Historical Observations of Humpback and Blue Whales in the North Atlantic Ocean: Clues to Migratory Routes and Possibly Additional Feeding Grounds

Reeves, Randall R.; Smith, Tim D.; Josephson, Elizabeth; Clapham, Phillip J.; Woolmer, Gillian

doi:10.1111/j.1748-7692.2004.tb01192.x

Cited by 54 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 17 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…One blue whale had been tracked acoustically from the Newfoundland-Labrador region south past Bermuda and into the West Indies using hydrophone arrays from the US Navy's Integrated Undersea Surveillance System (Clark 1995). Other data suggesting occupancy of southern latitudes during the winter in the western North Atlantic include rare anecdotal sightings, and catch (or attempted catch) data extracted from 18th and 19th century whaling logbooks (Reeves et al 2004). The 2 females we tracked to an area of warm and deep oceanic waters located in the Mid-Atlantic Bight off the US coast provide insight into what may constitute part of the wintering area for blue whales in the western North Atlantic (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other than these limited observations, data on blue whale distribution, movement patterns, and habitat use in the western N orth Atlantic are extremely sparse, the notable exception being the SLE and northwestern GSL, where there has been sustained research effort during the summer and early fall over the past 35 years (Doniol-Valcroze et al 2007, Ramp & Sears 2013; but see Stenson et al 2003, Whitehead 2013. Stranding and whaling reports suggest that the blue whale winter range may extend as far south as the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico (Clark 1995, Sears & Calambokidis 2002, Reeves et al 2004. Blue whale vocalizations have been detected near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in winter, suggesting that some individuals migrate to the central Atlantic; however, it is unknown whether these whales were from the east, west, or both (Nieukirk et al 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Foraging areas, migratory movements and winter destinations of blue whales from the western North Atlantic

Lesage¹,

Gavrilchuk²,

Andrews³

et al. 2017

Endang. Species. Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The blue whale Balaenoptera musculus is a wide-ranging cetacean that can be found in all oceans. In the North Atlantic, little is known about blue whale distribution and genetic structure, or about the interconnections between areas of aggregations in Icelandic waters, the Azores, N orthwest Africa, and the N orthwest Atlantic. Seasonal movements and habitat use of blue whales, including the location of breeding and wintering areas, are also poorly understood. We used satellite telemetry to track movements of 23 blue whales from eastern Canada, providing the first record of the migratory movements and winter destinations of western North Atlantic blue whales. Cabot Strait, the largest outlet connecting the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Atlantic, was identified as the main corridor for movements in and out of this high-latitude feeding area. The Mid-Atlantic Bight, located off the southeastern USA, was identified as a wintering, and possibly breeding or calving, area. We confirmed the extended use of key summer feeding areas in the St. Lawrence Estuary and northwestern Gulf of St. Lawrence into the fall, and provided evidence for new feeding areas off southern Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Our results indicate that there is likely a strong connectivity among blue whale areas of concentration at northern latitudes. They also suggest sporadic foraging outside the feeding season, and highlight seamounts and other deep ocean structures as potentially important blue whale habitats. Globally, our study emphasizes the large scale (i.e. many thousands of square kilometers) one needs to consider when addressing the conservation issues faced by blue whale populations.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foraging areas, migratory movements and winter destinations of blue whales from the western North Atlantic

Lesage¹,

Gavrilchuk²,

Andrews³

et al. 2017

Endang. Species. Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Bannister & Mitchell 1980, Schevill & Moore 1983, Reeves & Mitchell 1986, Scarff 1986, 1991, Clapham et al 2004, Reeves et al 2004). The information on those charts was derived primarily from logbooks of American whaling voyages.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Putative historical occurrence of North Atlantic right whales in mid-latitude offshore waters: Maury¹s Smear¹ is likely apocryphal

Reeves¹,

Josephson²,

Smith³

2004

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The seasonal distribution of North Atlantic right whales Eubalaena glacialis is generally well known in coastal areas but poorly known in offshore portions of the species' range. Two main areas of offshore occurrence have been known or suspected, based largely on evidence from 19th century American whaling logbooks: the Cape Farewell Ground east and south-east of the southern tip of Greenland, and 'Maury's Smear', a mid-latitude area bounded by 35 to 43°N and 25 to 48°W. While the modern occurrence of whales on the old Cape Farewell Ground has been demonstrated by recent sightings, this is not the case for Maury's Smear. Moreover, by examination of original sources we provide direct evidence that the offshore distribution illustrated by Maury in 1852 and 1853 was at least partly and possibly entirely erroneous, based on faulty data extraction and transcription procedures. Our results cast doubt on Maury's charts of 19th century whale distribution more generally, leading us specifically to question the reliability of his depictions of right whale occurrence in offshore portions of other ocean basins.

show abstract

“…Stranding and sighting data suggest that the blue whale's original range in the Atlantic extended south to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, the Cape Verde Islands, and the Caribbean Sea; however, the southern limit of this species' current range is unknown (Yochem and Leatherwood, 1985;Reeves et al, 2004). Researchers using the U.S. Navy's Integrated Undersea Surveillance System (IUSS) resources have been able to detect blue whales throughout the open Atlantic south to at least the same latitude as the Bahamas although several hundred kilometers to the east (Clark, 1995).…”

Section: Blue Whale Balaenoptera Musculusmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of marine mammal records of Cuba

Whitt¹,

Jefferson

Blanco³

et al. 2014

Lat. Am. J. Aquat. Mamm.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There has been very little research on marine mammals in Cuban waters. Much of the information on marine mammals in this region is buried in historical and gray literature. In order to provide a comprehensive account of marine mammal occurrence in Cuba's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), we reviewed and verified 659 published and unpublished sighting, stranding, capture, and tagging records. Eighteen extant species and four genera have confirmed records for Cuban EEZ waters. This includes 17 species of cetaceans (three baleen whales and 14 toothed whales) and one sirenian species. An additional 11 cetacean species and one extant pinniped species have been reported, but not confirmed, or may have the potential to occur in Cuban waters. Historical records of the Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis) are documented in Cuba; however, this species is now considered extinct. The only two species that are seen regularly and considered common in Cuban nearshore waters are the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus). Resumen:No hay mucha investigación sobre el tema de los mamíferos marinos en aguas cubanas. La mayoría de la información se encuentra enterrada en la literatura histórica y gris. A fin de proporcionar un informe completo de la presencia de mamíferos marinos en la Zona Económica Exclusiva (ZEE) de Cuba, hemos revisado y verificado 659 registros publicados y no publicados de avistamientos, varamientos, capturas y marcajes. Dieciocho especies existentes y cuatro géneros tienen registros confirmados para las aguas de la ZEE cubana. Esto incluye 17 especies de cetáceos (tres ballenas barbadas y 14 odontocetos) y una especie de sirenio. También se han reportado sin confirmar, o tienen el potencial de presentarse en aguas cubanas, 11 especies de cetáceos y una especie de pinnípedo. Existen registros históricos de la foca monje del Caribe (Monachus tropicalis) en Cuba, sin embargo esta especie se considera extinta. Las únicas dos especies que se ven regularmente y se consideran comunes en las aguas costeras de Cuba son el tursión (Tursiops truncatus) y el manatí antillano (Trichechus manatus). Ar t i c l e in f o Manuscript type IntroduccionMarine mammal occurrence is not well documented for Cuban waters. Although historical accounts are summarized in the older literature (e.g. Cuní, 1918; Aguayo, 1954), no recent comprehensive account of marine mammals of Cuba exists. Most records are based on historical accounts and gray literature; therefore, verification of records is often difficult. Very few surveys of marine mammals have been conducted in this region of the Caribbean Sea. Most of what is known about marine mammals in Cuban waters comes from stranding and/ or capture information from local fishermen. Although these types of records are useful for identifying species presence, they do not provide adequate information on species abundance and distribution which can be estimated from systematic surveys. Abundance information is particularly impor...

show abstract

Historical Observations of Humpback and Blue Whales in the North Atlantic Ocean: Clues to Migratory Routes and Possibly Additional Feeding Grounds

Cited by 54 publications

References 17 publications

Foraging areas, migratory movements and winter destinations of blue whales from the western North Atlantic

Foraging areas, migratory movements and winter destinations of blue whales from the western North Atlantic

Putative historical occurrence of North Atlantic right whales in mid-latitude offshore waters: Maury¹s Smear¹ is likely apocryphal

A review of marine mammal records of Cuba

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Historical Observations of Humpback and Blue Whales in the North Atlantic Ocean: Clues to Migratory Routes and Possibly Additional Feeding Grounds

Cited by 54 publications

References 17 publications

Foraging areas, migratory movements and winter destinations of blue whales from the western North Atlantic

Foraging areas, migratory movements and winter destinations of blue whales from the western North Atlantic

Putative historical occurrence of North Atlantic right whales in mid-latitude offshore waters: Maury¹s Smear¹ is likely apocryphal

A review of marine mammal records of Cuba

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Putative historical occurrence of North Atlantic right whales in mid-latitude offshore waters: Maury¹s Smear¹ is likely apocryphal