Photo-Identification Catalogue Killer whales of the Crozet Islands 2003 - 2011
Paul Tixier, Nicolas Gasco, Cécile Roche, Christophe Guinet
Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé - CNRS Villiers en Bois 79360 Beauvoir sur Niort CEBC-CNRS 2011 1 Killer whales of the Crozet Islands Austral and Antarctic French Territories Photo-Identification Catalogue 2003-2011
Paul Tixier, Nicolas Gasco, Cécile Roche, Christophe Guinet
Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé - CNRS Villiers en Bois 79360 Beauvoir sur Niort CEBC-CNRS 2011
2 Preface
This catalogue presents the frequently encountered killer whales that were photo-identified around the Crozet islands between 2003-2011. Pictures were taken and analyzed according to the photo-identification protocol developed in the NE Pacific by Bigg (1982). Priority was on left sides of the dorsal fin and saddle patch but for some individuals there were good pictures of the right side only. The edition of this catalogue was greatly based on catalogues produced by Bigg and colleagues (Bigg et al., 1987; Ford and Ellis, 1999; Ford et al., 2000) over the past 30 years.
Pictures were taken from two distinct platforms: the Possession Island coastline, by the people working at the base Alfred Faure, and the seven Patagonian toothfish longliners allowed to operate within the Crozet EEZ, by the fishery observers.
Two socially and morphologically distinct types of killer whales are observed in the Crozet waters: regular killer whales for which we have most of the data ( and the so called “Type- D” killer whales (Pitman et al., 2011) that have been sighted on few occasions only. The catalogue.
In this catalogue, individuals are organized according to social relatedness. Social analysis were performed and association indexes were estimated using Whitehead (2009) methodology. Social units were given an unique code (upper left corner).
This catalogue intends to assist in identification the different people encountering these whales.
Crozet killer whales 2003-2011 3 Study Area
N
Ilot des apôtres Ile aux cochons Ile de la Ile des Possession pingouins Ile de l’Est CROZET ISLANDS
50 km
Sightings from longliners o Sightings from Possession Island
Crozet killer whales 2003-2011 4 C037
C035 ♂ C037 ♀ C038 ♀ C116 ♀
Possession
Key
C035 Alpha-numeric individual code ♂ Gender (when known)
Association Index* > 0.5 0.3 < Association Index < 0.5
Crozet killer whales 2003-2011 5 C128
C068 ♂ C069 ♀ C128
Possession
C161
Crozet killer whales 2003-2011 6 C042
C041 ♂ C042 ♀ C043 ♀ C046
Possession
Crozet killer whales 2003-2011 7 C011
C011 ♀ C079 C080
Possession
Crozet killer whales 2003-2011 8 C002
C002 ♀ C004 ♀ C006 ♀ C135
Possession Longliners
Crozet killer whales 2003-2011 9 C138
C138 C186 C172 ♀ C185 ♀
C165
Possession Longliners
C184
Crozet killer whales 2003-2011 10 C010
C010 ♀
Possession Longliners
C158
Crozet killer whales 2003-2011 11 C121 Crozet killer killer Crozet
whales
2003 - 2011
C121 C200
♀
C143 C211
♀
12
Possession Longliners C024
C024 ♀ C032 ♂
Possession Longliners
C157
Crozet killer whales 2003-2011 13 C022
C156 C022 ♀
Longliners Longliners C009 ♂ Possession
Crozet killer whales 2003-2011 14 C063
C063 ♀ C064 ♂
Possession Longliners
Crozet killer whales 2003-2011 15 C016
(See p. 15)
C016 ♀ C017 C023 ♂
Possession Longliners Longliners Longliners C149 Possession
Crozet killer whales 2003-2011 16 C018
C015 C019 ♀ C018 ♀ C020 ♂ C014 ♂
Possession Longliners
C148 ♀
Crozet killer whales 2003-2011 17 C119
C025 ♂ C127 ♀ C027 C119 ♀
Possession Longliners
C188
Crozet killer whales 2003-2011 18 C012
C012 C133 C132 ♀ C137 ♀
Possession Longliners
C131 C187
Crozet killer whales 2003-2011 19 C139 Crozet killer killer Crozet
whales
2003 - 2011
C155 C106
♀
C140
C139
20
Possession Longliners C021
C021 ♀ C007 ♂
Possession Longliners
Crozet killer whales 2003-2011 21 C013
C013 ♀ C087 C122 ♂
Longliners Longliners
C173
Crozet killer whales 2003-2011 22 C013
C111 ♀ C142
Longliners Longliners
C174 ♀
Crozet killer whales 2003-2011 23 C081 (part 1)
C081 ♀ C083 C154 C082
Longliners Longliners
Crozet killer whales 2003-2011 24 C081 (part 2)
C147 C150 ♂ C152 C153
Longliners Longliners
Crozet killer whales 2003-2011 25 C167
C165 ♂ C166 ♂ C167 C168 C170
Longliners Longliners Longliners Longliners
Crozet killer whales 2003-2011 26 C124
C124 C151 C129 ♂
Longliners Longliners
Crozet killer whales 2003-2011 27 C099
C099 C100 C103 C104 ♀ C101 ♀
Longliners Longliners
C162 C163 C102
Crozet killer whales 2003-2011 28 C195 C194
Crozet killer killer Crozet ♂
whales
2003 C195 - 2011
C201 C225
♀
C193
♂
C169
C086
♂
29
Longliners C190 Crozet killer killer Crozet
whales
2003 C189 - 2011
♂
C202 C190
C191
C192
30
Longliners References
Bigg, M.A. 1982. An assessment of killer whale (Orcinus orca) stocks off Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Report of the International Whaling Commission, Special Issue 32: 655–666.
Bigg M.A., Ellis G.M., Ford J.K.B. and Balcomb K.C. 1987. Killer whales. A study of their identification, genealogy & natural history in British Columbia and Washington State. Phantom Press, Nanaimo, BC, 79pp.
Bigg, M.A., Olesiuk P.F., Ellis G.M., Ford J.K.B., Balcomb K.C. 1990. Social organization and genealogy of resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the coastal waters of British Columbia and Washington State. Report of the International Whaling Commission, Special Issue 12: 383–405.
Ford J.K.B. and Ellis G.M. 1999. Transients: Mammal Hunting Killer Whales. UBC Press, Vancouver, 97pp.
Ford J.K.B., Ellis G.M. and Balcomb K.C. 2000. Killer whales. The natural history and genealogy of Orcinus orca in British Columbia and Washington. Second edition. UBC Press, Vancouver, 104pp.
Pitman R. L., Durban J. W., Greenfelder M., Guinet C., Jorgensen M., Olson P. A., Plana J., Tixier P., Towers J. R. 2010. Observations of a distinctive morphotype of killer whale Orcinus orca, type D, from subantarctic waters. Polar Biology
Whitehead, H. 2009. In: Analyzing Animal Societies. The University of Chicago Press.
31 Acknowledgments
We wish to thank all photographers involved in this study, whether they are fishery observers on longliners or field workers on the Possession Is.
We are grateful to all the people that have inspired this work especially the following: Mike Bigg, Graeme Ellis, John Ford, Kenneth Balcomb, Craig Matkin, Eva Saulitis, Lance Barrett Lennard, Paul Spong and Helena Symonds.
We are also thankful to the following partners and organizations that have contributed to the study of the Crozet killer whale population for many years
Centre National de la Recherche scientifique
Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé
Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle de Paris
Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises
Institut Paul Emile Victor
Armements de pêche de la Réunion
32 Photographers
AUBERT Jean Luc; BARRETT-LENNARD Lance; BEILLOEIL; BELBEYC'H Bruno; BERTHET Philippe; BERTRAND Geoffrey; BLANCHARD Pierrick; BOITEAU Christophe; BONNET Joël; BOST Charles-André; BURLE Marie-Hélène; CARCAILLET Christopher; CARDOT Gilles; CHEVRIER Claude; DE STEPHANIS Renaud; DERVAUX Antoine; DESMARET Rolland; DESPIN Bernard; DONDELINGER Caroline; DOREMUS Ghislain; DUFRENE Rémy; FERNANDEZ Eric; FOURNIER Jean-Charles; GASCO Nicolas; GAUTHIER-CLERC Michel; GOUEDARD Yvon; GUINET Christophe; HANDRICH Yves; HANUISE Nicolas; HOARAU Eric; LANGUENOU Roger; LE CORRE Yann; LEGRAND Jérôme; LEMARCHAN Christian; LEQUETTE Benoît; LERIDON Jean; LEROUX Eric; LESCAROUX Jean-Michel; MAISON Jérome; MANGIN Stéphane; MANILEVE Patrick; MARECHAL Pierre; MELLEE Jean-Luc; MOURIES Jacques; NOORKHAN Alain; NOYAN Patrick; PAULIN Rémy; PAWLOWSKI Frédéric; PERROT Yohann; PETER Jean; PRUDOR Aurélien; RIDOUX Vincent; RINGOT Frédéric; SCHWEBEL Luc; SORIN Dominique; STENBERGER Ludovic; TIXIER Paul; VERLAND Henri; VERMANDE Hugues; VILLEMIN Catherine; WEIMERSKIRCH Henri
33 © Paul Tixier 34 Couverture © Paul Tixier