Small Cetacean Conservation: Current Challenges and Opportunities

There are currently 47 extant species of dolphins and porpoises worldwide. They occur throughout a range of ecosystems, from freshwater habitats to the open ocean and from polar regions to the tropics. Despite decades of research and public awareness, an increasing number of these species have become threatened with significant population declines and, in some cases, extinction due to anthropogenic threats such as water-borne pollution, fisheries interactions, coastal development and maritime shipping and industrial noise. This new Topic will aim to publish the most up-to-date research on the conservation status of small cetaceans around the globe. We welcome papers that address critical conservation issues, but also reviews with a broad scope (e.g. global patterns of threats, mitigation to reduce human impacts, effects of climate change, current knowledge gaps and future directions in research). Contributions from developing countries, where research and conservation challenges are particularly important are strongly encouraged. Although low-cost methods to reduce human impacts on populations will be of particular interest, Frontiers in Marine Science - Marine Megafauna will welcome any contributions on ecology, genetics, evolution and behavior that will contribute to a better understanding of the impact that human activities have on populations of small cetaceans around the globe.