Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Ecology and Evolutionay Biology Symposium, 2023, İstanbul, Türkiye, 17 - 19 Temmuz 2023, ss.35, (Özet Bildiri)
Top predators occupy the higher trophic levels in the food web and play a key role as ecosystem regulators. Their presence supports the diversity of species and is linked with it in various ways, including trophic cascades, reliance on ecosystem productivity, susceptibility to disturbances, and connections to various elements of the ecosystem therefore, predator-centered conservation is believed to deliver certain biodiversity goals. However, the lack of available information on the local biodiversity and other important ecosystem variables is a major obstacle in conservation planning. A number of studies on the marine top predators in Turkish waters are not going any further than first records or range expansion reports. The very first database on these species around Gökçeada Island is established through visual, acoustic, and drone-based aerial surveys, supported by Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK). Marine top predators of the Gökçeada Island have been monitored since 2019 in order to gain a clearer understanding of these inhabitants. Individuals were reported via social media platforms and questionnaires were applied to stakeholders. Short-beaked common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, and a sperm whale were detected during approximately 15 hours of acoustic recording. The study also covers the records of the critically endangered Mediterranean monk seal and other top predators such as the Great White shark, shortfin mako, and vulnerable marine mammals. Swordfish and Atlantic bluefin tuna were determined to be the most abundant top predators in the area.