Estimativa populacional por marcação-recaptura e padrão de atividade do boto cinza, Sotalia guianensis (Cetacea, Delphinidae) em Regência, ES

Abstract

Mark-recapture by photo-identification it comes being used a long time and started in 40’s of last century with terrestrial animals. The application of this method with marine mammals of cetacea order started in 70’s and has been used and widely improved. This technique allow to know some informations about biology and ecology of the animals captured, some of them, population size estimates and behavior. The objective of chapter I of this study was the estimate of population size of estuarine dolphin, Sotalia guianensis, in Regência, ES, through the mark-recapture method by photo-identification technique, using probabilistic estimators to closed populations widely used to estimate cetaceans populations in all the world, like Lincoln-Petersen, Schnabel and Scumacher-Eschmeyer, and make the first identification catalogue for the species in the Espírito Santo state. It was identified 16 dolphins and 7 resighted. The population varied as estimator used, between 81 (Schnabel) and 141 (LincolnPetersen). The objective of chapter II was to know the activity patterns of S. guianensis in Regência, mostly in relation of ambiental parameters and oportunistic trawler following behavior, in order to gain some food discarded by fishing boats.