Data on biology and exploitation of West Atlantic sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus (Cetacea: Physeteridae) off the coast of Paraíba, Brazil
This study analyzes data on the biology of sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus, 1758, obtained between 1965 and 1980 by the COPESBRA at the Costinha Whaling Station, Paraíba, Brazil. The data come from the log books of the whaling ships and from the spreadsheets containing biological infor...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1590/S1984-46702009000400011 https://doaj.org/article/db02c0c020cd4ffc9ec645b261a25305 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:db02c0c020cd4ffc9ec645b261a25305 2023-05-15T17:59:22+02:00 Data on biology and exploitation of West Atlantic sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus (Cetacea: Physeteridae) off the coast of Paraíba, Brazil Gustavo Toledo Alfredo Langguth 2009-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1590/S1984-46702009000400011 https://doaj.org/article/db02c0c020cd4ffc9ec645b261a25305 EN eng Pensoft Publishers http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1984-46702009000400011 https://doaj.org/toc/1984-4670 https://doaj.org/toc/1984-4689 doi:10.1590/S1984-46702009000400011 1984-4670 1984-4689 https://doaj.org/article/db02c0c020cd4ffc9ec645b261a25305 Zoologia (Curitiba), Vol 26, Iss 4, Pp 663-673 (2009) Biological data Costinha Whaling Station sperm whale Zoology QL1-991 article 2009 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1590/S1984-46702009000400011 2022-12-31T15:58:21Z This study analyzes data on the biology of sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus, 1758, obtained between 1965 and 1980 by the COPESBRA at the Costinha Whaling Station, Paraíba, Brazil. The data come from the log books of the whaling ships and from the spreadsheets containing biological information filled out by employees of the SUDEPE at the flensing plan of the whaling station. The catches occurred from June to December, in an area delimited by 06º22'-07º52'S and 33º26'-34º58'W. A total of 641 sperm whales were killed in this period. The average sex ratio was 2.05 females to each male. The mean largest frequency of females was recorded in the first and the last months of the season, and that of males in July/August. The mean total length (TL) of males was 11.4 m (minimum 7.2 m, maximum 17.6 m). The females had a mean TL of 10.1 m (minimum 8.6 m, maximum 12.9 m). A decrease was observed in the TL of females along the years. Fetuses were observed in 8.3% of the catches. They had TL between 0.24 and 4.3 m. All sperm whales had food in their stomachs, showing that they feed in the area. As in other places north to the 40ºS, there was a higher frequency of females than males. The difference between the time of maximum catch of males and females may reflect a temporal segregation in the arrival of sperm whales in the area. The reproductive activity of sperm whales in these tropical waters occurs year-round. Article in Journal/Newspaper Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Flensing ENVELOPE(-45.674,-45.674,-60.690,-60.690) Zoologia (Curitiba) 26 4 663 673 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Biological data Costinha Whaling Station sperm whale Zoology QL1-991 |
spellingShingle |
Biological data Costinha Whaling Station sperm whale Zoology QL1-991 Gustavo Toledo Alfredo Langguth Data on biology and exploitation of West Atlantic sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus (Cetacea: Physeteridae) off the coast of Paraíba, Brazil |
topic_facet |
Biological data Costinha Whaling Station sperm whale Zoology QL1-991 |
description |
This study analyzes data on the biology of sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus, 1758, obtained between 1965 and 1980 by the COPESBRA at the Costinha Whaling Station, Paraíba, Brazil. The data come from the log books of the whaling ships and from the spreadsheets containing biological information filled out by employees of the SUDEPE at the flensing plan of the whaling station. The catches occurred from June to December, in an area delimited by 06º22'-07º52'S and 33º26'-34º58'W. A total of 641 sperm whales were killed in this period. The average sex ratio was 2.05 females to each male. The mean largest frequency of females was recorded in the first and the last months of the season, and that of males in July/August. The mean total length (TL) of males was 11.4 m (minimum 7.2 m, maximum 17.6 m). The females had a mean TL of 10.1 m (minimum 8.6 m, maximum 12.9 m). A decrease was observed in the TL of females along the years. Fetuses were observed in 8.3% of the catches. They had TL between 0.24 and 4.3 m. All sperm whales had food in their stomachs, showing that they feed in the area. As in other places north to the 40ºS, there was a higher frequency of females than males. The difference between the time of maximum catch of males and females may reflect a temporal segregation in the arrival of sperm whales in the area. The reproductive activity of sperm whales in these tropical waters occurs year-round. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Gustavo Toledo Alfredo Langguth |
author_facet |
Gustavo Toledo Alfredo Langguth |
author_sort |
Gustavo Toledo |
title |
Data on biology and exploitation of West Atlantic sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus (Cetacea: Physeteridae) off the coast of Paraíba, Brazil |
title_short |
Data on biology and exploitation of West Atlantic sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus (Cetacea: Physeteridae) off the coast of Paraíba, Brazil |
title_full |
Data on biology and exploitation of West Atlantic sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus (Cetacea: Physeteridae) off the coast of Paraíba, Brazil |
title_fullStr |
Data on biology and exploitation of West Atlantic sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus (Cetacea: Physeteridae) off the coast of Paraíba, Brazil |
title_full_unstemmed |
Data on biology and exploitation of West Atlantic sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus (Cetacea: Physeteridae) off the coast of Paraíba, Brazil |
title_sort |
data on biology and exploitation of west atlantic sperm whales, physeter macrocephalus (cetacea: physeteridae) off the coast of paraíba, brazil |
publisher |
Pensoft Publishers |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1984-46702009000400011 https://doaj.org/article/db02c0c020cd4ffc9ec645b261a25305 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-45.674,-45.674,-60.690,-60.690) |
geographic |
Flensing |
geographic_facet |
Flensing |
genre |
Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale |
genre_facet |
Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale |
op_source |
Zoologia (Curitiba), Vol 26, Iss 4, Pp 663-673 (2009) |
op_relation |
http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1984-46702009000400011 https://doaj.org/toc/1984-4670 https://doaj.org/toc/1984-4689 doi:10.1590/S1984-46702009000400011 1984-4670 1984-4689 https://doaj.org/article/db02c0c020cd4ffc9ec645b261a25305 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1590/S1984-46702009000400011 |
container_title |
Zoologia (Curitiba) |
container_volume |
26 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
663 |
op_container_end_page |
673 |
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1766168166522683392 |