New Zealand southern right whale ( Eubalaena australis

• Published in: Polar Biology
• Main Authors: Carroll, Emma L., Riekkola, Leena, Andrews-Goff, Virginia, Baker, C. Scott, Constantine, Rochelle, Cole, Ros, Goetz, Kim, Harcourt, Robert, Lundquist, David, Meyer, Catherine, Ogle, Mike, O’Rorke, Richard, Patenaude, Nathalie, Russ, Rodney, Stuck, Esther, van der Reis, Aimee L., Zerbini, Alexandre N., Childerhouse, Simon
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: Migratory habitat; Anthropogenic impacts; Human impacts; Austral; New Zealand; Southern Ocean; Auckland Islands; Polar Biology; Southern Right Whale
• Online Access: https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/03ddc225-e8ad-4bd9-9cd9-64755030cfdd; https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-022-03076-7; https://research-management.mq.edu.au/ws/files/217073631/212947320.pdf; http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85137290386&partnerID=8YFLogxK

Changes in habitat availability and prey abundance are predicted to adversely influence survival and reproduction of wildlife in the Southern Ocean. Some populations of southern right whale (SRW; Eubalaena australis ) are showing dramatic changes in habitat use. Surveys were undertaken in the austral winters of 2020 and 2021 at the key nursery and socialising ground for New Zealand SRWs: Port Ross, Auckland Islands, with 548 encounters and 599 skin biopsy samples collected. Data from these two surveys spanned peak periods of use and were used to test the hypothesis there have been shifts in the phenology, demographic composition and behaviour of SRWs using the Auckland Islands over the past three decades. The behavioural phenology and demographic composition of SRW resembles that observed in the 1990s. In contrast, the proportion of groups containing cow-calf pairs increased from 20% in the 1998 survey to 50% in 2020/21. These changes are consistent with a growing population undergoing strong recruitment, not limited by food resources. Continued use of Port Ross by all SRW demographic classes confirms this as key habitat for SRW in New Zealand waters, and we support increased enforcement of existing management measures to reduce whale-vessel interactions in this remote subantarctic archipelago.