Temporal and demographic variation in partial migration of the North Atlantic right whale

Gowan, Timothy A.; Ortega‐Ortiz, Joel G.; Hostetler, Jeffrey A.; Hamilton, Philip K.; Knowlton, Amy R.; Jackson, Katharine; George, R. Clay; Taylor, Cynthia R.; Naessig, Patricia J.

doi:10.1038/s41598-018-36723-3

Cited by 28 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…This variability in foraging strategies is also supported by whaling data, where stomach contents of southern right whales harvested at latitudes below 40˚S were dominated by copepods, whilst those taken above 50˚S were dominated by krill, with a mixture of both prey items in stomachs from animals taken from intervening latitudes [54]. North Atlantic right whales also show mixed foraging strategies and individual migratory flexibility, and movements between foraging grounds within a season are likely driven by environmental conditions as well as the age and sex of individuals [55,56]. The only sub-adult in the current study was the individual tagged in Tasmania.…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 59%

Satellite derived offshore migratory movements of southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) from Australian and New Zealand wintering grounds

et al. 2020

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Southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) migrate between Austral-winter calving and socialising grounds to offshore mid-to high latitude Austral-summer feeding grounds. In Australasia, winter calving grounds used by southern right whales extend from Western Australia across southern Australia to the New Zealand sub-Antarctic Islands. During the Austral-summer these whales are thought to migrate away from coastal waters to feed, but the location of these feeding grounds is only inferred from historical whaling data. We present new information on the satellite derived offshore migratory movements of six southern right whales from Australasian wintering grounds. Two whales were tagged at the Auckland Islands, New Zealand, and the remaining four at Australian wintering grounds, one at Pirates Bay, Tasmania, and three at Head of Bight, South Australia. The six whales were tracked for an average of 78.5 days (range: 29 to 150) with average individual distance of 38 km per day (range: 20 to 61 km). The length of individually derived tracks ranged from 645-6,381 km. Three likely foraging grounds were identified: southwest Western Australia, the Subtropical Front, and Antarctic waters, with the Subtropical Front appearing to be a feeding ground for both New Zealand and Australian southern right whales. In contrast, the individual tagged in Tasmania, from a sub-population that is not showing evidence of post-whaling recovery, displayed a distinct movement pattern to much higher latitude waters, potentially

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Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 59%

Satellite derived offshore migratory movements of southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) from Australian and New Zealand wintering grounds

et al. 2020

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“…For instance, since 2012 the number of observed right whales in the SEUS SMA has been lower than during our study period, which ended in 2011 (Gowan et al. ), likely leading to fewer lethal collisions being averted due to the speed restriction rule. However, even during years of low abundance in the SEUS, the speed restriction rule remains important, because the survival of pregnant and nursing females and their calves is key to the species’ recovery (Fujiwara and Caswell ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 63%

“…Additionally, decreased observations of right whales in the SEUS SMA in recent years suggest that many right whales may be wintering elsewhere (Gowan et al. ). If this trend continues, it may be worth investigating where these right whales are wintering and how speed restriction rules would alter risk at those locations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying risk of whale–vessel collisions across space, time, and management policies

et al. 2019

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Transportation industries can negatively impact wildlife populations, including through increased risk of mortality. To mitigate this risk successfully, managers and conservationists must estimate risk across space, time, and alternative management policies. Evaluating this risk at fine spatial and temporal scales can be challenging, especially in systems where wildlife–vehicle collisions are rare or imperfectly detected. The sizes and behaviors of wildlife and vehicles influence collision risk, as well as how much they co‐occur in space and time. We applied a modeling framework based on encounter theory to quantify the risk of lethal collisions between endangered North Atlantic right whales and vessels. Using Automatic Identification System vessel traffic data and spatially explicit estimates of right whale abundance that account for imperfect detection, we modeled risk at fine spatiotemporal scales before and after implementation of a vessel speed rule in the southeastern United States. The expected seasonal mortality rates of right whales decreased by 22% on average after the speed rule was implemented, indicating that the rule is effective at reducing lethal collisions. The rule's effect on risk was greatest where right whales were abundant and vessel traffic was heavy, and its effect varied considerably across time and space. Our framework is spatiotemporally flexible, process‐oriented, computationally efficient and accounts for uncertainty, making it an ideal approach for evaluating many wildlife management policies, including those regarding collisions between wildlife and vehicles and cases in which wildlife may encounter other dangerous features such as wind farms, seismic surveys, or fishing gear.

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“…The North Atlantic right whale has a declining population and has been categorised as endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species [9], thus they are of conservation interest. The species is a partial migrant that is known to use feeding grounds in and around the Gulf of Maine during spring through to autumn and calving or overwintering grounds off the southeastern United States (SEUS) during the winter [17]. The SEUS can be used by all demographic groups as an overwintering ground, but there is much variation in the number of non-breeders carrying out the migration across the years [17].…”

Section: Examplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A switching feedback control approach for persistence of managed resources

Franco¹,

Guiver²,

Smith³

et al. 2022

DCDS-B

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An adaptive switching feedback control scheme is proposed for classes of discrete-time, positive difference equations, or systems of equations. In overview, the objective is to choose a control strategy which ensures persistence of the state, consequently avoiding zero which corresponds to absence or extinction. A robust feedback control solution is proposed as the effects of different management actions are assumed to be uncertain. Our motivating application is to the conservation of dynamic resources, such as populations, which are naturally positive quantities and where discrete and distinct courses of management actions, or control strategies, are available. The theory is illustrated with examples from population ecology.

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Temporal and demographic variation in partial migration of the North Atlantic right whale

Cited by 28 publications

References 67 publications

Satellite derived offshore migratory movements of southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) from Australian and New Zealand wintering grounds

Satellite derived offshore migratory movements of southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) from Australian and New Zealand wintering grounds

Quantifying risk of whale–vessel collisions across space, time, and management policies

A switching feedback control approach for persistence of managed resources

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