SC/59/IA21 Preliminary results of aerial surveys around Elephant Island and the

• Main Author: South Shetland Islands
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antarctic; Elephant Island; Joinville; South Shetland Islands; Antarc*; Antarctic Minke whale; Balaenoptera bonaerensis; Balaenoptera borealis; Balaenoptera physalus; baleen whale; Fin whale; Humpback Whale; minke whale; Sei Whale; toothed whale
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.424.7865; http://www.iwcoffice.co.uk/_documents/sci_com/SC59docs/sc-59-ia21.pdf

programme from board RV ‘Polarstern ’ (Polarstern ANT 23-8) in the Elephant Island, the South Shetland Islands and Joinville – D’Urville Islands region. This allowed for the opportunity to conduct a helicopter based cetacean survey in the same area parallel to the fish work. A total of 2570nm were covered on survey effort with the helicopter. During this time a total of 39 sightings with 91 animals were recorded. The sightings included four different baleen whale species: humpback whale (Megeptera novaeangliae), fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) and Antarctic minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis). Using the helicopter in addition with digital photography allowed the identification of three different beaked whale species: southern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon planifrons), strap-toothed whale (Mesoplodon layardii) and Gray’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon grayi). The different cetacean species showed a clear spatial segregation in the study area. Humpback whales occurred in a mean water depth of 254m, whereas fin whales occurred on the outer shelf and on the slope at a mean depth of 1106. Beaked whales were sighted in much deeper waters with a mean depth of 3198m.