Satellite‐tracked sperm whale migrates from the Canadian Arctic to the subtropical western North Atlantic

Lefort, Kyle J.; Hussey, Nigel E.; Jones, Joshua M.; Johnson, Kelsey F.; Ferguson, Steve

doi:10.1111/mms.12909

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The highest concentration of sperm whales was seen in eastern Baffin Bay below 70°N, although they have been documented in eastern Baffin Bay as far north as 75°N (Figure 3). In northwestern Baffin Bay, a sperm whale was observed in September of 2018 in Eclipse Sound, 48 km west of the PI recording location (Lefort et al, 2022). All the northernmost sightings of sperm whales were documented within the last decade, supporting our hypothesis that sperm whale presence in Eclipse Sound is a recent phenomenon.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Opportunistic sightings from citizen scientists were included from the Happywhale database (Happywhale, 2021). One additional opportunistic sighting of a sperm whale in Eclipse Sound and tag data from sperm whales in Baffin Bay reported in Lefort et al (2022) were also used. The synthesized data are given in an associated data publication in Dryad Digital Repository (https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.c2fqz619z; Posdaljian et al, 2022).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, no records exist of sperm whales being caught in the Baffin Bay whaling grounds (Smith, 2021). More recent studies of sperm whales using traditional visual surveys and satellite‐tags in the western Baffin Bay and Davis Strait region have sightings between 63° N and 70° N, usually associated with the continental shelf and slope (Davidson, 2016; Lefort et al, 2022), with no records as high north as the PI (72.7° N) outside of the 2014/2018 observations (Cecco, 2018; Lefort et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More recently, they have been recorded and observed within the Arctic Circle at approximately 75° N in eastern Baffin Bay, off northwest Greenland, extending their known range significantly north of previous reports (Frouin‐Mouy et al, 2017). And although there have been no formal surveys to monitor sperm whale populations in western Baffin Bay (Cucknell et al, 2015; Davidson, 2016), in 2014 the first sighting of a sperm whale was recorded by Inuit hunters in the Pond Inlet (PI) region (Cecco, 2018), followed by a second rare sighting by scientists in 2018 (Lefort et al, 2022). Traditional ecological knowledge about marine mammals in the Canadian Arctic is extensive (Ford et al, 2006; Stevenson, 1996; Worden et al, 2020), although little is known about sperm whales, even by experienced hunters in PI (Cecco, 2018), most likely due to their infrequent presence in the region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Changes in sea ice and range expansion of sperm whales in the eclipse sound region of Baffin Bay, Canada

Posdaljian

Soderstjerna

Jones

et al. 2022

Global Change Biology

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Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) are a cosmopolitan species but are only found in ice‐free regions of the ocean. It is unknown how their distribution might change in regions undergoing rapid loss of sea ice and ocean warming like Baffin Bay in the eastern Canadian Arctic. In 2014 and 2018, sperm whales were sighted near Eclipse Sound, Baffin Bay: the first recorded uses of this region by sperm whales. In this study, we investigate the spatiotemporal distribution of sperm whales near Eclipse Sound using visual and acoustic data. We combine several published open‐source, data sets to create a map of historical sperm whale presence in the region. We use passive acoustic data from two recording sites between 2015 and 2019 to investigate more recent presence in the region. We also analyze regional trends in sea ice concentration (SIC) dating back to 1901 and relate acoustic presence of sperm whales to the mean SIC near the recording sites. We found no records of sperm whale sightings near Eclipse Sound outside of the 2014/2018 observations. Our acoustic data told a different story, with sperm whales recorded yearly from 2015 to 2019 with presence in the late summer and fall months. Sperm whale acoustic presence increased over the 5‐year study duration and was closely related to the minimum SIC each year. Sperm whales, like other cetaceans, are ecosystem sentinels, or indicators of ecosystem change. Increasing number of days with sperm whale presence in the Eclipse Sound region could indicate range expansion of sperm whales as a result of changes in sea ice. Monitoring climate change‐induced range expansion in this region is important to understand how increasing presence of a top‐predator might impact the Arctic food web.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Changes in sea ice and range expansion of sperm whales in the eclipse sound region of Baffin Bay, Canada

Posdaljian

Soderstjerna

Jones

et al. 2022

Global Change Biology

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“…Yet previous acoustic studies in the GoA have suggested seasonality in foraging sperm whales' presence (32,33), challenging the assumption of aseasonal nomadic movements. Others have suggested that long-distance latitudinal movements represent migration between distinct high-latitude foraging and low-latitude breeding habitats (37), akin to the seasonal migrations of many baleen whales. Partial migration (with only adult males undertaking these movements) has also been suggested (30), yet multiple sexes and age classes have been observed in both the GoA (35) and CCCS (36,38).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acoustic evidence for seasonal resource-tracking migration by a top predator of the deep sea

Oestreich¹,

Benoit‐Bird²,

Abrahms³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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The strategies that animals employ to track resources through space and time are central to their ecology and ability to adapt to environmental variation. These spatiotemporal movement patterns also reflect underlying ecosystem phenology. In ecosystems influenced by seasonal variation in solar angle, the fitness of many diverse taxa depends on seasonal movements to track resources along latitudinal or elevational gradients. Deep pelagic ecosystems, where sunlight is extremely limited or entirely absent, represent Earth’s largest habitable space and yet ecosystem phenology and effective animal movement strategies in this system are unknown. Here, we combine long-term passive acoustic monitoring data with movement simulations to test a suite of movement strategies for foraging predators in the deep pelagic. Using automated methods applied to more than seven years of acoustic data in the Central California Current System (CCCS), we find evidence for seasonal, latitudinal migratory movements in a deep pelagic top predator, the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). Our analyses reveal seasonal and interannual variability in the presence of foraging whales in the CCCS. Importantly, while these highly-mobile predators of the deep are often described as nomadic, integration of population-level acoustic observations with simulations of individual-level movement instead provides first evidence that this sperm whale population undertakes a seasonal resource-tracking migration. These findings improve understanding of the drivers and flexibility of long-distance movements in this cryptic predator inhabiting a difficult-to-observe ecosystem. More broadly, these migratory movement patterns indicate previously unknown environmental seasonality at depth, thus shedding light on the shrouded phenology of deep pelagic ecosystems.

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Identifying important habitat for northern bottlenose and Sowerby's beaked whales in the western North Atlantic

Feyrer,

Stanistreet,

Gomez

et al. 2024

Aquatic Conservation

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Understanding habitat requirements for species at risk is crucial for effective conservation management, even though the location and extent of vital habitats may be unknown for rare or elusive species. In the case of marine species, determining important habitat often relies on limited occurrence data or extrapolation from species distribution models (SDMs). SDMs predict habitat by associating species records with environmental variables, assuming a functional ecological relationship. This study focuses on northern bottlenose whales (NBW; Hyperoodon ampullatus) and Sowerby's beaked whales (SBW; Mesoplodon bidens) in the western North Atlantic. As both NBW and SBW are at risk in Canada, the objective was to identify the extent and function of important habitats to guide conservation efforts. The analysis mapped all available geographic occurrence data and used passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) data to inform the development of ensemble SDMs to predict potential habitat and assess the persistence of realized habitat use. Important habitats for NBW and SBW were found primarily concentrated along the continental shelf edges, at an average depth of 1200 m ± 460 SD. All habitat areas support foraging and movement and critical life history functions for both species. The Gully and other submarine canyons off eastern Nova Scotia emerged as important areas for both species, validating the existing Critical Habitat for NBW. However, spatial–temporal patterns diverged on either side of this region. North‐eastern Newfoundland was identified as the next closest area of near‐year‐round presence for NBW, whereas the south‐western Scotian Shelf region, Georges Bank and the Fundian Channel supported persistent foraging by SBW. By integrating multiple data sources (sightings, acoustic detections and SDMs) and demonstrating the temporal persistence of habitat use by NBW and SBW, this study provides valuable insights for identifying, protecting and managing important habitat for beaked whales.

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Satellite‐tracked sperm whale migrates from the Canadian Arctic to the subtropical western North Atlantic

Cited by 11 publications

References 17 publications

Changes in sea ice and range expansion of sperm whales in the eclipse sound region of Baffin Bay, Canada

Changes in sea ice and range expansion of sperm whales in the eclipse sound region of Baffin Bay, Canada

Acoustic evidence for seasonal resource-tracking migration by a top predator of the deep sea

Identifying important habitat for northern bottlenose and Sowerby's beaked whales in the western North Atlantic

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