https://doi.org/10.82144/a4d59e14 https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/482 https://www.gbif.org/dataset/609d9450-9d14-4d65-a761-28fc5686da1d https://obis.org/dataset/9d9d0b7f-6bf5-44d3-8591-88d3a39c2f8a Gaby Silva Hernández Universidad Central de Venezuela Primary contact mgsilvah@gmail.com OBIS-SEAMAP Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Duke University

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seamap-contact@duke.edu https://seamap.env.duke.edu OBIS-SEAMAP Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Duke University

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seamap-contact@duke.edu https://seamap.env.duke.edu distributor Gaby Silva Hernández Universidad Central de Venezuela Primary contact mgsilvah@gmail.com owner 2025-07-31 eng Original provider: María Gabriela Silva-Hernández, Universidad Central de Venezuela Dataset credits: María Gabriela Silva-Hernández, Universidad Central de Venezuela Abstract: There is updated information on abundance and distribution of cetaceans in the central coast of Venezuela, where is needed baseline information in order to manage dolphin-watching activities. Between March 2006-January 2007, 28 surveys were made aboard small boats, powered with outboard engines, totaling 71.5 h of effort. The presence of Atlantic spotted (Stenella frontalis), bottlenose (Tursiops truncatus) dolphins and Bryde´s whales (Balaenoptera edeni) was confirmed. Cetaceans were found on 71.4% of the surveys. Relative abundance, expressed as number of individuals found per Km of transect line and hour of survey effort were 6 (± S.D. 12) and 26 (±S.D. 42), respectively, for S. frontalis and 1 (± S.D. 1) and 3 (±S.D. 2), respectively, for T. truncatus. Group size ranged from 6-400 individuals (mean 120 ± S.D. 119) and from 1-20 individuals (mean 8 ±S.D 7) for S. frontalis and, T. truncatus respectively. Some level of differentiation in habitat preference for these two species was found, with bottlenose dolphins preferring coastal waters over the 100m isobath, and Atlantic spotted dolphins preferring deeper waters around the 200m contour. Balaenopterid whales were found in March 2006, probably a cow-calf pair, Balaenoptera sp., and in October 2006, adult B. edeni. 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 Balaenoptera Tursiops Stenella Aragua Vessels Sightings N/A Total effort for the whole reasearch: 4294 min This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC-BY-NC) 4.0 License. https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/482 Oceans -67.7692 -67.6296 10.5361 10.5004 2006-03-28 2007-01-13 Scientific names are based on the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). species Balaenoptera edeni Eden's whale family Delphinidae Dolphins species Stenella frontalis Atlantic spotted dolphin species Tursiops truncatus Common bottlenose dolphin This data is the result of a study carried out between March 2006 and January 2007 in response of the inclusion of whale watching (WW) activities into the priorities of three national programs of the Ministry of Science and Technology and Fundacite Aragua. We expect that WW activities will soon be successful at a commercial level, so we decided to generate data on the biological and ecological aspects of the three cetacean species presents in the coast of Aragua (Stenella frontalis, Tursiops truncatus and Balaenoptera edeni). This information will provide a basis for future comparisons about population aspects as well as responsible management of this activity in the region as well as in the country. notPlanned Gaby Silva Hernández Universidad Central de Venezuela Primary contact mgsilvah@gmail.com NA NA NA Gaby Silva Hernández owner NA zd_482 2025-07-31T14:18:00-04:00 dataset Silva Hernández, G. 2008. Abundance and distribution of cetaceans in the state of Aragua, Venezuela. Version 1.0.0. Dataset published in OBIS-SEAMAP. https://doi.org/10.82144/a4d59e14. OBIS-SEAMAP Dataset Page UTF-8 Interactive map https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/482 FGDC Metadata UTF-8 XML https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/482/fgdc EML Metadata UTF-8 XML https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/482/eml OBIS-SEAMAP zd_482 zd_482 Silva-Hernandez, M.G.; Bolaños-Jimenez, J.; Herrera-Trujillo, O. and Ferreira, C. 2007. Abundancia y distribución de los cetáceos presentes en la costa del estado Aragua. Thesis: 100.