceans and Their Habitats, Adeje, 16-20 October 2007, 12 p. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263273867_The_small-cetacean_fauna_of_the_west_coast_of_Africa_and_Macaronesia_diversity_and_distribution
[6]
Mullié, W.C., Wagne, M.M., Elmamy, C.A.A., Yahya, F.M., Veen, J. and Van Waerebeek, K. (2013) Large Number of Stranded Harbour Porpoises phocoena as By-Catch Victims in Mauritania. Scientific Committee-International Whaling Commission, Jeju Island, 3-15 June 2013, 5 p.
[7]
Van Waerebeek, K., Debrah, J.S. and Ofori-Danson, P.K. (2014) Cetacean Landings at the Fisheries Port of Dixcove, Ghana in 2013-14: A Preliminary Appraisal. International Whaling Commission Scientific Committee Annual Meeting, Bled, 12-24 May 2014, 4 p.
[8]
Sohou, Z., Dossou-Bodjrenou, J., Tchibozo, S., Chabi-Yaouré, F., Sinsin, B. and Van Waerebeek, K. (2013) Biodiversity and Status of Cetaceans in Benin, West Africa: An Initial Assessment. West African Journal of Applied Ecology, 21, 121-134. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/wajae/article/download/94736/84105
[9]
Van Waerebeek, K., Ofori-Danson, P.K. and Debrah, J. (2009) The Cetaceans of Ghana: A Validated Faunal Checklist. West African Journal of Applied Ecology, 15, 61-90. https://doi.org/10.4314/wajae.v15i1.49428 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/215705744_The_Cetaceans_of_Ghana_a_Validated_Faunal_Checklist/references
[10]
Sackey, A.D. and Lamptey, B.L. (2019) Activities of Local Fishermen within Ghana’s Offshore Construction Fields, Impact on Operations—“Polar Onyx” Experience. Regional Maritime University Journal, 6, 85-102. http://www.ajol.info/index.php/rmuj
[11]
Krebs, C.J. (2017) Chapter 5, Estimating Abundance: Line Transects and Distance Methods. In: Krebs, C.J., Boutin, S. and Boonstra, R., eds., Ecological Methodology, Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco, 198-230. https://www.zoology.ubc.ca/~krebs/downloads/krebs_chapter_05_2017.pdf
[12]
Buckland, S.T., Anderson, D.R., Burnham, K.P., Laake, J.L., Borchers, D.L. and Thomas, L. (2001) Introduction to Distance Sampling: Estimating Abundance of Biological Populations. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
[13]
Villano, M. (2007) The Deepest Divers: D-Tags Give Scientists In-Depth Records of Whales in the Depths. The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. https://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/the-deepest-divers/
Fewster, R.M. and Buckland, S.T. (2004) Assessment of Distance Sampling Estimators. In: Buckland, S.T., Anderson, D.R., Burnham, K.P., Laake, J.L., Borchers, D.L. and Thomas, L., Eds., Advanced Distance Sampling, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 281-306.
[16]
Buckland, S.T., Oedekoven, C.S. and Borchers, D.L. (2016) Model-Based Distance Sampling. Journal of Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Statistics, 21, 58-75. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13253-015-0220-7
[17]
Borchers, D.L., Stevenson, B.C., Kidney, D., Thomas, L. and Marques, T.A. (2015) A Unifying Model for Capture—Recapture and Distance Sampling Surveys of Wildlife Populations. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 110, 195-204. https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.2014.893884
[18]
Borchers, D.L., Buckland, S.T. and Zucchini, W. (2002) Estimating Animal Abundance: Closed Populations. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3708-5
[19]
Thomas, L., Borchers, D., Rexstad, E., Buckland, S., Bravington, M., Wood, S., Hedley, S., Gordari, J., Gillespie, D., Matthews, J. and Peel, D. (2008) Development of New Methods and Software for Distance Sampling Surveys of Cetacean Populations. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235205668_Development_of_New_Methods_and_Software_for_Distance_Sampling_Surveys_of_Cetacean_Populations/stats#fullTextFileContent
[20]
Borchers, D.L. and Burnham, K.P. (2004) General Formulation for Distance Sampling. In: Buckland, S.T., Anderson, D.R., Burnham, K.P., Laake, J.L., Borchers, D.L. and Thomas, L., Eds., Advanced Distance Sampling, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 6-30.
[21]
Gibbons, B.H. and Gibbons, I.R. (1972) Flagellar Movement and Adenosine Triphosphatase Activity in Sea Urchin Sperm Extracted with Triton X-100. Journal of Cell Biology, 54, 79-97. https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.54.1.75
Oedekoven, C.S., Buckland, S.T., Mackenzie, M.L., Evans, K.O. and Burger, L.W. (2013) Improving Distance Sampling: Accounting for Covariates and Non-Independence between Sampled Sites. Journal of Applied Ecology, 50, 786-793. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12065
[24]
Oedekoven, C.S., Buckland, S.T., Mackenzie, M.L., King, R., Evans, K.O. and Burger, L.W. (2014) Bayesian Methods for Hierarchical Distance Sampling Models. Journal of Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Statistics, 19, 219-239. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13253-014-0167-0
[25]
UNEP CMS (2008) West Africa Aquatic Mammals—Ghana. https://www.cms.int/en/country/ghana
[26]
Diallo, M., Djiba, A., Jallow, A.O., Ndiaye, E., Samba Ould Billal, A.O., Bamy, I.L., Van Waerebeek, K., Barnett, L., Camara, A. and Cham, A. (2004) Distribution, Status and Biology of the Atlantic Humpback Dolphin Sousa teuszii (Kükenthal, 1892). Aquatic Mammals, 30, 56-83.
[27]
UNEP CMS (2001) National Report of Ghana (COP10). Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. https://www.cms.int/en/document/national-report-ghana-cop10
[28]
Djiba, A., Bamy, I.L., Samba Bilal, A. and Van Waerebeek, K. (2015) Biodiversity of Cetaceans in Coastal Waters of Northwest Africa: New Insights through Platform-of-Opportunity Visual Surveying in 2011-2013. In: Valdés, L. and Déniz-González, I., Eds., Oceanographic and Biological features in the Canary Current Large Marine Ecosystem, IOC-UNESCO, Paris. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285507686_Biodiversity_of_cetaceans_in_ coastal_waters_of_Northwest_Africa_new_insights_through_platform-of-opportunity _visual_surveying_in_2011−2013
[29]
Ofori-Danson, P.K., Van Waerebeek, K. and Debrah, S. (2003) A Survey for the Conservation of Dolphins in Ghanaian Coastal Waters. Journal of the Ghana Science Association, 5, 45-54.
ESL Consulting/Eni S.p.A (2015) ESHIA for Ghana OCTP BLOCK Phase 2—World Bank Document. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/817641467997610071/pdf/E4834-v2-EA-P152670-PUBLIC-Disclosed-9-21-2015-Box393209B.pdf
[32]
Leatherwood, S. and Reeves, R.R. (1983) The Sierra Club Handbook of Whales and Dolphins. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, 302 p.
[33]
Di Iorio, L. and Clark C. (2010) Exposure to Seismic Survey Alters Blue Whale Acoustic Communication. Biology Letters, 6, 51-54. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0651
