Identifying the hotspot area of Indo-Pacific humpback (Sousa chinensis) and Irrawaddy (Orcaella brevirostris) dolphins in Matang waters, Perak, Malaysia

The Indo-Pacific humpback (Sousa chinensis) and Irrawaddy (Orcaella brevirostris) dolphins are commonly found in Matang waters, Perak, Malaysia. The area, filled with healthy mangrove forest cover and many estuaries, is not only frequented by the dol phins for its daily activities but also extensive...

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Main Authors: Sobri, Muhammad Fadhli Mat, Jaaman, Saifullah Arifin, Mohamed, Zulqarnain, Muda, Azmi Marzuki, Rashid, Muhammad Amirul Siddiq Abd, Zhang, Xuelei
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Published: Biology Department, Sebelas Maret University Surakarta 2022
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Online Access:http://eprints.um.edu.my/43949/
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spelling my.um.eprints.439492024-01-27T02:31:02Z http://eprints.um.edu.my/43949/ Identifying the hotspot area of Indo-Pacific humpback (Sousa chinensis) and Irrawaddy (Orcaella brevirostris) dolphins in Matang waters, Perak, Malaysia Sobri, Muhammad Fadhli Mat Jaaman, Saifullah Arifin Mohamed, Zulqarnain Muda, Azmi Marzuki Rashid, Muhammad Amirul Siddiq Abd Zhang, Xuelei QH301 Biology The Indo-Pacific humpback (Sousa chinensis) and Irrawaddy (Orcaella brevirostris) dolphins are commonly found in Matang waters, Perak, Malaysia. The area, filled with healthy mangrove forest cover and many estuaries, is not only frequented by the dol phins for its daily activities but also extensively used by locals for artisanal fishing, charcoal production and organizing ecotourism activities. There could be a high risk of human-dolphin interactions, hence determining habitat use and identifying crit ical habitats or "hot spots" for the dolphins in the area is important. In this study, a series of dedicated boat sighting surveys were conducted from March 2019 to January 2021 between Kuala Gula and Kuala Jarum Mas. The total survey effort was 3325.76 km, 44 days and 239.38 hours. A total of 69 dolphin sightings were made, consisting of 40 Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins and 29 Irrawaddy dolphin observations, respectively. During each sighting, every dolphin's behaviors were categorized as: foraging, socializing, evasive, and travelling, and the survey area was classified into four blocks. The results indicated that different dolphin species have different hotspot areas. For Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, the hotspot area was Kuala Sangga, while the Irrawaddy dolphin's hotspot area was outside Kuala Larut, and there was a small overlap between the two dolphins' hotspots. Among the recorded behaviors (n: 281) for both dolphins, the most dominant was foraging (72.24), followed by socializing (17), evasive (7), and travelling (4). The sighted foraging behavior for both dolphin populations was dominant, indicating the hot spots were major foraging grounds for the two dolphin populations. This study shows the importance of Matang waters as a conservation area for the species and warrants further studies of dolphin population ecology to be conducted. © 2022, Society for Indonesian Biodiversity. All rights reserved. Biology Department, Sebelas Maret University Surakarta 2022 Article PeerReviewed Sobri, Muhammad Fadhli Mat and Jaaman, Saifullah Arifin and Mohamed, Zulqarnain and Muda, Azmi Marzuki and Rashid, Muhammad Amirul Siddiq Abd and Zhang, Xuelei (2022) Identifying the hotspot area of Indo-Pacific humpback (Sousa chinensis) and Irrawaddy (Orcaella brevirostris) dolphins in Matang waters, Perak, Malaysia. Biodiversitas, 23 (12). 6106 – 6113. ISSN 1412-033X, DOI https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d231203 <https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d231203>. 10.13057/biodiv/d231203
institution Universiti Malaya
building UM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Malaya
content_source UM Research Repository
url_provider http://eprints.um.edu.my/
topic QH301 Biology
spellingShingle QH301 Biology
Sobri, Muhammad Fadhli Mat
Jaaman, Saifullah Arifin
Mohamed, Zulqarnain
Muda, Azmi Marzuki
Rashid, Muhammad Amirul Siddiq Abd
Zhang, Xuelei
Identifying the hotspot area of Indo-Pacific humpback (Sousa chinensis) and Irrawaddy (Orcaella brevirostris) dolphins in Matang waters, Perak, Malaysia
description The Indo-Pacific humpback (Sousa chinensis) and Irrawaddy (Orcaella brevirostris) dolphins are commonly found in Matang waters, Perak, Malaysia. The area, filled with healthy mangrove forest cover and many estuaries, is not only frequented by the dol phins for its daily activities but also extensively used by locals for artisanal fishing, charcoal production and organizing ecotourism activities. There could be a high risk of human-dolphin interactions, hence determining habitat use and identifying crit ical habitats or "hot spots" for the dolphins in the area is important. In this study, a series of dedicated boat sighting surveys were conducted from March 2019 to January 2021 between Kuala Gula and Kuala Jarum Mas. The total survey effort was 3325.76 km, 44 days and 239.38 hours. A total of 69 dolphin sightings were made, consisting of 40 Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins and 29 Irrawaddy dolphin observations, respectively. During each sighting, every dolphin's behaviors were categorized as: foraging, socializing, evasive, and travelling, and the survey area was classified into four blocks. The results indicated that different dolphin species have different hotspot areas. For Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, the hotspot area was Kuala Sangga, while the Irrawaddy dolphin's hotspot area was outside Kuala Larut, and there was a small overlap between the two dolphins' hotspots. Among the recorded behaviors (n: 281) for both dolphins, the most dominant was foraging (72.24), followed by socializing (17), evasive (7), and travelling (4). The sighted foraging behavior for both dolphin populations was dominant, indicating the hot spots were major foraging grounds for the two dolphin populations. This study shows the importance of Matang waters as a conservation area for the species and warrants further studies of dolphin population ecology to be conducted. © 2022, Society for Indonesian Biodiversity. All rights reserved.
format Article
author Sobri, Muhammad Fadhli Mat
Jaaman, Saifullah Arifin
Mohamed, Zulqarnain
Muda, Azmi Marzuki
Rashid, Muhammad Amirul Siddiq Abd
Zhang, Xuelei
author_facet Sobri, Muhammad Fadhli Mat
Jaaman, Saifullah Arifin
Mohamed, Zulqarnain
Muda, Azmi Marzuki
Rashid, Muhammad Amirul Siddiq Abd
Zhang, Xuelei
author_sort Sobri, Muhammad Fadhli Mat
title Identifying the hotspot area of Indo-Pacific humpback (Sousa chinensis) and Irrawaddy (Orcaella brevirostris) dolphins in Matang waters, Perak, Malaysia
title_short Identifying the hotspot area of Indo-Pacific humpback (Sousa chinensis) and Irrawaddy (Orcaella brevirostris) dolphins in Matang waters, Perak, Malaysia
title_full Identifying the hotspot area of Indo-Pacific humpback (Sousa chinensis) and Irrawaddy (Orcaella brevirostris) dolphins in Matang waters, Perak, Malaysia
title_fullStr Identifying the hotspot area of Indo-Pacific humpback (Sousa chinensis) and Irrawaddy (Orcaella brevirostris) dolphins in Matang waters, Perak, Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Identifying the hotspot area of Indo-Pacific humpback (Sousa chinensis) and Irrawaddy (Orcaella brevirostris) dolphins in Matang waters, Perak, Malaysia
title_sort identifying the hotspot area of indo-pacific humpback (sousa chinensis) and irrawaddy (orcaella brevirostris) dolphins in matang waters, perak, malaysia
publisher Biology Department, Sebelas Maret University Surakarta
publishDate 2022
url http://eprints.um.edu.my/43949/
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