Presence of Southeast Pacific blue whales ( Balaenoptera musculus ) off South Georgia in the South Atlantic Ocean

• Published in: Marine Mammal Science
• Main Authors: Rojas‐cerda, Constanza, Buchan, Susannah, Branch, Trevor, Malige, Franck, Patris, Julie, Hucke‐gaete, Rodrigo, Staniland, Iain
• Other Authors: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC), Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Aridas (CEAZA), Centro de Investigación Oceanográfica en el Pacífico Sur Oriental (COPAS), Universidad de Concepción - University of Concepcion Chile, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, University of Washington Seattle, Laboratoire d'Informatique et Systèmes (LIS), Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Université de Toulon (UTLN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), DYNamiques de l’Information (DYNI), Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Université de Toulon (UTLN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Université de Toulon (UTLN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Aix Marseille Université (AMU), Universidad Austral de Chile, centro ballena azul, British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2022
• Subjects: [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]; [SPI.ACOU]Engineering Sciences [physics]/Acoustics [physics.class-ph]; Antarctic; Pacific; Patagonia; Antarc*; Balaenoptera musculus; Blue whale; South Atlantic Ocean
• Online Access: https://hal-cnrs.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03812724; https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12946

International audience The Southeast Pacific (SEP) or Chilean blue whale population is largely distributed between Northern Chilean Patagonia and the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Off South Georgia (SG), the majority of blue whales caught were Antarctic blue whales, but recent genetic and acoustic records indicate the possible presence of SEP individuals. To assess the presence of SEP blue whales off SG, we carried out new analyses of acoustic data previously reported as containing pygmy blue whale song and analyzed the length frequencies from 20th century catch data. The month of acoustic data reported to contain the presumed pygmy blue whale song was examined (August 2006), and 13 days were found to have songs which visually and quantitatively matched SEP2 songs from Northern Chilean Patagonia. The fundamental frequency of SEP2 song off SG, however, was not in line with the