DOCSLIB.ORG

Journal of Threatened Taxa

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Journal of Threatened Taxa PLATINUM The Journal of Threatened Taxa (JoTT) is dedicated to building evidence for conservaton globally by publishing peer-reviewed artcles OPEN ACCESS online every month at a reasonably rapid rate at www.threatenedtaxa.org. All artcles published in JoTT are registered under Creatve Commons Atributon 4.0 Internatonal License unless otherwise mentoned. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproducton, and distributon of artcles in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publicaton. Journal of Threatened Taxa Building evidence for conservaton globally www.threatenedtaxa.org ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) Communication First confirmed sightings of Blue Whales Balaenoptera musculus Linnaeus, 1758 (Mammalia: Cetartiodactyla: Balaenopteridae) in the Philippines since the 19th century Jo Marie Vera Acebes, Joshua Neal Silberg, Timothy John Gardner, Edna Rex Sabater, Angelico Jose Cavada Tiongson, Patricia Dumandan, Diana Maria Margarita Verdote, Christne Louise Emata, Jean Utzurrum & Arnel Andrew Yaptnchay 26 March 2021 | Vol. 13 | No. 3 | Pages: 17875–17888 DOI: 10.11609/jot.6483.13.3.17875-17888 For Focus, Scope, Aims, Policies, and Guidelines visit htps://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/editorialPolicies#custom-0 For Artcle Submission Guidelines, visit htps://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/submissions#onlineSubmissions For Policies against Scientfc Misconduct, visit htps://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/editorialPolicies#custom-2 For reprints, contact <[email protected]> The opinions expressed by the authors do not refect the views of the Journal of Threatened Taxa, Wildlife Informaton Liaison Development Society, Zoo Outreach Organizaton, or any of the partners. The journal, the publisher, the host, and the part- Publisher & Host ners are not responsible for the accuracy of the politcal boundaries shown in the maps by the authors. Member Threatened Taxa Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 March 2021 | 13(3): 17875–17888 ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) PLATINUM OPEN ACCESS htps://doi.org/10.11609/jot.6483.13.3.17875-17888 #6483 | Received 29 July 2020 | Final received 23 December 2020 | Finally accepted 19 February 2021 COMMUNICATION First confrmed sightngs of Blue Whales Balaenoptera musculus Linnaeus, 1758 (Mammalia: Cetartodactyla: Balaenopteridae) in the Philippines since the 19th century Jo Marie Vera Acebes 1 , Joshua Neal Silberg 2 , Timothy John Gardner 3 , Edna Rex Sabater 4 , Angelico Jose Cavada Tiongson 5 , Patricia Dumandan6 , Diana Maria Margarita Verdote7 , Christne Louise Emata 8 , Jean Utzurrum 9 & Arnel Andrew Yaptnchay 10 1,2,3,6,7 BALYENA.ORG, Paseo del Mar, Brgy. Pangdan, Jagna 6308, Bohol, Philippines. 1 Zoology Division, Natonal Museum of the Philippines, Padre Burgos Drive, Rizal Park, Manila 1000, Philippines. 2 LAMAVE (Large Marine Vertebrates Insttute Philippines), Tejero, Jagna 6308, Bohol, Philippines. 4 210 F.W. Olin Bldg, Department of Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences, Florida Insttute of Technology, 150 W University Blvd, Melbourne FL 32901 USA. 4,5,8,9 Silliman University, Insttute of Environmental and Marine Sciences, Brgy, Bantayan, Dumaguete City 6200, Negros Oriental, Philippines. 10 Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines, 2108 Volta St., Makat City 1234, Philippines. 1 [email protected] (corresponding author), 2 [email protected], 3 [email protected], 4 [email protected], 5 [email protected], 6 [email protected], 7 [email protected], 8 [email protected], 9 [email protected], 10 [email protected] Abstract: For over two centuries there were no records of Blue Whales Balaenoptera musculus in the Philippines. Whalers recorded Blue Whales in the Philippines in the 19th century, and the next confrmed sightng in the country was of a mother and calf in 2004. Since then 33 subsequent Blue Whale sightngs of potentally one individual were recorded between 2004 and 2019, all within the central region of the Philippines around the Bohol Sea. This individual, recognized through photo-identfcaton, was sighted on at least 13 occasions during eight diferent years: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. The geographic locaton and tming of the sightngs (January to July) suggest that Blue Whales in the Philippines may extend the outer range edge of the Indo-Australian populaton that migrate between western Australia, Indonesia, and East Timor. Blue Whale sightngs in the Bohol Sea coincide with tmes of high ocean productvity, although further investgaton is needed to determine if they are actually feeding in this region. Acoustc studies and photo-identfcaton matching with other Blue Whale catalogues will clarify the stock identty of Blue Whales in the Philippines and their relaton to the rest of the Blue Whale populaton, with implicatons for the conservaton of this endangered species across multple jurisdictons. Keywords: Bohol Sea, photo-identfcaton, survey. Editor: Anonymity requested. Date of publicaton: 26 March 2021 (online & print) Citaton: Acebes, J.M.V., J.N. Silberg, T.J. Gardner, E.R. Sabater, A.J.C. Tiongson, P. Dumandan, D.M.M. Verdote, C.L. Emata, J. Utzurrum & A.A. Yaptnchay (2021). First confrmed sightngs of Blue Whales Balaenoptera musculus Linnaeus, 1758 (Mammalia: Cetartodactyla: Balaenopteridae) in the Philippines since the 19th century. Journal of Threatened Taxa 13(3): 17875–17888. htps://doi.org/10.11609/jot.6483.13.3.17875-17888 Copyright: © Acebes et al. 2021. Creatve Commons Atributon 4.0 Internatonal License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproducton, and distributon of this artcle in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publicaton. Funding: The Natonal Geographic Society, EC-54888C-18; Society for Conservaton Biology; BALYENA.ORG; U.S. Fulbright Program; Ocean Park Conservaton Foundaton - Hong Kong, FH01_11/12, 2011/12 (JNS); Ruford Small Grants Foundaton RSGF Grant Number: 53.02.10 and 21574-2; Ocean Park Conservaton Foundaton - Hong Kong, MM08.1011, 2010/11 (ERS); Condura Run for the Dolphins (2012); SU-IEMS. Competng interests: The authors declare no competng interests. For Filipino abstract, Author details, Author contributon and Acknowledgements see end of this artcle. 17875 J TT Sightngs of Blue Whales in the Philippines Acebes et al. INTRODUCTION than B.m. intermedia (Jeferson et al. 2015). Populatons of Blue Whales can also be separated Blue Whales Balaenoptera musculus Linnaeus, acoustcally into at least 10 distnct populatons (Rankin 1758 are currently classifed as Endangered by the et al. 2005; McDonald et al. 2006, 2009; Staford et al. Internatonal Union for the Conservaton of Nature 2011; Širović et al. 2018). The Philippines lie on the edge (IUCN) (Cooke 2018), and sightngs in the Philippines of the North Indian, Southeast Indian, North Pacifc, and are rare. Although historical data suggests Blue Whales Southern Ocean acoustcally-recognized populatons. occurred in Philippine waters (Acebes 2014), their The central Indian Ocean populaton (B.m. indica), presence was not reported between the end of the is found in highest concentratons around Sri Lanka and 19th century (1870) and 2004. Stories from fshers from appears to be resident in nature (de Vos et al. 2012, 2016), Bohol suggest sightngs of mother-calf pairs in the early while at least some individuals from the Southeast Indian 1990s (Jo Marie V. Acebes pers. comm. 8.xi.2011). While populaton (currently identfed as B.m. brevicauda) a whale skull of unknown source labeled “Blue Whale” undergo migratons from western Australia to Indonesia, was once displayed on the grounds of a village town hall arriving by June (Branch et al. 2007b; Double et al. in Lila, Bohol, the evidence of Blue Whale occurrence 2014). North Pacifc B.m. musculus are recognized as at in the 20th century remains anecdotal (Acebes 2013). least two acoustcally separate populatons, the eastern The frst confrmed documentaton of a Blue Whale in North Pacifc populaton (ENP) and western North Pacifc the Philippines occurred when a mother and calf were populaton (WNP), with almost none sighted south of flmed of Pamilacan Island in the Bohol Sea in February northeastern Japan for decades (McDonald et al. 2006, 2004 (Dolar & Sabater 2012; Acebes 2014). The animal 2009; Branch et al. 2019). The western North Pacifc was initally thought to be a Bryde’s Whale Balaenoptera Blue Whales were historically hunted as far south as edeni Anderson, 1879, but was subsequently identfed Taiwan (Tomilin 1957; Staford et al. 2001; Wang et al. as a Blue Whale (Acebes 2006). Photographs of a baleen 2001), but were virtually extrpated from the southern whale seen in the same area in May 2004 were also part of their range, including southern Japan (Natonal confrmed to be a Blue Whale (Sabater 2005). These Marine Fisheries Service 1998; Clapham et al. 1999; sightngs were brief and no detailed informaton on the Gilpatrick & Perryman 2008). Southern Ocean B.m. animal and its behavior were recorded. intermedia remain south of 52°S during the austral With such a gap in tme between records, the summer, but their acoustc song is heard throughout the subspecies and populaton of the Blue Whale seen in Southern Hemisphere in the winter months (Staford et 2004 was unclear. There are four recognized subspecies al. 2004, 2011; Rankin et al. 2005; McDonald et al. 2006, of Blue Whale (Commitee on Taxonomy 2019); however, 2009; Branch et al. 2007b; Samaran et al. 2013, 2019; many authorites
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Biology of Marine Mammals
    Romero, A. 2009. The Biology of Marine Mammals. The Biology of Marine Mammals Aldemaro Romero, Ph.D. Arkansas State University Jonesboro, AR 2009 2 INTRODUCTION Dear students, 3 Chapter 1 Introduction to Marine Mammals 1.1. Overture Humans have always been fascinated with marine mammals. These creatures have been the basis of mythical tales since Antiquity. For centuries naturalists classified them as fish. Today they are symbols of the environmental movement as well as the source of heated controversies: whether we are dealing with the clubbing pub seals in the Arctic or whaling by industrialized nations, marine mammals continue to be a hot issue in science, politics, economics, and ethics. But if we want to better understand these issues, we need to learn more about marine mammal biology. The problem is that, despite increased research efforts, only in the last two decades we have made significant progress in learning about these creatures. And yet, that knowledge is largely limited to a handful of species because they are either relatively easy to observe in nature or because they can be studied in captivity. Still, because of television documentaries, ‘coffee-table’ books, displays in many aquaria around the world, and a growing whale and dolphin watching industry, people believe that they have a certain familiarity with many species of marine mammals (for more on the relationship between humans and marine mammals such as whales, see Ellis 1991, Forestell 2002). As late as 2002, a new species of beaked whale was being reported (Delbout et al. 2002), in 2003 a new species of baleen whale was described (Wada et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Migratory Movements of Pygmy Blue Whales (Balaenoptera Musculus Brevicauda) Between
    SC/65b/Forinfo15 Migratory movements of pygmy blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) between Australia and Indonesia as revealed by satellite telemetry Michael C. Double1*, Virginia Andrews-Goff1, K. Curt S. Jenner2, Micheline-Nicole Jenner2, Sarah M. 1 3 1 Laverick , Trevor A. Branch and Nicholas J. Gales 1 Australian Marine Mammal Centre, Australian Antarctic Division, Kingston, Tasmania, Australia 2 Centre for Whale Research (Western Australia) Inc, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia 3 School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America * Corresponding author email: [email protected] Abstract In Australian waters during the austral summer, pygmy blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) occur predictably in two distinct feeding areas off western and southern Australia. As with other blue whale subspecies, outside the austral summer their distribution and movements are poorly understood. In order to describe the migratory movements of these whales, we present the satellite telemetry derived movements of eleven individuals tagged off western Australia over two years. Whales were tracked from between 8 and 308 days covering an average distance of 3,009 ± 892 km (mean ± se; range: 832 km – 14,101 km) at a rate of 21.94 ± 0.74 km per day (0.09 km – 455.80 km/day). Whales were tagged during March and April and ultimately migrated northwards post tag deployment with the exception of a single animal which remained in the vicinity of the Perth Canyon/Naturaliste Plateau for its eight day tracking period. The tagged whales travelled relatively near to the Australian coastline (100.0 ± 1.7 km) until reaching a prominent peninsula in the north-west of the state of Western Australia (North West Cape) after which they travelled offshore (238.0 ± 13.9 km).
    [Show full text]
  • Kawamura, A. a Review of Food of Balaenopterid Whales. 155-197
    A REVIEW OF FOOD OF BALAENOPTERID WHALES AKITO KAWAMURA Faculty of Fisheries, Hokkaido University, Hakodate, Hokkaido ABSTRACT In order to elucidate what species among so many kind of marine organ­ isms are likely to be consumed largely by the balaenopterid whales, the ex­ isting evidence on the food habits of baleen whales is reviewed. To meet with this primary purpose the report was mainly focussed on to describe qualitative aspects of food species having been known to date from the notable whaling grounds over the world rather than documenting quantitative subjects.' One of interesting facts noticed throughout the contribution was that there exists fairly intense diversity in the assembly of food species composition by regions such as; northern hemisphere vs. southern hemisphere, Pacific region vs. Atlantic region, inshore waters vs. offshore waters, embayed waters vs. open waters, where the former usually shows more div'ersed complexity than the latter. The fact however suggests that although the composition of food spe­ cies locally varies over the various whaling grounds, the food organisms as taxonomical groups are very similar one another even in locally isolated whal­ ing grounds when the food organisms and their assemblies are considered by the family or genus basis. In this connection many evidences given in the text may suggest that the balaenopterid whales as a whole may substantially live on quite simply compositioned forage assembly in comparison with tre­ mendous variety of organisms existing in the marine ecosystems. One of im­ portant aspects of the baleen whales food must be found in their characteris­ tics of forming dense swarms, schools, and/or aggregations in the shallower enough layers to be fed by the whales.
    [Show full text]
  • Argentina–Chile National Geographic Pristine Seas Expedition to the Antarctic Peninsula
    ARGENTINA–CHILE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PRISTINE SEAS EXPEDITION TO THE ANTARCTIC PENINSULA SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2019 1 Pristine Seas, National Geographic Society, Washington, DC, USA 2 Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii, Kaneohe, Hawaii, USA 3 Charles Darwin Research Station, Charles Darwin Foundation, Puerto Ayora, Galápagos, Ecuador 4 Centre d’Estudis Avancats de Blanes-CSIC, Blanes, Girona, Spain 5 Exploration Technology, National Geographic Society, Washington, DC, USA 6 Instituto Antártico Argentino/Dirección Nacional del Antártico, Cancilleria Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 7 Departamento Científico, Instituto Antártico Chileno, Punta Arenas, Chile 8 Fundación Ictiológica, Santiago, Chile 9 Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal (IDEA), CONICET- UNC and Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina 10 Laboratorio de Ictioplancton (LABITI), Escuela de Biología Marina, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y de Recursos Naturales, Universidad de Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Chile 11 The Pew Charitable Trusts & Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition, Washington DC CITATION: Friedlander AM1,2, Salinas de León P1,3, Ballesteros E4, Berkenpas E5, Capurro AP6, Cardenas CA7, Hüne M8, Lagger C9, Landaeta MF10, Santos MM6, Werner R11, Muñoz A1. 2019. Argentina– Chile–National Geographic Pristine Seas Expedition to the Antarctic Peninsula. Report to the governments of Argentina and Chile. National Geographic Pristine Seas, Washington, DC 84pp. TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . 3 INTRODUCTION . 9 1 .1 . Geology of the Antarctic Peninsula 1 .2 . Oceanography (Antarctic Circumpolar Current) 1 .3 . Marine Ecology 1 .4 . Antarctic Governance 1 .5 . Current Research by Chile and Argentina EXPLORING THE BIODIVERSITY OF THE ANTARCTIC PENINSULA: ONE OF THE LAST OCEAN WILDERNESSES .
    [Show full text]
  • Appendix 1. List of Abbreviations and Symbols
    Appendix 1. List of Abbreviations and Symbols Adgb Androglobin HPNS High-pressure nervous syndrome ADL Aerobic dive limit IAP Internal acoustic pinna atm Air pressure in units of atmo- J Joules spheres. 1 atm = 760 mmHg or kPa Kilopascal 101.3 kPa L Liter ATP Adenosine triphosphate LCT Lower critical temperature BAT Brown adipose tissue LDH Lactate dehydrogenase BMR Basal metabolic rate Mb Myoglobin CO2 Carbon dioxide MCH Mean corpuscular Hb Cd Nondimensional drag coefficient MCV Mean corpuscular volume CS Citrate synthase MLDB Monkey lips/dorsal bursae CSF Cerebral spinal fluid mmHg Millimeters of mercury; a unit Cybg Cytoglobin of pressure often used in physi- D Total drag (pressure drag plus ology when referring to the friction drag) pressure or partial pressure of a DCS Decompression sickness gas DPPC Dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine MPa Megapascal EEG Electroencephalogram Mya Millions of years ago FFA Free fatty acids Ngb Neuroglobin FPRs Formyl peptide receptors O2 Oxygen GbE Globin E OML Oxygen minimum layer GbX Globin X OR Odorant Receptors genes GbY Globin Y ρ Density of seawater (~1024 GFR Glomerular filtration rate kg m−3) Hb Hemoglobin P50 Oxygen partial pressure at 50% HC Conductive and convective heat saturation of Hb exchange Pa (Pascal) The SI (International System of Hct Hematocrit Units) unit of pressure HE Evaporative heat loss PCO2 Partial pressure of carbon dioxide HM Metabolic heat production PN2 Partial pressure of nitrogen HR Radiation heat exchange PO2 Partial pressure of oxygen HS Heat storage ORs Odorant receptors HOAD β-Hydroxyacyl coenzyme A Re Reynolds number dehydrogenase RMR Resting metabolic rate © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 R.
    [Show full text]
  • MYSTICETI - Baleen Whales
    click for previous page 40 Marine Mammals of the World 2.3 SUBORDER MYSTICETI - Baleen Whales MYSTICETI There are 4 families of baleen whales. Mysticetes are universally large (with females growing larger than males); the smallest is the pygmy right whale (c 7 m long), and the largest is the blue whale (the largest animal ever to live, up to 33 m or more in length and 160 t in weight). The baleen whales have a double blowhole, a symmetrical skull, and a sternum consisting of a single bone. In the mouth there is baleen (stiff plates of keratin), instead of teeth. Baleen whales are batch feeders, taking in great quantities of water in a single gulp, and then using the fringes on their baleen plates to filter small schooling fish or invertebrates from the water. Nearly all mysticetes make long-range seasonal migrations. 2.3.1 Guide to Families of Baleen Whales BALAENIDAE Right and Bowhead Whales (3 species in 2 genera) p. 42 llll The right and bowhead whales are large and chunky, with heads that comprise up to one-third of their body length. They lack a dorsal fin or any trace of a dorsal ridge. Overall, they tend to be far less streamlined than other baleen whales. Right and bowhead whales have developed a relatively passive skim-feeding technique, and tend to be slower than other whales. The baleen plates are the longest and have the finest fringes of the 4 mysticete families. Viewed in profile, the mouthline is extremely arched and the skull profile is highly convex; all 7 neck vertebrae are fused together.
    [Show full text]
  • NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS
    NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS T O F C E N O M M T M R E A R P C E E D DECEMBER 2009 U N A I C T I E R D E M ST A AT E S OF REVIEW OF THE EVIDENCE USED IN THE DESCRIPTION OF CURRENTLY RECOGNIZED CETACEAN SUBSPECIES William F. Perrin James G. Mead Robert L. Brownell, Jr. NOAA-TM-NMFS-SWFSC-450 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service Southwest Fisheries Science Center The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), organized in 1970, has evolved into an agency that establishes national policies and manages and conserves our oceanic, coastal, and atmospheric resources. An organizational element within NOAA, the Office of Fisheries is responsible for fisheries policy and the direction of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). In addition to its formal publications, the NMFS uses the NOAA Technical Memorandum series to issue informal scientific and technical publications when complete formal review and editorial processing are not appropriate or feasible. Documents within this series, however, reflect sound professional work and maybe referenced in the formal scientific and technical literature. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS ATMO SP ND HE This TM series is used for documentation and timely communication of preliminary results, interim reports, or special A RI C C I A purpose information. The TMs have not received complete formal review, editorial control, or detailed editing. N D A E M I C N O I S L T A R N A T O I I O T A N N U .
    [Show full text]
  • 04 Blue Mar Fish 61(1)
    The Great Whales: History and Status of Six Species Listed as Endangered Under the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973 Item Type article Authors Perry , Simona L.; DeMaster, Douglas P.; Silber , Gregory K. Download date 27/09/2021 05:17:25 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/1834/26411 The Blue Whale, Pygmy Blue Whale, and the Antarctic or True Blue Whale Introduction in the mid latitude waters of the south- within this ocean basin (Ohsumi and ern Indian Ocean and north of the Ant- Wada, 1974; Mizroch et al., 1984a; The Northern Hemisphere blue arctic Convergence is the smallest Barlow et al., 1994b; Braham3; Gilpatrick whale, Balaenoptera musculus muscu- (Ichihara, 1966; Omura et al., 1970; Kato et al.66). One such tentative stock desig- lus Linnaeus 1758; the pygmy blue et al., 1995; Gilpatrick et al.66). Distin- nation is for blue whales occuring dur- whale, Balaenoptera musculus brevi- guishing between the subspecies is dif- ing winter off Baja California and in the cauda Ichihara 1966; and the true blue ficult at sea and, therefore, information Gulf of California (Fig. 4). Photo-iden- whale65 , Balaenoptera musculus inter- on population size and distribution for tification studies have shown that indi- media Burmeister 1871, are members each subspecies may be unreliable. viduals from these concentrations travel of the Balaenopteridae family whose in summer and fall to waters off Cali- Distribution and Migration subspecies contain the largest animals fornia (Calambokidis et al.,1990; ever known to have lived on Earth Blue whale distribution is worldwide Barlow et al.,1997; Sears et al.67).
    [Show full text]
  • A Week in the Life of a Pygmy Blue Whale: Migratory Dive Depth Overlaps with Large Vessel Drafts Kylie Owen1* , Curt S
    Owen et al. Anim Biotelemetry (2016) 4:17 DOI 10.1186/s40317-016-0109-4 Animal Biotelemetry TELEMETRY CASE REPORT Open Access A week in the life of a pygmy blue whale: migratory dive depth overlaps with large vessel drafts Kylie Owen1* , Curt S. Jenner2, Micheline‑Nicole M. Jenner2 and Russel D. Andrews1,3 Abstract Background: The use of multi-sensor tags is increasingly providing insights into the behavior of whales. However, due to limitations in tag attachment duration and the transmission bandwidth of the Argos system, little is known about fine-scale diving behavior over time or the reliability of assigning behavioral states based on horizontal move‑ ment data for whale species. How whales use the water column while migrating has not been closely examined, yet the strategy used is likely to influence the vulnerability of whales to ship strike. Here we present information from a rare week long multi-sensor tag deployment on a pygmy blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) that pro‑ vided a great opportunity to examine the fine-scale diving behavior of a migrating whale and to compare the occur‑ rence of feeding lunges with assigned behavioral states. Results: The depth of migratory dives was highly consistent over time and unrelated to local bathymetry. The mean depth of migratory dives (~13 m when corrected for the tag position on the whale) was just below the threshold depth (12 m) that blue whales are predicted to travel below to remove the influence of wave drag at the surface. The whale spent 94 % of observed time and completed 99 % of observed migratory dives within the range of large container ship drafts (<24 m).
    [Show full text]
  • International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, 1946 Schedule Appendix A
    Notif. 2015/020 Annex (English only) Anexo (Unicamente en inglés) Annexe (Seulement en anglais) International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, 1946 Schedule As amended by the Commission at the 65th Meeting Portorož, Slovenia, September 2014 Notif. 2015/020 Annex (English only) Anexo (Unicamente en inglés) Annexe (Seulement en anglais) Notif. 2015/020 Annex (English only) Anexo (Unicamente en inglés) Annexe (Seulement en anglais) International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, 1946 Schedule EXPLANATORY NOTES The Schedule printed on the following pages contains the amendments made by the Commission at its 65th Meeting in September 2014. The amendments, which are shown in italic bold type, came into effect on 4 April 2015. In Tables 1, 2 and 3 unclassified stocks are indicated by a dash. Other positions in the Tables have been filled with a dot to aid legibility. Numbered footnotes are integral parts of the Schedule formally adopted by the Commission. Other footnotes are editorial. The Commission was informed in June 1992 by the ambassador in London that the membership of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling from 1948 is continued by the Russian Federation. The Commission recorded at its 39th (1987) meeting the fact that references to names of native inhabitants in Schedule paragraph 13(b)(4) would be for geographical purposes alone, so as not to be in contravention of Article V.2(c) of the Convention (Rep. int. Whal. Commn 38:21). I. INTERPRETATION B. Toothed whales 1. The following expressions have the meanings “toothed whale” means any whale which has teeth in the respectively assigned to them, that is to say: jaws.
    [Show full text]
  • The Blue Whale, Balaenoptera Musculus
    The Blue Whale, Balaenoptera musculus SALLY A. MIZROCH, DALE W. RICE, and JEFFREY M. BREIWICK Introduction pers. They are members of the family migrations each year, traveling from Balaenopteridae, all of which have winter grounds in low latitudes to The blue whale, Balaenoptera mus­ fringed baleen plates rather than summer feeding grounds in the Arctic culus (Linnaeus, 1758), is not only the teeth. Baleen whales graze through or Antarctic high latitudes. Since largest of the whales, it is also the swarms of small crustaceans known most whaling occurred on the high­ largest living animal, and may range as krill, and capture the krill in their latitude feeding grounds, the distribu­ in size to over 30 m (100 feet) and baleen as water is filtered through. tion of these whales in these areas is weigh up to 160 metric tons (t) Like most balaenopterids, blue whales fairly well known. (Mackintosh, 1942). Blue whales are exhibit no well defined social or In Antarctic waters, for example, entirely bluish-gray in color, except schooling structure, and in most of blue whales and minke whales, Bal­ for the white undersides of the flip- their range they are generally solitary aenoptera acutorostrata, are found in or found in small groups (Tomilin, the coldest waters closest to the ice 1957). edge, with fin, B. physalus, and sei The authors are with the National Marine whales, B. borealis, distributed, Mammal Laboratory, Northwest and Alaska Distribution and Migration Fisheries Center, National Marine Fisheries respectively, in somewhat lower Service, NOAA, 7600 Sand Point Way N.E., Blue whales are found in all oceans latitudes (Mackintosh, 1965).
    [Show full text]
  • Balaenoptera Musculus) in Offshore Waters of Southeastern Brazil Alessandra Rocha1*, Camila Marchetto1, Luiza Pacheco2 and Eduardo Resende Secchi3
    Rocha et al. Marine Biodiversity Records (2019) 12:2 https://doi.org/10.1186/s41200-019-0163-8 MARINERECORD Open Access Occurrence of blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) in offshore waters of southeastern Brazil Alessandra Rocha1*, Camila Marchetto1, Luiza Pacheco2 and Eduardo Resende Secchi3 Abstract At-sea sightings of blue whales, Balaenoptera musculus, in Brazil are rare. A mother-calf pair was observed in deep (2645 m) waters off southeastern Brazil (22°11′S 038°58′W); during a seismic survey in July 2014. It is unknown to which of the subspecies the animals sighted belong. The presence of a calf suggests that blue whales use deep waters off Brazil as calving or nursing grounds. The identification and conservation of wintering grounds for blue whale populations is important to promote the recovery of blue whales as their numbers were critically reduced as a result of commercial whaling. Keywords: Southwestern Atlantic Ocean, Brazil, Wintering ground, Distribution Background important implications not only for maintaining bio- Blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) were abundant in diversity but also for ensuring ecosystem integrity and the Southern Hemisphere prior to commercial whaling, functionality (Roman et al. 2014). which began in the early twentieth century. Three sub- In some areas, blue whales are difficult to study in view species of blue whales are recognized in the Southern of their low abundance and tendency to remain in deep off- Hemisphere: the pygmy blue whale (B. m. brevicauda), shore waters (Reeves et al. 2004). Little is known about the the Antarctic blue whale (B. m. intermedia) and an un- biogeography and life strategies of Southern Hemisphere named subspecies referred to as the Chilean blue whale blue whales.
    [Show full text]