Long-term photo-identification study of fin whales in the Pelagos Sanctuary (NW Mediterranean) as a baseline for targeted conservation and mitigation measures

• Published in: Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems
• Main Authors: Zanardelli, Margherita, Airoldi, Sabina, Bérubé, Martine, Borsani, J. Fabrizio, Di-Meglio, Nathalie, Gannier, Alexandre, Hammond, Philip S., Jahoda, Maddalena, Lauriano, Giancarlo, Notarbartolo di Sciara, Giuseppe, Panigada, Simone
• Other Authors: University of St Andrews. School of Biology, University of St Andrews. Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews. Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews. Centre for Research into Ecological & Environmental Modelling, University of St Andrews. Marine Alliance for Science & Technology Scotland
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Abundance estimate; Conservation management plans (CMP); Fin whale Balaenoptera physalus; Important Marine Mammal Areas; Mark–recapture; Mediterranean Sea; Particularly Sensitive Sea Area; Photo-identification; Survival rate; GC Oceanography; QH301 Biology; Aquatic Science; Ecology; Nature and Landscape Conservation; NDAS; SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities; SDG 14 - Life Below Water; NIS; AC; GC; QH301; Gemini; Balaenoptera physalus; Fin whale
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/28060; https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3865

Authors thank Pierre Beaubrun (Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes), Christophe Guinet (Centre d’Études Biologiques de Chizé), Jonathan Gordon and the International Fund for Animal Welfare, Jean Michel Bompar (Groupe d’Etude des Cétacés de Méditerranée), and Portofino 82 for providing photographic data of Mediterranean fin whales. Our special thanks go to Scott Baker for extracting and determining the sex of some fin whale individuals. The molecular analyses were funded by the International Whaling Commission and the Danish Research Academy. Thanks to M.C. Venturino, friend and colleague from the beginning, and to all who helped in the collection of data at sea, in particular M. Acquarone, A. Azzellino, G. Benazzo, N. Biassoni, V. Fadda, M. Giusti, C. Lanfredi, B. Nani, G. Paximadis, N. Pierantonio, E. Politi, E. Revelli, and C. Vallini. Giovanna Pesante and Federico Bendinoni helped also with the fin whale matching process; thanks to Nino Pierantonio for preparing the map and helping with earlier versions of the manuscript. We are thankful to the skippers of Gemini Lab – S. Canese, G. Vezzoli and I. Cavarretta – and the unforgettable G. Barbaccia. Our gratitude also goes to Roberto Raineri and Paolo Pinto (Flash Vela d’Altura), skippers of the boat that was used in the 2006–2007 seasons. This research was co‐funded by the many ‘citizen science’ participants who joined the research during the years. 1. Historical abundance estimates are important for establishing baselines from which trends can be determined using more recent data. Long-term studies based on photo-identification were merged and used to estimate population size, survival rate and sex ratio (biopsy sampling) of fin whales in the North-western Mediterranean. 2. Merging four existing photo-id catalogues yielded a Mediterranean catalogue with 507 individually identified fin whales. Ninety-five (18.7%) individuals were resighted at least once during the study period (1990–2007): 71 whales were resighted in different years, 24 within the same season and ...