Recent occurrence of marine mammals and sea turtles off Angola and first report of right whales since the whaling era
Abstract Marine megafauna occurrence was recorded in the deep-sea region bordering the abyssal plain ~400 km north-west of Luanda, Angola. The survey took place during an Environmental Baseline Study (EBS), prior to drilling exploration activities, with the goal of characterizing the habitat and bio...
Published in: | Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom |
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Cambridge University Press (CUP)
2023
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315422001084 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315422001084 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0025315422001084 2024-06-16T07:40:36+00:00 Recent occurrence of marine mammals and sea turtles off Angola and first report of right whales since the whaling era Whitt, Amy D. Warde, Ann M. Blair, Lenisa Deslarzes, Ken J. P. Chaineau, Claude-Henri 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315422001084 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315422001084 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom volume 103 ISSN 0025-3154 1469-7769 journal-article 2023 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0025315422001084 2024-05-22T12:55:01Z Abstract Marine megafauna occurrence was recorded in the deep-sea region bordering the abyssal plain ~400 km north-west of Luanda, Angola. The survey took place during an Environmental Baseline Study (EBS), prior to drilling exploration activities, with the goal of characterizing the habitat and biodiversity of the region. Offshore shipboard surveys were conducted during September 2018 in water depths ranging from 2350–3850 m. We recorded daytime sightings of marine mammals and sea turtles and at night made audio recordings using passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) methods focused on capturing the sounds of vocalizing marine mammals. A variety of species were visually detected, including the humpback whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae ), sperm whale ( Physeter macrocephalus ), common dolphin ( Delphinus spp.), striped dolphin ( Stenella coeruleoalba ), Atlantic spotted dolphin ( S. frontalis ), and olive ridley turtle ( Lepidochelys olivacea ). Acoustic click bouts similar to those made by several odontocete species, possibly including beaked whales, were recorded within the 25–48 kHz range. The humpback whale was the most frequently sighted species, accounting for 56% of mammal sightings, indicating a potential far offshore migratory habitat in this region. Most notably, right whales (probable Eubalaena australis ) were visually observed. This is the first confirmed record of right whales in Angolan waters since the early 1900s. As development expands in this offshore region, these data can usefully inform future monitoring and mitigation strategies focused on minimizing impacts to wildlife. Article in Journal/Newspaper Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale Cambridge University Press Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 103 |
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Cambridge University Press |
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English |
description |
Abstract Marine megafauna occurrence was recorded in the deep-sea region bordering the abyssal plain ~400 km north-west of Luanda, Angola. The survey took place during an Environmental Baseline Study (EBS), prior to drilling exploration activities, with the goal of characterizing the habitat and biodiversity of the region. Offshore shipboard surveys were conducted during September 2018 in water depths ranging from 2350–3850 m. We recorded daytime sightings of marine mammals and sea turtles and at night made audio recordings using passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) methods focused on capturing the sounds of vocalizing marine mammals. A variety of species were visually detected, including the humpback whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae ), sperm whale ( Physeter macrocephalus ), common dolphin ( Delphinus spp.), striped dolphin ( Stenella coeruleoalba ), Atlantic spotted dolphin ( S. frontalis ), and olive ridley turtle ( Lepidochelys olivacea ). Acoustic click bouts similar to those made by several odontocete species, possibly including beaked whales, were recorded within the 25–48 kHz range. The humpback whale was the most frequently sighted species, accounting for 56% of mammal sightings, indicating a potential far offshore migratory habitat in this region. Most notably, right whales (probable Eubalaena australis ) were visually observed. This is the first confirmed record of right whales in Angolan waters since the early 1900s. As development expands in this offshore region, these data can usefully inform future monitoring and mitigation strategies focused on minimizing impacts to wildlife. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Whitt, Amy D. Warde, Ann M. Blair, Lenisa Deslarzes, Ken J. P. Chaineau, Claude-Henri |
spellingShingle |
Whitt, Amy D. Warde, Ann M. Blair, Lenisa Deslarzes, Ken J. P. Chaineau, Claude-Henri Recent occurrence of marine mammals and sea turtles off Angola and first report of right whales since the whaling era |
author_facet |
Whitt, Amy D. Warde, Ann M. Blair, Lenisa Deslarzes, Ken J. P. Chaineau, Claude-Henri |
author_sort |
Whitt, Amy D. |
title |
Recent occurrence of marine mammals and sea turtles off Angola and first report of right whales since the whaling era |
title_short |
Recent occurrence of marine mammals and sea turtles off Angola and first report of right whales since the whaling era |
title_full |
Recent occurrence of marine mammals and sea turtles off Angola and first report of right whales since the whaling era |
title_fullStr |
Recent occurrence of marine mammals and sea turtles off Angola and first report of right whales since the whaling era |
title_full_unstemmed |
Recent occurrence of marine mammals and sea turtles off Angola and first report of right whales since the whaling era |
title_sort |
recent occurrence of marine mammals and sea turtles off angola and first report of right whales since the whaling era |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315422001084 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315422001084 |
genre |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale |
genre_facet |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale |
op_source |
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom volume 103 ISSN 0025-3154 1469-7769 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0025315422001084 |
container_title |
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom |
container_volume |
103 |
_version_ |
1802007566298906624 |