Title
Chapter Title: Irrawaddy Dolphin: Orcaella brevirostris
Book Title: Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals.
Author(s)
Smith, Brian D.
Published
2018
Abstract
The Irrawaddy dolphin Orcaella brevirostris is a freshwater-dependent dolphin found in coastal waters near river mouths, three large rivers and two marine-appended lakes in South and Southeast Asia. The genus was recently split into two species based on concordant evidence of differences in genetics and skeletal morphology between O. brevirostris and its congener, the Australian snub-fin dolphin O. heinsohni. Freshwater populations in Songkhla Lake (Thailand) and the Ayeyarwady (Myanmar), Mahakam (Indonesia) and Mekong (Laos and Cambodia) Rivers, and a geographically isolated population in Malampaya Sound (Philippines) are Critically Endangered with the species considered Vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Irrawaddy dolphins are killed accidentally in fishing nets in all areas where they have been studied and they are threatened by planned dams in the Mekong and Ayeyarwady Rivers. A remarkable aspect of the species’ behavior in the Ayeyarwady River is its habit of fishing cooperatively with cast-net fishermen.
Keywords
Ayeyarwady; cooperative fishing; estuary; freshwater; Irrawaddy dolphin; Mahakam; Mekong; Indo-Pacific

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PUB22844