Harbor Porpoise Aggregations in the Salish Sea
Harbor porpoises are typically seen in small groups of 1–3 individuals, with aggregations of 20+ individuals treated as rare events. Since the 1990s, the harbor porpoise population in the Salish Sea has seen a significant recovery, and an increased number of observed aggregations that exceed the mor...
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ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/2673-1924/4/3/19/ 2023-09-05T13:22:36+02:00 Harbor Porpoise Aggregations in the Salish Sea Dave Anderson Laurie Shuster Cindy R. Elliser Katrina MacIver Erin Johns Gless Johannes Krieger Anna Hall agris 2023-08-08 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.3390/oceans4030019 EN eng Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/oceans4030019 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Oceans; Volume 4; Issue 3; Pages: 269-285 harbor porpoise aggregation social behavior Phocoena phocoena foraging behavior large group transboundary community science Salish Sea Text 2023 ftmdpi https://doi.org/10.3390/oceans4030019 2023-08-13T23:52:13Z Harbor porpoises are typically seen in small groups of 1–3 individuals, with aggregations of 20+ individuals treated as rare events. Since the 1990s, the harbor porpoise population in the Salish Sea has seen a significant recovery, and an increased number of observed aggregations that exceed the more usual small group sizes has been observed in recent years. By combining the observational data of United States and Canadian research organizations, community scientists, and whale watch captains or naturalists, we demonstrate that harbor porpoise aggregations appear to be more common than previously known, with 160 aggregations documented in 2022 alone. Behavioral data also indicate that foraging behaviors are common and social behaviors, like mating, are seen more often during these encounters compared to small groups. Other behaviors that are considered to be rare or unknown were also observed during these encounters, including cooperative foraging and vessel approach. These aggregations are likely important foraging and social gatherings for harbor porpoises. This holistic approach integrating data from two countries and multiple sources provides a population level assessment that more effectively reflects the behavior of harbor porpoises in this region, which do not recognize the socio-political boundaries imposed upon the natural world. Text Phocoena phocoena MDPI Open Access Publishing Oceans 4 3 269 285 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
MDPI Open Access Publishing |
op_collection_id |
ftmdpi |
language |
English |
topic |
harbor porpoise aggregation social behavior Phocoena phocoena foraging behavior large group transboundary community science Salish Sea |
spellingShingle |
harbor porpoise aggregation social behavior Phocoena phocoena foraging behavior large group transboundary community science Salish Sea Dave Anderson Laurie Shuster Cindy R. Elliser Katrina MacIver Erin Johns Gless Johannes Krieger Anna Hall Harbor Porpoise Aggregations in the Salish Sea |
topic_facet |
harbor porpoise aggregation social behavior Phocoena phocoena foraging behavior large group transboundary community science Salish Sea |
description |
Harbor porpoises are typically seen in small groups of 1–3 individuals, with aggregations of 20+ individuals treated as rare events. Since the 1990s, the harbor porpoise population in the Salish Sea has seen a significant recovery, and an increased number of observed aggregations that exceed the more usual small group sizes has been observed in recent years. By combining the observational data of United States and Canadian research organizations, community scientists, and whale watch captains or naturalists, we demonstrate that harbor porpoise aggregations appear to be more common than previously known, with 160 aggregations documented in 2022 alone. Behavioral data also indicate that foraging behaviors are common and social behaviors, like mating, are seen more often during these encounters compared to small groups. Other behaviors that are considered to be rare or unknown were also observed during these encounters, including cooperative foraging and vessel approach. These aggregations are likely important foraging and social gatherings for harbor porpoises. This holistic approach integrating data from two countries and multiple sources provides a population level assessment that more effectively reflects the behavior of harbor porpoises in this region, which do not recognize the socio-political boundaries imposed upon the natural world. |
format |
Text |
author |
Dave Anderson Laurie Shuster Cindy R. Elliser Katrina MacIver Erin Johns Gless Johannes Krieger Anna Hall |
author_facet |
Dave Anderson Laurie Shuster Cindy R. Elliser Katrina MacIver Erin Johns Gless Johannes Krieger Anna Hall |
author_sort |
Dave Anderson |
title |
Harbor Porpoise Aggregations in the Salish Sea |
title_short |
Harbor Porpoise Aggregations in the Salish Sea |
title_full |
Harbor Porpoise Aggregations in the Salish Sea |
title_fullStr |
Harbor Porpoise Aggregations in the Salish Sea |
title_full_unstemmed |
Harbor Porpoise Aggregations in the Salish Sea |
title_sort |
harbor porpoise aggregations in the salish sea |
publisher |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/oceans4030019 |
op_coverage |
agris |
genre |
Phocoena phocoena |
genre_facet |
Phocoena phocoena |
op_source |
Oceans; Volume 4; Issue 3; Pages: 269-285 |
op_relation |
https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/oceans4030019 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/oceans4030019 |
container_title |
Oceans |
container_volume |
4 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
269 |
op_container_end_page |
285 |
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1776203111751221248 |