Abstract
Marine mammal is a polyphyletic group that includes cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirenians, some mustelids (sea [Enhydra lutris] and marine otters [Lontra felina]), and polar bears (Ursus maritimus), that spend part or all of their life cycle in the aquatic environment.1,2 Due to the inherent challenges of studying these animals in their aquatic habitat, marine mammal stranding events (i.e., single stranding, unusual mortality events, and mass stranding) are crucial to the study of their natural history, as well as the presence and evolution of their diseases, including morbidity and mortality causes.3-5
To facilitate the study of marine mammals and their related diseases, there is a need for online and easy-to-use tools to record strandings and analyze related data.
To address this need, we developed a web-based recording system and an interactive user-friendly stranding visualization tool (MarineStrandingViewer) for marine mammal strandings based on GIS software (ESRI tools), and tested it with stranding data from northern Spain. With this tool, in situ and ex situ stranding data (i.e., family, species, sex, number of animals, location, and other features [e.g., potential cause of death]) can be easily recorded using a mobile phone or a laptop. Furthermore, in a single step, retrospective stranding data can be directly loaded using Excel files. All the recorded data are directly displayed in a single screen that includes a world map and information about the marine mammal species and families, stranding country, and a chronological tool. Our tool will facilitate the location of cetacean stranding hotspots and enable spatial epidemiology assessments, contributing to the studies of national and international stranding networks (e.g., Cantabrian Stranding Network, Brazilian Stranding Network) towards marine mammal conservation.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Juan de la Cierva incorporación (fellowship IJC2020-046019-I) granted by Agencia Estatal de Investigación-Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, and Consejería de Desarrollo Rural, Ganadería, Pesca y Alimentación of Cantabria.
*Presenting author
Literature Cited
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