Winter behaviour and population structure of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) in British Columbia inferred from passive acoustic data

• Main Author: Koot, Barbara
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2015
• Subjects: Bering Sea; Pacific; Balaenoptera physalus; Fin whale
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/54230

Fin whales are acoustically active year-round, particularly during the winter breeding season when males produce song as a reproductive display. Little is known about movement patterns and population structure of the fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) in the North Pacific. I used passive acoustic data recorded using bottom-mounted autonomous recording instruments to answer questions about the winter distribution, behaviour and population structure of fin whales in a high-latitude area of the eastern North Pacific Ocean. I found that fin whales are present in British Columbia (BC) waters throughout the winter, and their acoustic behaviour suggests that they are engaging in reproductive and possibly feeding behaviour. The presence of these individuals indicates that not all fin whales migrate south in the winter to low-latitude breeding grounds. I found that the majority of fin whales recorded in BC sang a doublet song with alternating ~13 s and ~17 s intervals between alternating classic and backbeat notes (song Type 2). At the most northerly recording site, and the two offshore sites, I found a few instances of a previously described doublet song type that has longer internote intervals (song Type 1). This suggests that two spatially segregated populations of fin whales are using BC waters, with the population producing song Type 2 being more coastal. Through a literature search, I found evidence of song Type 2 occurring from northern BC to Oregon. Song Type 1 has been documented off Southern California, the Bering Sea and the central North Pacific. My results are consistent with evidence showing that two genetically distinct fin whale populations occur in the eastern North Pacific, and that the population that produces song Type 2 is more closely related to the Southern Hemisphere subspecies of fin whale, than to the other population of fin whales in the North Pacific. My results show that BC waters are important for fin whales year-round, rather than just during the summer feeding season―and that the fin whales in BC likely belong to two distinct populations (one of which may belong to the Southern Hemisphere subspecies) and may require separate plans for their conservation and management. Science, Faculty of Zoology, Department of Graduate