Spatial distribution and dive behavior of Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s whales: potential risk of vessel strikes and fisheries interactions

Soldevilla, Melissa S.; Hildebrand, John A.; Frasier, Kaitlin E.; Dias, Laura Aichinger; Martinez, Anthony; Mullin, Keith D.; Rosel, Patricia E.; Garrison, Lance P.

doi:10.3354/esr00834

Cited by 31 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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Section: Movementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies on different populations have used short-term suction cup tags (Alves et al, 2010;Soldevilla et al, 2017;Izadi et al, 2018). These have revealed vertical movements including shallow , mid-water (Soldevilla et al, 2017), and deepdive patterns (Alves et al, 2010), reflective of the environment they live in and highlighting the whales' ability to exploit a variety of surface and deeper water prey (Kato and Perrin, 2018). A range of oceanographic, physical and biological variables influence Bryde's whale movements but there is no clear pattern across populations (Corkeron et al, 2011;Weir et al, 2012;Soldevilla et al, 2017;Tardin et al, 2017).…”

Section: Movementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These have revealed vertical movements including shallow , mid-water (Soldevilla et al, 2017), and deepdive patterns (Alves et al, 2010), reflective of the environment they live in and highlighting the whales' ability to exploit a variety of surface and deeper water prey (Kato and Perrin, 2018). A range of oceanographic, physical and biological variables influence Bryde's whale movements but there is no clear pattern across populations (Corkeron et al, 2011;Weir et al, 2012;Soldevilla et al, 2017;Tardin et al, 2017). A multi-disciplinary, comparative approach to determine oceanography, prey movements and availability, triggers that drive whale movements and predictions under change scenarios would enable us to better understand whether Bryde's are the ultimate flexible baleen whale.…”

Section: Movementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bryde's whales face similar threats to other baleen whales with entanglement, ship strike and prey depletion already reported. Entanglement in a variety of fishing gear such as rock lobster and octopus fisheries in South Africa (Penry et al, 2016) long-line interactions in the endangered Gulf of Mexico population (Soldevilla et al, 2017) and mussel aquaculture lines in New Zealand (Constantine et al, 2015) are of concern, in particular where these fisheries are expanding and/or poorly managed. These need to be managed to avoid population decline, especially as the few known abundance estimates are in the mid-to high-hundreds of individuals (Best et al, 1984;Urbán and Flores, 1996;Carretta et al, 2015), or small with <100 mature individuals (Cherdsukjai et al, 2015;Rosel et al, 2016).…”

Section: Threats and Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is becoming increasingly apparent that Eden's whale and Bryde's whale are likely to be two separate species, but with sub-species differentiation; as seen off South Africa (Penry et al, 2016) and the Gulf of Mexico (Rosel and Wilcox, 2014). The taxonomic confusion may act against the interests of protecting vulnerable, isolated populations, perhaps most urgently in the Gulf of Mexico (Rosel and Wilcox, 2014;Soldevilla et al, 2017;Corkeron and Kraus, 2018).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Future Directions in Research on Bryde's Whales

et al. 2018

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One of the lesser known species of baleen whales, the Bryde's whale, also known as Eden's whale (Balaenoptera edeni edeni and B. edeni brydei), although hunted as part of a North Pacific Japanese research programme 1 , was not heavily exploited by commercial whaling and remains a data deficient species. Their taxonomic status is not fully resolved and they are often mistaken for other species leading to uncertainty about their true distribution, behavior and conservation status. Some populations are critically endangered, whilst others are small but have high genetic diversity suggesting wider connectivity. The species' unpredictable coastal and offshore global distribution throughout warm-temperate waters has led to populations with unknown genetic variation, and facing different threats. Few areas are well-studied, but each study reveals often contrasting movement patterns, foraging strategies, and vocal repertoires; there are considerable knowledge gaps for Bryde's whales. There are few Bryde's populations with abundance estimates but they typically number in the mid-to high-hundreds of individuals, with other populations small, <100 mature individuals, and exposed to high levels of anthropogenic impacts. Future research should focus on understanding the diversity within and between populations. Here, we suggest an integrative, comparative approach toward future work on Bryde's whales, including acoustic monitoring, trophic interactions, telemetry tools, understanding their novel behaviors, and resolving their species status. This will inform conservation management of this unusual species of whale vulnerable to anthropogenic impacts.

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Section: Movementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Movementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Movementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Threats and Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Future Directions in Research on Bryde's Whales

et al. 2018

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A vessel collision report for Bryde's whales (Balaenoptera brydei) off the northern coast of São Paulo, Brazil

Athayde¹,

Cardoso²,

Francisco³

et al. 2022

Aquatic Conservation

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Vessel collisions are an important threat to several cetacean species, both large and small. In addition to negatively affecting the animals themselves, collisions can also damage or sink vessels, threatening both human safety and marine industry economics. Larger cetaceans seem to be the most affected by vessel collisions, and vessel strikes with Bryde's whales (Balaenoptera brydei/Balaenoptera edeni) have been reported worldwide. Long‐term photo‐identification research on Bryde's whales off the northern coast of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, has been continuing since 2016. Of the 67 individuals that were photo‐identified between 2004 and January 2022, three (4%) presented scars compatible with injuries from vessel propellers. These data contribute towards an understanding of the long‐term effects of collision injuries on the behaviour and survival of Bryde's whales. This report is intended to help inform the future evaluation of the conservation status of B. brydei off Brazil.

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Cetacean‐mediated vertical nitrogen transport in the oceanic realm

Woodstock,

Kiszka,

Ramírez‐León

et al. 2023

Limnology & Oceanography

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In natural systems, animal‐mediated nutrient transport can be a major driver of primary productivity, but the role of marine megafauna such as cetaceans in mediating the transfer and recycling of nutrients has been overlooked. Here, we developed a spatially resolved, stochastic, nutrient‐transport model for cetaceans in the oceanic Gulf of Mexico using species−specific foraging depths, distributions, and diets. An estimated 6.4 × 108 mmol N d−1, or 0.06 mt N yr−1 ind−1, is transported to the surface from depths below 100 m by the 19 cetacean species that occur in the oceanic Gulf of Mexico; 75% of this transport occurs seaward of the continental slope, but the per area transported nitrogen is greater on the continental slope (200–1000 m) than in the ocean basin. Benthos to surface transport comprised 6.0 × 107 mmol N d−1 and was much more common on the continental slope than the open basin. Compared to an existing physical‐biogeochemical model, the transported nutrients add 8% N d−1 to the estimated ammonium concentration above the nutricline and could add 16% N d−1 to the surface ammonium concentration if expelled nutrients remain at the surface. Through feeding on diel vertical migrants, cetaceans retain an additional 2.7 × 107 mmol N d−1 in the surface waters that would otherwise return to depth via downward diel vertical migration. Cetaceans contribute to nutrient movements and recycling in the oceanic Gulf of Mexico, and may provide one of the few allochthonous sources of nutrients for primary producers in oligotrophic ecosystems.

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Spatial distribution and dive behavior of Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s whales: potential risk of vessel strikes and fisheries interactions

Cited by 31 publications

References 55 publications

Future Directions in Research on Bryde's Whales

Future Directions in Research on Bryde's Whales

A vessel collision report for Bryde's whales (Balaenoptera brydei) off the northern coast of São Paulo, Brazil

Cetacean‐mediated vertical nitrogen transport in the oceanic realm

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