Line of action:

Marine ecosystems

Status:

Finalizado

Execution date:

2021

End date:

2023

Total budget:

74.576,53€

In the present project, health indicators (animal welfare) have been analyzed in the following areas samples from biopsies and necropsies carried out in the last 20 years on pilot whales belonging to management units with known ecological parameters, in order to associate these indicators with the anthropic pressure exerted specifically on their marine areas of residence during that same time.

This will significantly improve both the assessment of the potential threats to the conservation of this species as the assessment of good environmental status of these marine areas, the management and local regulation of their human use, as well as the establishment of sustainable models of ecotourism developmentmainly related to the important and growing whale-watching activity in the region.

The overall objective of the project has been to evaluate the health status of resident groups of pilot whales in marine protected areas of the Canary Islands in association with local and regional anthropogenic risk factors that may pose a threat to their conservation, as well as to propose mitigation measures.

Specific goals include:

• Compile scientific information on the ecology of the pilot whale groups present in the Canary Islands demarcation.
• Determine residence patterns of pilot whales associated with specific marine areas of the Canary Islands demarcation.
• To evaluate levels of chronic stress markers in pilot whales associated with specific marine areas of the Canary Islands demarcation.
• To evaluate levels of anthropogenic contaminants in tropical pilot whales associated with specific marine areas of the Canary Islands demarcation.
• To evaluate anthropogenic risk factors and possible threats affecting the conservation of resident groups of pilot whales associated with specific marine areas of the Canary Islands demarcation and propose mitigation measures.

• Bibliographic review on ecological parameters.
• Evaluation of residency patterns (photo-identification).
• Georeferencing of sampled individuals.
• Evaluation of residency patterns (methodological and genetic analysis and integration of genetic and photo-identification data).
• Evaluation of chronic stress marker levels (methodological analysis).
• Analysis of hormonal and infectious markers of chronic stress.
• Analytical and spatial evaluation of chronic stress marker levels.
• Evaluation of anthropogenic contaminant levels (methodological analysis).
• Analysis of plastic contaminants, sanitary and solar filters.
• Analytical and spatial evaluation of anthropogenic contaminant levels.
• Evaluation of anthropogenic risk factors and possible threats to the conservation of the good health of resident groups of pilot whales in the Canary Islands demarcation with the good environmental status of the marine areas where they reside, as well as proposal of measures for their mitigation.
• Dissemination and communication of the project.

• Optimization of the analytical methodology to evaluate different parameters related to both the health and welfare of cetaceans and the health of the surrounding environment, using a single skin biopsy per animal.
• Assessment of some stress markers, such as cortisol, and cutaneous infectious agents, such as herpersviruses and poxviruses, which has been very useful in designing the development of an analytical profile (hormonal, immunological and genetic, etc.).
• Evaluation of the levels of anthropogenic pollutants (plastics, sunscreens and antibiotics) in the cetaceans studied. This analysis has revealed the bioaccumulation and biomagnification of emerging contaminants in the trophic chain, such as plastic waste, sunscreens and pharmaceuticals, including the presence of antibiotics, which poses a significant risk to both human and domestic animal health, due to the possible increase in antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria.