CPOD successful in trial for detecting Māui dolphin outside harbours

Critically endangered Māui dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori maui) are found exclusively off the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island. One important data gap troubling efforts to reduce the current unsustainable level of bycatch is the limited information on the offshore and alongshore limits of their range. Passive acoustic monitoring studies could address this data gap, but Māui dolphin habitat is dominated by a sandy substrate that can shift greatly in the strong local currents. In February 2016, a short pilot CPOD deployment was thus attempted as a first step to see if the equipment could be deployed and recovered in the area and if the data collected would be viable, with a second unit deployed inside a harbour for comparison with earlier TPOD data. The pilot was largely successful, and roughly 11% of all minutes in the core habitat location contained detections of clicks attributed to Māui dolphin. A visual inspection of the data suggests some trends with diel and tidal patterns. Further work of this type is thus recommended.     

Scutocyamus antipodensis n.sp. (Amphipoda: Cyamidae) on Hector's dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori) from New Zealand

The whale‐louse Scutocyamus antipodensis n.sp., ectoparasitic on Hector's dolphin, Cephalorhynchus hectori (van Beneden), is described and figured from material collected in Cloudy Bay, Cook Strait, New Zealand. Morphologically the new species is very close to S. parvus Lincoln & Hurley, the type and only other species of the genus, known only from the North Sea. However, the two species differ in the detailed structure and spinosity of the body and pereopods.     

Hector's dolphin movement patterns in response to height and direction of ocean swell

A central question to any understanding of ecology is how animals use their habitat, and how habitat use is influenced by temporally changing features of the environment. Previous research on Hector's dolphins at Akaroa Harbour, New Zealand suggested that dolphins leave inshore, harbour environments during or after rough weather. To test this hypothesis, visual sightings (2000–2012) and acoustic detections (2007–2008) of Hector's dolphins in Akaroa Harbour were modelled to test for a relationship with swell height and swell direction. Sighting rates and acoustic detection rates in Akaroa Harbour were significantly lower on days after big swell events and in some linear models after swell events from the south. These results indicate that swell events influence Hector's dolphin movements in and around Akaroa Harbour. Possible reasons for this behaviour are diverse and need further investigation. However, this information can be used both to predict daily dolphin movement for conservation and research purposes, and to suggest how dolphins may react in future if extreme weather events are becoming frequent.     

The growth of New Zealand freshwater eels in three Canterbury streams

The growth of both species of New Zealand freshwater eel, Anguilla australis and A. dieffenbachii, was studied by tagging in three streams using a stainless steel subcutaneous tag. Possible causes of the differences in growth rates are discussed.     

Photogrammetry using in-field calibration: a non-invasive tool for predicting sex and life stages tested on Hector's dolphins in the wild

Accurate data on sex and life stage are essential for building realistic population models, which in turn are essential for sustainable conservation management. This case study develops and validates an improved photogrammetry method that allows for in-field calibration. The method was used to measure Hector's dolphins’ dorsal fins in the wild. Seven independent measurements of one dolphin resulted in a coefficient of variation of 1.39% for fin base length and 2.33% for fin height. Test measurements on shore at different distances and angles resulted in a mean error smaller than 1% up to a distance of 10?m and an angle of 40°. Dorsal fin dimensions from necropsied Hector's dolphins were analysed to evaluate the potential of predicting sex and life stage based on a dorsal fin measured in the wild. Dorsal fin shape was significantly related to sex. However, sex estimations based on this model turned out to be not accurate enough to replace traditional sexing methods for Hector's dolphins. Fin base length was significantly related to life stage for females. Estimations based on this model appear to be accurate.