POPULATION SIZE

• Main Authors: Stock Definition, Geographic Range
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2000
• Subjects: Minimum Population Estimate; Barros; Caldwell; North Atlantic; Sperm whale
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.294.6950; http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdfs/sars/ao2000whpy-wn.pdf

The pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps) appears to be distributed worldw ide in temperate to tropical waters (Caldwell and Caldwell 1989). Sightings of these animals in the Western North Atlantic occur primarily along the continental shelf edge and over the deeper waters off the continental shelf (Hansen et al. 1994; Southeast Fisheries Science Center unpublished data). Pygmy sperm whales and dwarf sperm whales are difficult to distinguish and sightings of either species are often categorized as Kogia sp. There is no information on stock differentiation for the Atlantic population. In a recent study using hematological and stable-isotope data, Barros et al. (1998) speculated that dwarf sperm whales may have a more pelagic distribution than pygmy sperm whales, and/or dive deeper during feeding bouts.