Have whales returned to a historical hotspot of industrial whaling? The pattern of southern right whale Eubalaena australis recovery at South Georgia
Around 176500 whales were killed in the sub-Antarctic waters off South Georgia (South Atlantic) between 1904 and 1965. In recent decades, whales have once again become summer visitors, with the southern right whale (SRW) the most commonly reported species until 2011. Here, we assess the distribution...
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Inter-Research
2020
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/528849/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/528849/1/n043p323.pdf https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v43/p323-339/ |
id |
ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:528849 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:528849 2023-05-15T13:41:45+02:00 Have whales returned to a historical hotspot of industrial whaling? The pattern of southern right whale Eubalaena australis recovery at South Georgia Jackson, Jennifer A. Kennedy, Amy Moore, Michael Andriolo, Artur Bamford, Connor Calderan, Susannah Cheeseman, Ted Gittins, George Groch, Karina Kelly, Natalie Leaper, Russell Leslie, Matthew S. Lurcock, Sarah Millar, Brian S. Richardson, Jessica Rowntree, Vicky Smith, Patrick Stepien, Emillie Stowasser, Gabriele Trathan, Phil Vermeulen, Els Zerbini, Alexandre N. Carroll, Emma L. 2020-11-05 text http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/528849/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/528849/1/n043p323.pdf https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v43/p323-339/ en eng Inter-Research https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/528849/1/n043p323.pdf Jackson, Jennifer A. orcid:0000-0003-4158-1924 Kennedy, Amy; Moore, Michael; Andriolo, Artur; Bamford, Connor orcid:0000-0002-5732-7237 Calderan, Susannah; Cheeseman, Ted; Gittins, George; Groch, Karina; Kelly, Natalie; Leaper, Russell; Leslie, Matthew S.; Lurcock, Sarah; Millar, Brian S.; Richardson, Jessica; Rowntree, Vicky; Smith, Patrick; Stepien, Emillie; Stowasser, Gabriele orcid:0000-0002-0595-0772 Trathan, Phil orcid:0000-0001-6673-9930 Vermeulen, Els; Zerbini, Alexandre N.; Carroll, Emma L. 2020 Have whales returned to a historical hotspot of industrial whaling? The pattern of southern right whale Eubalaena australis recovery at South Georgia. Endangered Species Research, 43. 323-339. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01072 <https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01072> cc_by_4 CC-BY Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2020 ftnerc 2023-02-04T19:51:18Z Around 176500 whales were killed in the sub-Antarctic waters off South Georgia (South Atlantic) between 1904 and 1965. In recent decades, whales have once again become summer visitors, with the southern right whale (SRW) the most commonly reported species until 2011. Here, we assess the distribution, temporal pattern, health status and likely prey of SRWs in these waters, combining observations from a summertime vessel-based expedition to South Georgia, stable isotope data collected from SRWs and putative prey and sightings reports collated by the South Georgia Museum. The expedition used directional acoustics and visual surveys to localise whales and collected skin biopsies and photo-IDs. During 76 h of visual observation effort over 19 expedition days, SRWs were encountered 15 times (~31 individuals). Photo-IDs, combined with publicly contributed images from commercial vessels, were reconciled and quality-controlled to form a catalogue of 6 fully (i.e. both sides) identified SRWs and 26 SRWs identified by either left or right sides. No photo-ID matches were found with lower-latitude calving grounds, but 3 whales had gull lesions supporting a direct link with Península Valdés, Argentina. The isotopic position of SRWs in the South Georgia food web suggests feeding on a combination of copepod and krill species. Opportunistic reports of SRW sightings and associated group sizes remain steady over time, while humpback whales provide a strong contrast, with increased sighting rates and group sizes seen since 2013. These data suggest a plateau in SRWs and an increasing humpback whale presence in South Georgia waters following the cessation of whaling. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Humpback Whale South Georgia Museum Southern Right Whale Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Antarctic Argentina |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
language |
English |
description |
Around 176500 whales were killed in the sub-Antarctic waters off South Georgia (South Atlantic) between 1904 and 1965. In recent decades, whales have once again become summer visitors, with the southern right whale (SRW) the most commonly reported species until 2011. Here, we assess the distribution, temporal pattern, health status and likely prey of SRWs in these waters, combining observations from a summertime vessel-based expedition to South Georgia, stable isotope data collected from SRWs and putative prey and sightings reports collated by the South Georgia Museum. The expedition used directional acoustics and visual surveys to localise whales and collected skin biopsies and photo-IDs. During 76 h of visual observation effort over 19 expedition days, SRWs were encountered 15 times (~31 individuals). Photo-IDs, combined with publicly contributed images from commercial vessels, were reconciled and quality-controlled to form a catalogue of 6 fully (i.e. both sides) identified SRWs and 26 SRWs identified by either left or right sides. No photo-ID matches were found with lower-latitude calving grounds, but 3 whales had gull lesions supporting a direct link with Península Valdés, Argentina. The isotopic position of SRWs in the South Georgia food web suggests feeding on a combination of copepod and krill species. Opportunistic reports of SRW sightings and associated group sizes remain steady over time, while humpback whales provide a strong contrast, with increased sighting rates and group sizes seen since 2013. These data suggest a plateau in SRWs and an increasing humpback whale presence in South Georgia waters following the cessation of whaling. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jackson, Jennifer A. Kennedy, Amy Moore, Michael Andriolo, Artur Bamford, Connor Calderan, Susannah Cheeseman, Ted Gittins, George Groch, Karina Kelly, Natalie Leaper, Russell Leslie, Matthew S. Lurcock, Sarah Millar, Brian S. Richardson, Jessica Rowntree, Vicky Smith, Patrick Stepien, Emillie Stowasser, Gabriele Trathan, Phil Vermeulen, Els Zerbini, Alexandre N. Carroll, Emma L. |
spellingShingle |
Jackson, Jennifer A. Kennedy, Amy Moore, Michael Andriolo, Artur Bamford, Connor Calderan, Susannah Cheeseman, Ted Gittins, George Groch, Karina Kelly, Natalie Leaper, Russell Leslie, Matthew S. Lurcock, Sarah Millar, Brian S. Richardson, Jessica Rowntree, Vicky Smith, Patrick Stepien, Emillie Stowasser, Gabriele Trathan, Phil Vermeulen, Els Zerbini, Alexandre N. Carroll, Emma L. Have whales returned to a historical hotspot of industrial whaling? The pattern of southern right whale Eubalaena australis recovery at South Georgia |
author_facet |
Jackson, Jennifer A. Kennedy, Amy Moore, Michael Andriolo, Artur Bamford, Connor Calderan, Susannah Cheeseman, Ted Gittins, George Groch, Karina Kelly, Natalie Leaper, Russell Leslie, Matthew S. Lurcock, Sarah Millar, Brian S. Richardson, Jessica Rowntree, Vicky Smith, Patrick Stepien, Emillie Stowasser, Gabriele Trathan, Phil Vermeulen, Els Zerbini, Alexandre N. Carroll, Emma L. |
author_sort |
Jackson, Jennifer A. |
title |
Have whales returned to a historical hotspot of industrial whaling? The pattern of southern right whale Eubalaena australis recovery at South Georgia |
title_short |
Have whales returned to a historical hotspot of industrial whaling? The pattern of southern right whale Eubalaena australis recovery at South Georgia |
title_full |
Have whales returned to a historical hotspot of industrial whaling? The pattern of southern right whale Eubalaena australis recovery at South Georgia |
title_fullStr |
Have whales returned to a historical hotspot of industrial whaling? The pattern of southern right whale Eubalaena australis recovery at South Georgia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Have whales returned to a historical hotspot of industrial whaling? The pattern of southern right whale Eubalaena australis recovery at South Georgia |
title_sort |
have whales returned to a historical hotspot of industrial whaling? the pattern of southern right whale eubalaena australis recovery at south georgia |
publisher |
Inter-Research |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/528849/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/528849/1/n043p323.pdf https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v43/p323-339/ |
geographic |
Antarctic Argentina |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Argentina |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Humpback Whale South Georgia Museum Southern Right Whale |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Humpback Whale South Georgia Museum Southern Right Whale |
op_relation |
https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/528849/1/n043p323.pdf Jackson, Jennifer A. orcid:0000-0003-4158-1924 Kennedy, Amy; Moore, Michael; Andriolo, Artur; Bamford, Connor orcid:0000-0002-5732-7237 Calderan, Susannah; Cheeseman, Ted; Gittins, George; Groch, Karina; Kelly, Natalie; Leaper, Russell; Leslie, Matthew S.; Lurcock, Sarah; Millar, Brian S.; Richardson, Jessica; Rowntree, Vicky; Smith, Patrick; Stepien, Emillie; Stowasser, Gabriele orcid:0000-0002-0595-0772 Trathan, Phil orcid:0000-0001-6673-9930 Vermeulen, Els; Zerbini, Alexandre N.; Carroll, Emma L. 2020 Have whales returned to a historical hotspot of industrial whaling? The pattern of southern right whale Eubalaena australis recovery at South Georgia. Endangered Species Research, 43. 323-339. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01072 <https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01072> |
op_rights |
cc_by_4 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
_version_ |
1766157123641671680 |