Allometry and morphometry of blue whales photographed in the Gulf of California: insights into subspecies taxonomy in the Eastern North Pacific
The Eastern North Pacific (ENP) blue whale population is considered the most recovered worldwide. Despite this, its subspecies taxonomy is yet to be resolved. A previous morphological analysis using vertical aerial photogrammetry on blue whales from the ENP suggested that they are morphologically si...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:01f08c0e5c4449db902b313312120931 2023-05-15T13:56:15+02:00 Allometry and morphometry of blue whales photographed in the Gulf of California: insights into subspecies taxonomy in the Eastern North Pacific Ortega-Ortiz, CD Gómez-Muñoz, VM Gendron, D 2018-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00910 https://doaj.org/article/01f08c0e5c4449db902b313312120931 EN eng Inter-Research https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v37/p183-194/ https://doaj.org/toc/1863-5407 https://doaj.org/toc/1613-4796 1863-5407 1613-4796 doi:10.3354/esr00910 https://doaj.org/article/01f08c0e5c4449db902b313312120931 Endangered Species Research, Vol 37, Pp 183-194 (2018) Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00910 2022-12-31T01:54:01Z The Eastern North Pacific (ENP) blue whale population is considered the most recovered worldwide. Despite this, its subspecies taxonomy is yet to be resolved. A previous morphological analysis using vertical aerial photogrammetry on blue whales from the ENP suggested that they are morphologically similar to the Indian Ocean pygmy blue whale Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda. This subspecies has been discriminated from the Antarctic blue whale B. musculus intermedia by a shorter total length and a proportionally shorter caudal peduncle (from dorsal fin to notch of flukes), a difficult morphological characteristic to measure at sea. In this study, we present allometric and morphometric analyses of the caudal peduncle proportion in relation to total length based on photogrammetric data from whales observed in the Gulf of California, Mexico (a winter ground for the ENP population), to compare with caudal peduncle measurements available from both Southern Hemisphere subspecies. Throughout allometric analysis, the caudal peduncle showed negative growth as the individual got older, indicating that this body part differs according to age-class. Our morphometric analysis indicated that the caudal peduncle proportion of these blue whales was significantly larger than that of the Indian Ocean pygmy blue whale. The integration of our results with the previous photogrammetry study suggests that more than one morphotype inhabits the ENP, and highlights gaps in our knowledge on the taxonomy of these whales. The inexpensive photogrammetric technique used in this study could be easily combined with other studies to better understand and protect these endangered whale populations. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Balaenoptera musculus Blue whale Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Indian Pacific The Antarctic Endangered Species Research 37 183 194 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 |
spellingShingle |
Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 Ortega-Ortiz, CD Gómez-Muñoz, VM Gendron, D Allometry and morphometry of blue whales photographed in the Gulf of California: insights into subspecies taxonomy in the Eastern North Pacific |
topic_facet |
Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 |
description |
The Eastern North Pacific (ENP) blue whale population is considered the most recovered worldwide. Despite this, its subspecies taxonomy is yet to be resolved. A previous morphological analysis using vertical aerial photogrammetry on blue whales from the ENP suggested that they are morphologically similar to the Indian Ocean pygmy blue whale Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda. This subspecies has been discriminated from the Antarctic blue whale B. musculus intermedia by a shorter total length and a proportionally shorter caudal peduncle (from dorsal fin to notch of flukes), a difficult morphological characteristic to measure at sea. In this study, we present allometric and morphometric analyses of the caudal peduncle proportion in relation to total length based on photogrammetric data from whales observed in the Gulf of California, Mexico (a winter ground for the ENP population), to compare with caudal peduncle measurements available from both Southern Hemisphere subspecies. Throughout allometric analysis, the caudal peduncle showed negative growth as the individual got older, indicating that this body part differs according to age-class. Our morphometric analysis indicated that the caudal peduncle proportion of these blue whales was significantly larger than that of the Indian Ocean pygmy blue whale. The integration of our results with the previous photogrammetry study suggests that more than one morphotype inhabits the ENP, and highlights gaps in our knowledge on the taxonomy of these whales. The inexpensive photogrammetric technique used in this study could be easily combined with other studies to better understand and protect these endangered whale populations. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ortega-Ortiz, CD Gómez-Muñoz, VM Gendron, D |
author_facet |
Ortega-Ortiz, CD Gómez-Muñoz, VM Gendron, D |
author_sort |
Ortega-Ortiz, CD |
title |
Allometry and morphometry of blue whales photographed in the Gulf of California: insights into subspecies taxonomy in the Eastern North Pacific |
title_short |
Allometry and morphometry of blue whales photographed in the Gulf of California: insights into subspecies taxonomy in the Eastern North Pacific |
title_full |
Allometry and morphometry of blue whales photographed in the Gulf of California: insights into subspecies taxonomy in the Eastern North Pacific |
title_fullStr |
Allometry and morphometry of blue whales photographed in the Gulf of California: insights into subspecies taxonomy in the Eastern North Pacific |
title_full_unstemmed |
Allometry and morphometry of blue whales photographed in the Gulf of California: insights into subspecies taxonomy in the Eastern North Pacific |
title_sort |
allometry and morphometry of blue whales photographed in the gulf of california: insights into subspecies taxonomy in the eastern north pacific |
publisher |
Inter-Research |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00910 https://doaj.org/article/01f08c0e5c4449db902b313312120931 |
geographic |
Antarctic Indian Pacific The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Indian Pacific The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Balaenoptera musculus Blue whale |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Balaenoptera musculus Blue whale |
op_source |
Endangered Species Research, Vol 37, Pp 183-194 (2018) |
op_relation |
https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v37/p183-194/ https://doaj.org/toc/1863-5407 https://doaj.org/toc/1613-4796 1863-5407 1613-4796 doi:10.3354/esr00910 https://doaj.org/article/01f08c0e5c4449db902b313312120931 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00910 |
container_title |
Endangered Species Research |
container_volume |
37 |
container_start_page |
183 |
op_container_end_page |
194 |
_version_ |
1766263620675567616 |