大型鲸类是海洋生态系统的顶级捕食者和指示物种，对大型鲸类的深入了解，有助于我们评价海洋生态系统的健康状况。然而，我国对大型鲸类的研究十分匮乏。2018年4月我们在北部湾广西涠洲岛发现布氏鲸，这是1980年后在中国近岸水域发现的首个大型鲸类种群，具有重要的科学研究价值及生态价值。布氏鲸是最鲜为人知的须鲸之一，国际上对该物种研究较少。本项目拟对涠洲岛布氏鲸开展种群生态学和保护生物学的研究：应用船只和长时间续航无人机调查，基于截线抽样法和特征重捕法MCR，估算涠洲岛布氏鲸的密度，结合高精度卫星影像探讨分布模式；应用遥感数据、GIS技术和MaxEnt模型预测其适宜栖息地分布；结合不同精度卫星影像提取海岸线、养殖区和船只分布，评价栖息地质量；评估观鲸旅游和渔业活动的影响；提出科学的保护管理建议，促进布氏鲸的保护。

The large whales are the apex predators and bioindicators of marine ecosystem, further knowledge on the large whales contributes to the assessment of marine ecosystem. Nevertheless, the studies on large whales were deficient in China. In April of 2018, we found Bryde’s whales around Weizhou Island, Guangxi Autonomous Region, this is the first large whale population found in China’s coastal waters since 1980, indicting important value of scientific research and ecology. The Bryde’s whale was insufficiently studied, and was one of the least known baleen whales in the world. The project is to research on population ecology and conservation biology of Bryde’s whales around Weizhou Island to : estimate the population size based on both Line-transect method and Mark Capture Recapture method conducted by vessel-based and drones with fixed wing; explore the distribution patterns with high-resolution satellite imagery; predict the distribution of suitable habitats integrating remote sensing data, GIS technology and MaxEnt model; evaluate the habitat quality by identifying shoreline, aquaculture site and ship distribution from different resolution satellite imagery; assess the impacts of whale-watching tourism and fishing on Bryde’s whales; propose scientific suggestions on conservation management, and ultimately promote the protection of local Bryde’s whale population.