Population abundance of recovering humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and other baleen whales in the Scotia Arc, South Atlantic
Following the cessation of whaling, South Atlantic populations of humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae) and some other baleen whale species are recovering, but there has been limited monitoring of their recovery in the Scotia Arc, a former whaling epicentre and a hotspot for Antarctic krill (Euphausia s...
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Inter-Research
2021
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Online Access: | http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/530411/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/530411/1/Scotia%20Arc%20whale%20abundance%20accepted.pdf https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v676/p77-94/ |
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:530411 2023-05-15T13:41:45+02:00 Population abundance of recovering humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and other baleen whales in the Scotia Arc, South Atlantic Baines, Mick Kelly, Natalie Reichelt, Maren Lacey, Claire Pinder, Simon Fielding, Sophie Murphy, Eugene Trathan, Phil Biuw, Martin Lindstrøm, Ulf Krafft, Bjørn A. Jackson, Jennifer A. 2021-10-14 text http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/530411/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/530411/1/Scotia%20Arc%20whale%20abundance%20accepted.pdf https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v676/p77-94/ en eng Inter-Research https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/530411/1/Scotia%20Arc%20whale%20abundance%20accepted.pdf Baines, Mick; Kelly, Natalie; Reichelt, Maren; Lacey, Claire; Pinder, Simon; Fielding, Sophie orcid:0000-0002-3152-4742 Murphy, Eugene orcid:0000-0002-7369-9196 Trathan, Phil orcid:0000-0001-6673-9930 Biuw, Martin; Lindstrøm, Ulf; Krafft, Bjørn A.; Jackson, Jennifer A. orcid:0000-0003-4158-1924 . 2021 Population abundance of recovering humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and other baleen whales in the Scotia Arc, South Atlantic. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 676. 77-94. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13849 <https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13849> cc_by_4 CC-BY Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2021 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13849 2023-02-04T19:52:12Z Following the cessation of whaling, South Atlantic populations of humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae) and some other baleen whale species are recovering, but there has been limited monitoring of their recovery in the Scotia Arc, a former whaling epicentre and a hotspot for Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba). To inform the management of krill fisheries, up to date assessment of whale biomass and prey consumption is essential. Using a model-based approach, we provide the first estimates of whale abundance and krill consumption for South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and total abundance of humpback whales across their southwest Atlantic feeding grounds, using data collected in 2019. Humpback whale abundance was estimated at 24,543 (CV = 0.26; 95% CI 14,863 – 40,528), similar to that measured in Brazil on the main wintering ground for this population. The abundance of baleen whales in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, including those not identified to species level, was estimated at 43,824 (CV = 0.15; 95% CI 33,509 – 59,077). Based on the proportion of humpback whales identified during the surveys (83%), the majority of these are likely to be humpback whales. Annual krill consumption by baleen whales was estimated to be in the range 4.8 – 7.2 million tons, representing 7 - 10% of the estimated krill biomass in the region. However, there is a need to better understand feeding rates in baleen whales, and further research into this field should be a priority in order to improve the accuracy and precision of prey consumption rate estimation. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill baleen whale baleen whales Euphausia superba Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae South Sandwich Islands Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Antarctic Sandwich Islands South Sandwich Islands South Georgia ENVELOPE(-33.000,-33.000,-56.000,-56.000) Marine Ecology Progress Series 676 77 94 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
language |
English |
description |
Following the cessation of whaling, South Atlantic populations of humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae) and some other baleen whale species are recovering, but there has been limited monitoring of their recovery in the Scotia Arc, a former whaling epicentre and a hotspot for Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba). To inform the management of krill fisheries, up to date assessment of whale biomass and prey consumption is essential. Using a model-based approach, we provide the first estimates of whale abundance and krill consumption for South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and total abundance of humpback whales across their southwest Atlantic feeding grounds, using data collected in 2019. Humpback whale abundance was estimated at 24,543 (CV = 0.26; 95% CI 14,863 – 40,528), similar to that measured in Brazil on the main wintering ground for this population. The abundance of baleen whales in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, including those not identified to species level, was estimated at 43,824 (CV = 0.15; 95% CI 33,509 – 59,077). Based on the proportion of humpback whales identified during the surveys (83%), the majority of these are likely to be humpback whales. Annual krill consumption by baleen whales was estimated to be in the range 4.8 – 7.2 million tons, representing 7 - 10% of the estimated krill biomass in the region. However, there is a need to better understand feeding rates in baleen whales, and further research into this field should be a priority in order to improve the accuracy and precision of prey consumption rate estimation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Baines, Mick Kelly, Natalie Reichelt, Maren Lacey, Claire Pinder, Simon Fielding, Sophie Murphy, Eugene Trathan, Phil Biuw, Martin Lindstrøm, Ulf Krafft, Bjørn A. Jackson, Jennifer A. |
spellingShingle |
Baines, Mick Kelly, Natalie Reichelt, Maren Lacey, Claire Pinder, Simon Fielding, Sophie Murphy, Eugene Trathan, Phil Biuw, Martin Lindstrøm, Ulf Krafft, Bjørn A. Jackson, Jennifer A. Population abundance of recovering humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and other baleen whales in the Scotia Arc, South Atlantic |
author_facet |
Baines, Mick Kelly, Natalie Reichelt, Maren Lacey, Claire Pinder, Simon Fielding, Sophie Murphy, Eugene Trathan, Phil Biuw, Martin Lindstrøm, Ulf Krafft, Bjørn A. Jackson, Jennifer A. |
author_sort |
Baines, Mick |
title |
Population abundance of recovering humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and other baleen whales in the Scotia Arc, South Atlantic |
title_short |
Population abundance of recovering humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and other baleen whales in the Scotia Arc, South Atlantic |
title_full |
Population abundance of recovering humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and other baleen whales in the Scotia Arc, South Atlantic |
title_fullStr |
Population abundance of recovering humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and other baleen whales in the Scotia Arc, South Atlantic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Population abundance of recovering humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and other baleen whales in the Scotia Arc, South Atlantic |
title_sort |
population abundance of recovering humpback whales (megaptera novaeangliae) and other baleen whales in the scotia arc, south atlantic |
publisher |
Inter-Research |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/530411/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/530411/1/Scotia%20Arc%20whale%20abundance%20accepted.pdf https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v676/p77-94/ |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-33.000,-33.000,-56.000,-56.000) |
geographic |
Antarctic Sandwich Islands South Sandwich Islands South Georgia |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Sandwich Islands South Sandwich Islands South Georgia |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill baleen whale baleen whales Euphausia superba Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae South Sandwich Islands |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Krill baleen whale baleen whales Euphausia superba Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae South Sandwich Islands |
op_relation |
https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/530411/1/Scotia%20Arc%20whale%20abundance%20accepted.pdf Baines, Mick; Kelly, Natalie; Reichelt, Maren; Lacey, Claire; Pinder, Simon; Fielding, Sophie orcid:0000-0002-3152-4742 Murphy, Eugene orcid:0000-0002-7369-9196 Trathan, Phil orcid:0000-0001-6673-9930 Biuw, Martin; Lindstrøm, Ulf; Krafft, Bjørn A.; Jackson, Jennifer A. orcid:0000-0003-4158-1924 . 2021 Population abundance of recovering humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and other baleen whales in the Scotia Arc, South Atlantic. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 676. 77-94. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13849 <https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13849> |
op_rights |
cc_by_4 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13849 |
container_title |
Marine Ecology Progress Series |
container_volume |
676 |
container_start_page |
77 |
op_container_end_page |
94 |
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1766157443168993280 |