Sei whale movements and behaviour in the North Atlantic inferred from satellite telemetry

• Published in: Endangered Species Research
• Main Authors: Prieto, Rui, Silva, Monica A., Waring, Gordon T., Goncalves, Joao M. A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Inter-Research 2014
• Subjects: Migration; Satellite tracking; Marine mammal; Stock structure; Labrador Sea; Azores; Whale ecology; Sei whale; Balaenoptera borealis; North Atlantic; Sei Whale
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/1912/7696

© The Author(s), 2014. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Endangered Species Research 26 (2014): 103-113, doi:10.3354/esr00630. The stock structure of the sei whale Balaenoptera borealis in the North Atlantic is unknown, despite years of commercial hunting. New and up-to-date data on distribution and movements are essential for the creation of plausible hypotheses about the stock structure of this species. Between 2008 and 2009 satellite tracks of 8 sei whales were obtained, 7 during spring and 1 in late September. Using a hierarchical switching state-space model we investigated the movements, behaviour and the role of distinct areas in their life history. Two distinct phases corresponding to migratory and foraging movements were identified. A migratory corridor between the Azores and the Labrador Sea is clearly identifiable from the data. Behaviour consistent with foraging was observed frequently in the Labrador Sea, showing that it constitutes an important feeding ground. A link between the Labrador Sea and other feeding grounds to the east is deemed likely. The data also support a discrete feeding ground in the Gulf of Maine and off Nova Scotia. A possible link between the feeding grounds in the Labrador Sea and wintering grounds off northwestern Africa is proposed. This research was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), Fundo Regional da Ciência, Tecnologia (FRCT), through research projects TRACEPTDC/ MAR/74071/2006 and MAPCET-M2.1.2/F/012/2011 (FEDER, the Competitiveness Factors Operational [COMPETE], QREN European Social Fund, and Proconvergencia Açores/EU Program). We acknowledge funds provided by FCT to LARSyS Associated Laboratory & IMAR—University of the Azores/the Thematic Area D & E of the Strategic Project PEst-OE/EEI/LA0009/2011-1012 and 2013-2014 (OE & Compete) and by the FRCT—Government of the Azores pluriannual funding. M.A.S. was supported by POPH, QREN European ...