A current affair: entanglement of humpback whales in coastal shark‐control nets
Abstract Shark‐control nets pose an entanglement risk to East Australian humpback whales during their annual northward and southward migrations between the Southern Ocean and the Coral Sea. Rates of whale entanglement exhibit seasonal and interannual variation, suggesting that an understanding of th...
Published in: | Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation |
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Language: | English |
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crwiley:10.1002/rse2.133 2024-06-23T07:56:57+00:00 A current affair: entanglement of humpback whales in coastal shark‐control nets Bolin, Jessica A. Schoeman, David S. Pizà‐Roca, Carme Scales, Kylie L. Pettorelli, Nathalie Quick, Nicola 2019 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/rse2.133 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/rse2.133 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/rse2.133 https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/rse2.133 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation volume 6, issue 2, page 119-128 ISSN 2056-3485 2056-3485 journal-article 2019 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/rse2.133 2024-06-06T04:21:32Z Abstract Shark‐control nets pose an entanglement risk to East Australian humpback whales during their annual northward and southward migrations between the Southern Ocean and the Coral Sea. Rates of whale entanglement exhibit seasonal and interannual variation, suggesting that an understanding of the influence of variability in the broad‐scale physical environment along the migratory route would be useful in assessing risk of entanglement. This study provides a quantitative spatio‐temporal analysis of the probability of whale entanglement in shark‐control nets relative to the position and characteristics of the East Australian Current ( EAC ), the dominant oceanographic feature of the region. We use satellite‐derived sea‐surface temperature, and outputs from a data‐assimilating ocean model, to develop multivariate, data‐driven algorithms for detecting the edge of the EAC using Principal Components Analysis. We use outputs from these algorithms to model the likelihood of humpback entanglements in South‐east Queensland. We find that the likelihood of entanglement increases when the EAC edge is locally less structured and closer to shore in the vicinity of the corresponding net, or when the EAC is well resolved over the entire study domain. Our results suggest that migrating humpbacks use the gradient in physical characteristics that marks the EAC inner edge as a navigational aid. Thus, when the EAC inner edge encroaches on the coast, the whales’ migration range is compressed into nearshore waters, increasing the risk of entanglement. Our findings can help predict periods of elevated entanglement risk, which could underpin a more data‐driven approach to the management of shark‐control programs, and other activities that involve static fishing gear. Article in Journal/Newspaper Southern Ocean Wiley Online Library Queensland Southern Ocean Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation 6 2 119 128 |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Shark‐control nets pose an entanglement risk to East Australian humpback whales during their annual northward and southward migrations between the Southern Ocean and the Coral Sea. Rates of whale entanglement exhibit seasonal and interannual variation, suggesting that an understanding of the influence of variability in the broad‐scale physical environment along the migratory route would be useful in assessing risk of entanglement. This study provides a quantitative spatio‐temporal analysis of the probability of whale entanglement in shark‐control nets relative to the position and characteristics of the East Australian Current ( EAC ), the dominant oceanographic feature of the region. We use satellite‐derived sea‐surface temperature, and outputs from a data‐assimilating ocean model, to develop multivariate, data‐driven algorithms for detecting the edge of the EAC using Principal Components Analysis. We use outputs from these algorithms to model the likelihood of humpback entanglements in South‐east Queensland. We find that the likelihood of entanglement increases when the EAC edge is locally less structured and closer to shore in the vicinity of the corresponding net, or when the EAC is well resolved over the entire study domain. Our results suggest that migrating humpbacks use the gradient in physical characteristics that marks the EAC inner edge as a navigational aid. Thus, when the EAC inner edge encroaches on the coast, the whales’ migration range is compressed into nearshore waters, increasing the risk of entanglement. Our findings can help predict periods of elevated entanglement risk, which could underpin a more data‐driven approach to the management of shark‐control programs, and other activities that involve static fishing gear. |
author2 |
Pettorelli, Nathalie Quick, Nicola |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bolin, Jessica A. Schoeman, David S. Pizà‐Roca, Carme Scales, Kylie L. |
spellingShingle |
Bolin, Jessica A. Schoeman, David S. Pizà‐Roca, Carme Scales, Kylie L. A current affair: entanglement of humpback whales in coastal shark‐control nets |
author_facet |
Bolin, Jessica A. Schoeman, David S. Pizà‐Roca, Carme Scales, Kylie L. |
author_sort |
Bolin, Jessica A. |
title |
A current affair: entanglement of humpback whales in coastal shark‐control nets |
title_short |
A current affair: entanglement of humpback whales in coastal shark‐control nets |
title_full |
A current affair: entanglement of humpback whales in coastal shark‐control nets |
title_fullStr |
A current affair: entanglement of humpback whales in coastal shark‐control nets |
title_full_unstemmed |
A current affair: entanglement of humpback whales in coastal shark‐control nets |
title_sort |
current affair: entanglement of humpback whales in coastal shark‐control nets |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/rse2.133 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/rse2.133 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/rse2.133 https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/rse2.133 |
geographic |
Queensland Southern Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Queensland Southern Ocean |
genre |
Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Southern Ocean |
op_source |
Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation volume 6, issue 2, page 119-128 ISSN 2056-3485 2056-3485 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/rse2.133 |
container_title |
Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
119 |
op_container_end_page |
128 |
_version_ |
1802650341847597056 |