The Pacific Ocean off of Ecuador encompasses important habitats for 27 marine mammal species and the Amazon basin is home to otters, manatees, and 2 species of dolphin. Since 1996, Nazca Institute researchers, in cooperation with foreign NGO’s such as Yaqu Pacha, have been studying the population biology, behaviour and conservation issues regarding the marine and aquatic mammals of Ecuador.

The Ecuadorian coastal habitats, especially in the provinces of Manabí and Esmeraldas, are preferred breeding grounds of the South Eastern Pacific Humpback whale population. From June to October, we have accompanied the whales every year since 1996 to monitor population size, distribution and the impact of whale watching tourism on their natural behaviour. Since 2000 have worked in close cooperation with fishermen in Esmeraldas, combining whale watching with our normal research activities.

Breeding SeasonTemporada Reproductiva

During the breeding season from June to September, humpback males breach to attract females, while receptive females call the males slapping their flippers on the surfaceDurante la temporada de reproducción, de junio a septiembre, los machos de las ballenas jorobadas ???? para atraer a las hembras, mientras que las hembras receptivas llaman a los machos golpeando sus aletas contra la superficie del agua

Humpback whales can be individually identified by their fluke patterns. By now, Nazca scientists identified more than 400 whales in the breeding grounds off Esmeraldas and MachalillaLos diferentes individuos de las ballenas jorobadas pueden identificarse por los patrones de sus colas. Hasta ahora los científicos de Nazca han identificado más de 400 individuos diferentes en las áreas de reproducción de Esmeraldas y Machalilla

With our photo ID catalogues of the whale’s flukes, peduncle knobs and dorsal fins, we can follow their migration patterns along the Ecuadorian and South American coast. Besides the humpback whale research, the aim of the Marine Mammals Program is to study all other species and to improve the knowledge of marine mammal populations of continental Ecuador and the Galápagos.

In association with the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ), we train Ecuadorian and international students in marine mammal research in Esmeraldas during courses on the ecology of marine mammals held as a regular three credit course at USFQ.

Note:
Nazca Institute does not offer volunteer programs within the marine mammal projects.

During the month of April in 2008, NAZCA’s dive team performed a biodiversity evaluation of the benthic rocky communities in the Puntilla Santa Elena zone using subtidal censuses in 15 different sites that represented the majority of species diversity in the area. The location of each immersion was recorded using a Global Positioning System (GPS).

During September, 2008, we performed a seafloor mapping analysis in the marine area of the “Faunal Production Reserve Puntilla Santa Elena.” Since this study was done before the formal declaration of the reserve and thus the boundaries were not yet defined, only 79% of the actual area of the marine zone was mapped.

For this project we used single beam sonar (Roxann Groundmaster GD-X) with a Furuno LS4100 echosounder (Roxann control box), a mounted acoustic transductor, a Magellan eXplorist XL global positioning system (GPS), and a “Deep Blue” marine video camera system by Ocean System/Splashcam.

The sampling transects were designed taking into account the following parameters:

• The provisional limits of the marine protected area,
• The 50m depth limit,
• The priority locations determined by biological monitoring,
• The basic ship speed of 6 knots, and
• The daily work schedule (hours worked per day).

Once the equipment was installed on the boat, it was calibrated using the help of the “Deep Blue” video system.

The information was processed using Surfer8 and ArcGis 8.3 geographic information systems. The data that showed a change of +/- 1.5 m in 1-second intervals were eliminated from the dataset. With the resulting information, we created a depth model using the “Kriging” interpolation model and a resulting bathymetries map of the zone.

Marine seafloors were evaluated using the interpolation information and the “Nearest Neighbor” method and by considering the information compiled by the biological monitoring.

Among others, the zone known as Low Radius (Vicioso and Aquapark, Location Mapping of Area and GPS points), that represents groups of small and medium-sized rocks, stood out following the analysis. In the Vicioso site, a large variety of gorgonians, corals, algae, and sessile invertebrates are present, as well as a high abundance of commercial fish species.

This information has served as a baseline dataset for the evaluation of current states of marine habitats and their associated marine organisms. It has also facilitated the production of marine reserve maps (bathymetry and seafloor types) that help in making short, medium, and long-term decisions.

More Information:
– MAP 1: Location of the proposed Marine Reserve and location of the GPS points (11,7 MB, pdf). Also available in the PUBLICATIONS section.
– MAP 2: Bathymetric map of the covered area (10,5 MB, pdf). Also available in the PUBLICATIONS section.
– MAP 3: Habitats of the rocky-sandy bottom of the covered area (7,5 MB, pdf). Also available in the PUBLICATIONS section.