AN INTRODUCTION TO RIVER DOLPHIN SPECIES - Biology, Evolution and Conservation of River Dolphins Within South America and Asia - page 1

Chapter 1
A N I NTRODUCTION TO R IVER D OLPHIN S PECIES
Joseph Mark Shostell 1  and Manuel Ruiz-García 2 +
1-Biology Department, Penn State University-Fayette, Uniontown, USA
2-Laboratorio de Genética de Poblaciones Molecular-Biología Evolutiva. Unidad de
Genética. Departamento de Biología. Facultad de Ciencias. Pontificia Universidad
Javeriana, Bogotá DC, Colombia
A BSTRACT
This chapter introduces nine dolphin species ( Neophocaena phocaenoides
asiaeorientalis, Sotalia guianensis, Sotalia fluviatilis, Pontoporia blainvillei, Inia
geoffrensis, Inia boliviensis, Platanista gangetica, Lipotes vexilliter and Orcaella
brevirostris ) that are discussed in the succeeding chapters of this topic and provides brief
summaries on each species' population status, habitat condition and looming threats.
There are commonalities among the threats for these dolphins and they are linked to
human activities. Fishing, dams, and pollution generally affect all of the species with
those species near the highest human densities being the most threatened and having the
bleakest future. There are of course bright spots in the conservation efforts for these
species and some dolphins, such as Inia geoffrensis , seem to be faring well and have a
large population size and great distribution. Also, we discuss recent and new
contributions of molecular, morphological, and paleontological data that tremendously
help our understanding of phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history of these
graceful creatures.
Keywords : Neophocaena phocaenoides asiaeorientalis, Sotalia guianensis, Sotalia
fluviatilis, Pontoporia blainvillei, Inia geoffrensis, Inia boliviensis, Platanista gangética,
Lipotes vexilliter, Orcaella brevirostris
 [e-mail].
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