Targeting fin whale conservation in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea: Insights on movements and behaviour from biologging and habitat modelling ...

• Main Authors: Panigada, Viola, Bodey, Thomas W., Friedlaender, Ari S., Druon, Jean-Noël, Huckstadt, Luis A., Pierantonio, Nino, Degollada, Eduard, Tort, Beatriu, Panigada, Simone
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2024
• Subjects: satellite telemetry; cetacean; environmental predictors; Foraging; marine protected areas MPAs; Particularly Sensitive Sea Area PSSA; FOS: Biological sciences; Balaenoptera physalus; Fin whale
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.h18931zsv; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.h18931zsv

Biologging and habitat modelling are key tools supporting the development of conservation measures and mitigating the effects of anthropogenic pressures on marine species. Here, we analysed satellite telemetry data and foraging habitat preferences in relation to chlorophyll-a productivity fronts to understand the movements and behaviour of endangered Mediterranean fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) during their spring-summer feeding aggregation in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea. Eleven individuals were equipped with Argos satellite transmitters across three years, with transmissions averaging 23.5 ± 11.3 days. Hidden Markov Models were used to identify foraging behaviour, revealing how individuals showed consistency in their use of seasonal core feeding grounds; this was supported by the distribution of potential foraging habitat. Importantly, tracked whales spent most of their time in areas with no explicit protected status within the study region. This highlights the need for enhanced time- and ... : The dataset contains raw location data from eleven fin whales equipped with ARGOS satellite transmitters in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea. ...