https://doi.org/10.82144/cd202abe https://www.gbif.org/dataset/2479e1b4-3658-4ebb-97ca-8fbd86961002 https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/2019 https://obis.org/dataset/37297572-2fe7-4761-aaac-8d60bb522c18 Marijke de Boer Wageningen Marine Research, University of Wageningen Primary contact marijkedeboer@hotmail.com OBIS-SEAMAP Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Duke University

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seamap-contact@duke.edu https://seamap.env.duke.edu distributor Marijke de Boer Wageningen Marine Research, University of Wageningen Primary contact marijkedeboer@hotmail.com owner 2025-09-11 eng Original provider: Marijke de Boer Dataset credits: Marijke N. de Boer Abstract: Information on cetaceans and marine turtles off Gabon in tropical West Africa was collected during boat-based surveys carried out between 7 March and 7 August 2009. Thirteen cetacean species were positively identified comprising two baleen whale species, one sperm whale species and ten species of delphinid. Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera brydei) and humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) were the most frequently encountered species. Cetaceans were found throughout a range of sea surface temperature between 20.5˚C and 27.5˚C and a wide range of depths with the majority of effort and sightings occurring seaward of the shelf break. Of particular interest from the study were the following: (1) Gabonese waters have a broad cetacean diversity, especially with a large and diversified delphinid community in the northern part of the study area; (2) the variations in oceanographic conditions within Gabonese waters are likely to result in a temporal variation in species composition; (3) the sightings of Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) are the first at-sea sightings confirmed for these waters, although not unexpected given their distribution and abundant presence in surrounding waters; and (4) the poorly known Clymene dolphin (Stenella clymene) was sighted on four occasions in deep oceanic waters and was the most abundant cetacean. These are the first confirmed records of Clymene dolphins in Gabonese waters. Occurrence GBIF Dataset Type Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_type.xml Observation GBIF Dataset Subtype Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_subtype.xml Marine Biology Visual sighting Marine Animal Survey Marine mammals Sea turtles Visual Sighting Vessel N/A This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC-BY-NC) 4.0 License. https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/2019 Oceans,Gabon 7.3533 10.73 -0.6128 -5.5 2009-03-13 2009-08-06 Scientific names are based on the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). genus Balaenoptera Baleen whales species Balaenoptera brydei Bryde's whale order Cetacea Cetaceans family Cheloniidae Sea turtles family Delphinidae Dolphins genus Delphinus Common dolphins species Globicephala macrorhynchus Short-finned pilot whale species Grampus griseus Risso's dolphin species Lepidochelys olivacea Olive ridley species Megaptera novaeangliae Humpback whale genus Mesoplodon Beaked whales species Orcinus orca Killer whale species Peponocephala electra Melon-headed whale species Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale species Stenella attenuata Pantropical spotted dolphin species Stenella clymene Clymene dolphin species Stenella frontalis Atlantic spotted dolphin species Steno bredanensis Rough-toothed dolphin species Tursiops truncatus Common bottlenose dolphin The main purpose of this study was to contribute information on the distribution and relative abundance of cetaceans sighted during a geophysical survey in Gabonese waters and where possible relating the occurrence of different species with oceanographic parameters such as sea surface temperature (SST) and depth. notPlanned Marijke de Boer Wageningen Marine Research, University of Wageningen Primary contact marijkedeboer@hotmail.com NA NA NA Marijke de Boer owner NA zd_2019 2025-09-11T15:45:48-04:00 dataset de Boer, M. 2019. Cetacean and sea turtle sightings in Gabon. Version 1.0.0. Dataset published in OBIS-SEAMAP. https://doi.org/10.82144/cd202abe. de Boer, M.N. 2010. Cetacean distribution and relative abundance in offshore Gabonese waters. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom90(8): 1613-1621. OBIS-SEAMAP Dataset Page UTF-8 Interactive map https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/2019 FGDC Metadata UTF-8 XML https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/2019/fgdc EML Metadata UTF-8 XML https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/2019/eml OBIS-SEAMAP zd_2019 zd_2019