20 years of research on the Guiana dolphin population of Sepetiba Bay, southeastern Brazil: What has changed?

Abstract

Abstract Despite the importance of coastal habitats for the provision of many ecosystem services, these areas are currently among the most impacted by human activities. Impacts on coastal ecosystems may affect many key species, such as the Guiana dolphin, which inhabits Sepetiba Bay in south‐eastern Brazil, a highly degraded environment owing to a human‐induced rapid environmental change. In this context, this study investigates the potential changes in the local Guiana dolphin behaviour, group structure, bioacoustics, site fidelity and habitat use over the past 20 years. For this, a historical database (1998–2007) was compared with current data on the local dolphin population (2017–2019). Between 2017 and 2019, the Guiana dolphins form significantly smaller groups (W = 3262.5, P > 0.001), spend more time foraging (61 vs. 10% in the past), emit whistles at a considerably lower rate (decreasing by 85.2%), have reduced site fidelity and now use a larger area. As Sepetiba Bay has been severely impacted by human activities in the recent past, with profound consequences for much of its biodiversity, the observed changes in dolphin behaviour are probably a consequence of habitat degradation and, in particular, of reduced prey availability. These findings have important implications for the management and conservation of the Guiana dolphin population of Sepetiba Bay. To break this human‐induced rapid environmental change, it will be essential to minimize the spatio‐temporal overlap of anthropogenic impacts, to avoid cumulative impacts. To mitigate anthropogenic impacts on the Guiana dolphins of Sepetiba Bay, it will be important to direct the following actions: (i) the regulation and control of anthropogenic noise; (ii) reduction and control of the release of chemical contaminants and organic effluents; (iii) more effective controls on vessel traffic within the areas used preferentially by the Guiana dolphin; and (iv) the implementation of measures to avoid overfishing and bycatch.