Attraction of dwarf minke whales Balaenoptera acutorostrata to vessels and swimmers in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area – the management challenges of an inquisitive whale
A diffuse aggregation of dwarf minke whales occurs in the northern Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA) during the austral winter months. The whales voluntarily approach dive tourism vessels and their passengers and maintain contact for prolonged periods (mean ± SE = 3.9 ± 0.57 h). We rep...
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Online Access: | https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/18909/1/Mangott_Marsh.pdf |
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ftjamescook:oai:researchonline.jcu.edu.au:18909 2024-02-11T10:02:18+01:00 Attraction of dwarf minke whales Balaenoptera acutorostrata to vessels and swimmers in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area – the management challenges of an inquisitive whale Mangott, Arnold Hubert Birtles, Robert Alastair Marsh, Helene 2011 application/pdf https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/18909/1/Mangott_Marsh.pdf unknown Routledge http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14724041003690468 https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/18909/ https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/18909/1/Mangott_Marsh.pdf Mangott, Arnold Hubert, Birtles, Robert Alastair, and Marsh, Helene (2011) Attraction of dwarf minke whales Balaenoptera acutorostrata to vessels and swimmers in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area – the management challenges of an inquisitive whale. Journal of Ecotourism, 10 (1). pp. 64-76. restricted Article PeerReviewed 2011 ftjamescook https://doi.org/10.1080/14724041003690468 2024-01-22T23:27:50Z A diffuse aggregation of dwarf minke whales occurs in the northern Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA) during the austral winter months. The whales voluntarily approach dive tourism vessels and their passengers and maintain contact for prolonged periods (mean ± SE = 3.9 ± 0.57 h). We report on 521 industry-wide dwarf minke whale encounters (2006–2007) and provide detailed analyses of 20 encounters in 2006 and 18 in 2007 from the vessel Undersea Explorer. The whales surfaced significantly more often within a 60 m radius of the vessel than expected, and aggregated especially around swimmers. The inquisitiveness of the whales creates several management issues including compliance difficulties for non-swim-with whales endorsed operations. The whales' close and prolonged association with vessels and swimmers indicates a strong attraction of these animals to the stimulus and raises concerns about the wellbeing of the whales and the swimming participants. Preventing these encounters would be difficult without banning dive tourism in the GBRWHA for several months. Several management strategies are highlighted and broader education is recommended to reduce the potential of adverse impacts on the whales. Article in Journal/Newspaper Balaenoptera acutorostrata minke whale James Cook University, Australia: ResearchOnline@JCU Austral Journal of Ecotourism 10 1 64 76 |
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James Cook University, Australia: ResearchOnline@JCU |
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ftjamescook |
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description |
A diffuse aggregation of dwarf minke whales occurs in the northern Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA) during the austral winter months. The whales voluntarily approach dive tourism vessels and their passengers and maintain contact for prolonged periods (mean ± SE = 3.9 ± 0.57 h). We report on 521 industry-wide dwarf minke whale encounters (2006–2007) and provide detailed analyses of 20 encounters in 2006 and 18 in 2007 from the vessel Undersea Explorer. The whales surfaced significantly more often within a 60 m radius of the vessel than expected, and aggregated especially around swimmers. The inquisitiveness of the whales creates several management issues including compliance difficulties for non-swim-with whales endorsed operations. The whales' close and prolonged association with vessels and swimmers indicates a strong attraction of these animals to the stimulus and raises concerns about the wellbeing of the whales and the swimming participants. Preventing these encounters would be difficult without banning dive tourism in the GBRWHA for several months. Several management strategies are highlighted and broader education is recommended to reduce the potential of adverse impacts on the whales. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mangott, Arnold Hubert Birtles, Robert Alastair Marsh, Helene |
spellingShingle |
Mangott, Arnold Hubert Birtles, Robert Alastair Marsh, Helene Attraction of dwarf minke whales Balaenoptera acutorostrata to vessels and swimmers in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area – the management challenges of an inquisitive whale |
author_facet |
Mangott, Arnold Hubert Birtles, Robert Alastair Marsh, Helene |
author_sort |
Mangott, Arnold Hubert |
title |
Attraction of dwarf minke whales Balaenoptera acutorostrata to vessels and swimmers in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area – the management challenges of an inquisitive whale |
title_short |
Attraction of dwarf minke whales Balaenoptera acutorostrata to vessels and swimmers in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area – the management challenges of an inquisitive whale |
title_full |
Attraction of dwarf minke whales Balaenoptera acutorostrata to vessels and swimmers in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area – the management challenges of an inquisitive whale |
title_fullStr |
Attraction of dwarf minke whales Balaenoptera acutorostrata to vessels and swimmers in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area – the management challenges of an inquisitive whale |
title_full_unstemmed |
Attraction of dwarf minke whales Balaenoptera acutorostrata to vessels and swimmers in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area – the management challenges of an inquisitive whale |
title_sort |
attraction of dwarf minke whales balaenoptera acutorostrata to vessels and swimmers in the great barrier reef world heritage area – the management challenges of an inquisitive whale |
publisher |
Routledge |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/18909/1/Mangott_Marsh.pdf |
geographic |
Austral |
geographic_facet |
Austral |
genre |
Balaenoptera acutorostrata minke whale |
genre_facet |
Balaenoptera acutorostrata minke whale |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14724041003690468 https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/18909/ https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/18909/1/Mangott_Marsh.pdf Mangott, Arnold Hubert, Birtles, Robert Alastair, and Marsh, Helene (2011) Attraction of dwarf minke whales Balaenoptera acutorostrata to vessels and swimmers in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area – the management challenges of an inquisitive whale. Journal of Ecotourism, 10 (1). pp. 64-76. |
op_rights |
restricted |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1080/14724041003690468 |
container_title |
Journal of Ecotourism |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
64 |
op_container_end_page |
76 |
_version_ |
1790598240397164544 |