Species identity and human consumption of beaked whales in the Gilbert Islands, Republic of Kiribati
Abstract We investigated the species identity and local use of cetaceans on the G ilbert I slands, R epublic of K iribati. Working with the K iribati M inistry of E nvironment, L ands and A gricultural D evelopment and F isheries D ivision, we visited the islands of T arawa, T abiteuea ( N orth), B...
| Published in: | Animal Conservation |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2013
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/acv.12039 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Facv.12039 https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/acv.12039 |
| Summary: | Abstract We investigated the species identity and local use of cetaceans on the G ilbert I slands, R epublic of K iribati. Working with the K iribati M inistry of E nvironment, L ands and A gricultural D evelopment and F isheries D ivision, we visited the islands of T arawa, T abiteuea ( N orth), B utaritari and O notoa from J une to J uly 2009, and collected 24 bones, bone fragments or teeth attributed to recent strandings. The mitochondrial DNA control region or cytochrome b was successfully amplified from 12 bones or bone fragments and used to identify four species: M esoplodon sp . representing a new species or subspecies of beaked whale, the dense‐beaked whale M esoplodon densirostris , C uvier's beaked whale Z iphius cavirostris and the pygmy sperm whale K ogia breviceps . This is the first confirmed identification of the dense‐beaked, C uvier's and pygmy sperm whales from the G ilbert I slands. All specimens were reportedly used for human consumption. |
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