Movements of sperm whale in the western Mediterranean Sea: preliminary photo-identification results

2007 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 195-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Violaine Drouot-Dulau ◽  
Alexandre Gannier
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Sperm Whale ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Pulse Interval ◽  
Size Estimation ◽  
Ligurian Sea ◽  
Photo Identification ◽  
Western Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Travelling Time ◽  
One Year

Sperm whale residency and movements within the Mediterranean Sea were investigated using photo-identification data collected in summer over a 15 year period (1991–2005). Surveys were conducted from a 12 m motor sailing boat. Although dedicated to cetaceans, surveys did not solely focus on sperm whale photo-identification, so time to track and photograph all individuals forming a group was not always available. From good quality photographs, 44 individuals were identified in the western Mediterranean, including the Ligurian Sea, the Gulf of Lions and waters off the Balearics. Eleven identified whales were photographically re-captures. Within-year re-sightings occurred from 1 to 29 d apart, while five identified whales were re-sighted over several summer seasons, from 1 to 7 y apart. Four whales were seen in more than one year in the northern part of the basin, indicating site fidelity to this feeding area. The combination of photo-identification and acoustic data (size estimation from inter-pulse interval measurements) enabled us to demonstrate a north–south movement of some sexually mature males (around 13 m in length), feeding in the northern regions and joining groups of females off the Balearics for around 20 d. These displacements ranged over ~500 km, with travelling time of seven days or less.

scholarly journals Trumpet sounds emitted by male sperm whales in the Mediterranean Sea

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
D. S. Pace ◽  
C. Lanfredi ◽  
S. Airoldi ◽  
G. Giacomini ◽  
M. Silvestri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Sperm Whale ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Sperm Whales ◽  
Acoustic Parameters ◽  
Photo Identification ◽  
Western Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Observation Area ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Area North

AbstractSperm whale trumpets are sounds only occasionally documented, with a well recognisable and stereotyped acoustic arrangement. This study investigated the acoustic features of the trumpets and the context in which these sounds were recorded, using acoustic data collected over 22 years, in the Pelagos Sanctuary area (North-Western Mediterranean Sea). Analysed trumpets (n = 230), recorded at the beginning of a dive after the whale fluke-up, comprised a series of acoustic units organized in short sequences. Acoustic parameters were derived for the entire trumpet and for each distinguishable unit in a trumpet. Overall, trumpet durations and their initial frequencies were higher in recordings collected when multiple whales were visually or acoustically detected in the observation area. The identity of 68 whales was assessed through photo-identification, with 29 individuals producing trumpets within and between years. The variability of the acoustic parameters appeared to be higher within the same individuals rather than between different individuals, suggesting an individual plasticity in composing and arranging units in a trumpet. Different click patterns were observed before and after the trumpets, with more complex sequences when (1) other whales were visually/acoustically detected, and (2) individuals were in suitable foraging sites (i.e., canyon areas). Trumpets were commonly followed or preceded by click patterns suited for communication, such as codas and/or slow clicks. Significant relations between the trumpet emission and the male-only long-range communication click pattern (i.e. slow clicks) emerged, supporting the hypothesis that a trumpet is a sound emitted by maturing/mature males in feeding grounds. This study provides the first evidence that trumpets were conserved in the sperm whale acoustic repertoire at the decadal timescale, persisting across years and individuals in the same area. This persistence may be functionally specific to foraging activities performed by males in a well-established feeding area.

scholarly journals Assessing sperm whale(Physeter macrocephalus)movements within the western Mediterranean Sea through photo-identification

2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (S1) ◽  
pp. 23-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Carpinelli ◽  
Pauline Gauffier ◽  
Philippe Verborgh ◽  
Sabina Airoldi ◽  
Léa David ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Sperm Whale ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Physeter Macrocephalus ◽  
Photo Identification ◽  
Western Mediterranean Sea

Food of striped dolphin, Stenella coeruleoalba, in the Ligurian Sea

1993 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 571-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Würtz ◽  
D. Marrale
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Important Food ◽  
Ligurian Sea ◽  
Stenella Coeruleoalba ◽  
Striped Dolphin ◽  
Western Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Bony Fishes ◽  
Food Species ◽  
Ligurian Coast

The stomachsof 23 striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba Meyen, 1833, Cetacea), stranded along the Ligurian coast (western Mediterranean Sea), contained 32 species of cephalopods, crustaceans and fishes, totalling an estimated 2,723 prey specimens representing about 36 kg in weight. Cephalopods and bony fishes were equally important in the diet (50%). Todarodes sagittatus (34.5%) and Micromesistius poutassou (25.9%) were found to be the most important food species. Other species belonging to six cephalopod families, three crustacean families and nine bony fish families, contributed to the diet with variable numbers, weights, and occurrences, demonstrating the opportunistic character of striped dolphin feeding.

scholarly journals First data on plastic ingestion by blue sharks (Prionace glauca) from the Ligurian Sea (North-Western Mediterranean Sea)

2018 ◽  
Vol 135 ◽  
pp. 303-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilaria Bernardini ◽  
Fulvio Garibaldi ◽  
Laura Canesi ◽  
Maria Cristina Fossi ◽  
Matteo Baini
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Ligurian Sea ◽  
Prionace Glauca ◽  
Western Mediterranean Sea ◽  
North Western

scholarly journals Sedimentological imprint on subseafloor microbial communities in Western Mediterranean Sea Quaternary sediments

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 3491-3512 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.-C. Ciobanu ◽  
M. Rabineau ◽  
L. Droz ◽  
S. Révillon ◽  
J.-F. Ghiglione ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Microbial Community Composition ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Depositional Environments ◽  
Ligurian Sea ◽  
Western Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Quaternary Climate ◽  
Gulf Of Lion

Abstract. An interdisciplinary study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between geological and paleoenvironmental parameters and the bacterial and archaeal community structure of two contrasting subseafloor sites in the Western Mediterranean Sea (Ligurian Sea and Gulf of Lion). Both depositional environments in this area are well-documented from paleoclimatic and paleooceanographic point of views. Available data sets allowed us to calibrate the investigated cores with reference and dated cores previously collected in the same area, and notably correlated to Quaternary climate variations. DNA-based fingerprints showed that the archaeal diversity was composed by one group, Miscellaneous Crenarchaeotic Group (MCG), within the Gulf of Lion sediments and of nine different lineages (dominated by MCG, South African Gold Mine Euryarchaeotal Group (SAGMEG) and Halobacteria) within the Ligurian Sea sediments. Bacterial molecular diversity at both sites revealed mostly the presence of the classes Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria within Proteobacteria phylum, and also members of Bacteroidetes phylum. The second most abundant lineages were Actinobacteria and Firmicutes at the Gulf of Lion site and Chloroflexi at the Ligurian Sea site. Various substrates and cultivation conditions allowed us to isolate 75 strains belonging to four lineages: Alpha-, Gammaproteobacteria, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria. In molecular surveys, the Betaproteobacteria group was consistently detected in the Ligurian Sea sediments, characterized by a heterolithic facies with numerous turbidites from a deep-sea levee. Analysis of relative betaproteobacterial abundances and turbidite frequency suggested that the microbial diversity was a result of main climatic changes occurring during the last 20 ka. Statistical direct multivariate canonical correspondence analyses (CCA) showed that the availability of electron acceptors and the quality of electron donors (indicated by age) strongly influenced the community structure. In contrast, within the Gulf of Lion core, characterized by a homogeneous lithological structure of upper-slope environment, most detected groups were Bacteroidetes and, to a lesser extent, Betaproteobacteria. At both site, the detection of Betaproteobacteria coincided with increased terrestrial inputs, as confirmed by the geochemical measurements (Si, Sr, Ti and Ca). In the Gulf of Lion, geochemical parameters were also found to drive microbial community composition. Taken together, our data suggest that the palaeoenvironmental history of erosion and deposition recorded in the Western Mediterranean Sea sediments has left its imprint on the sedimentological context for microbial habitability, and then indirectly on structure and composition of the microbial communities during the late Quaternary.

scholarly journals Massive strandings of Velella velella (Hydrozoa: Anthoathecata: Porpitidae) in the Ligurian Sea (North-western Mediterranean Sea)

2019 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 343-353
Author(s):  
F. Betti ◽  
M. Bo ◽  
F. Enrichetti ◽  
M. Manuele ◽  
R. Cattaneo-Vietti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Ligurian Sea ◽  
Western Mediterranean Sea ◽  
North Western

scholarly journals Paleoenvironmental imprint on subseafloor microbial communities in Western Mediterranean Sea Quaternary sediments

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 253-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.-C. Ciobanu ◽  
M. Rabineau ◽  
L. Droz ◽  
S. Révillon ◽  
J.-F. Ghiglione ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Microbial Community Composition ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Depositional Environments ◽  
Ligurian Sea ◽  
Gulf Of Lions ◽  
Western Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Quaternary Climate ◽  
Geochemical Parameters

Abstract. An interdisciplinary study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between geological and paleontological parameters and the bacterial and archaeal community structure of two contrasted subseafloor sites in the Western Mediterranean Sea (Ligurian Sea and Gulf of Lions). Since both depositional environments were well-documented in this area, large data-sets were available and allowed to calibrate the investigated cores with several reference and dated cores previously collected in the same area, and notably correlated to Quaternary climate variations. Molecular-based fingerprints showed that the Ligurian Sea sediments, characterized by an heterolithic facies with numerous turbidites from a deep-sea levee, were unexpectedly dominated by Betaproteobacteria (more than 70 %), at the base of the core mainly below five meters in the sediment. Analysis of relative betaproteobacterial abundances and turbidites frequency indicated that the microbial diversity was controlled by the important climatic changes occurring during the last 20 ka. This result was supported by statistical direct multivariate canonical correspondence analyses (CCA). In contrast, the Gulf of Lions core, characterized by a homogeneous lithology of upper-slope environment, was dominated by the Bacteroidetes group and in a lesser extent, by the Betaproteobacteria group. At both sites, the dominance of Betaproteobacteria coincided with increased terrestrial inputs, as confirmed by the geochemical measurements (Si, Sr, Ti and Ca). In the Gulf of Lions, geochemical parameters were also found to drive microbial community composition. Taken together, our data suggest that the palaeoenvironmental history of erosion and deposition recorded in the Western-Mediterranean Sea sediments has left its imprint on the structure/composition of the microbial communities during the late Quaternary.

scholarly journals A High-Resolution Coral-Based Δ14C Record of Surface Water Processes in the Western Mediterranean Sea

Radiocarbon ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 1617-1630 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine Tisnérat-Laborde ◽  
Paolo Montagna ◽  
Malcolm McCulloch ◽  
Giuseppe Siani ◽  
Sergio Silenzi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Surface Waters ◽  
Vertical Mixing ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Ligurian Sea ◽  
The North ◽  
Western Mediterranean Sea

The first high-resolution time series of pre- and post-bomb radiocarbon measurements is reported for surface waters in the western Mediterranean Sea. The Δ14C record was obtained from the aragonite skeleton of Cladocora caespitosa using a 50-yr-old corallite collected in the Ligurian Sea in 1998. Laser-ablation ICP measurements of trace elements (Li/Mg and Sr/Ca) show a strong seasonal variability, enabling the chronology of the Δ14C record to be determined at annual timescales. The mean Δ14C of pre-bomb surface water is -56 ± 3%, corresponding to a reservoir age of 262 ± 29 yr. The post-bomb maximum occurs in 1972 with a Δ14C value of 90%, significantly lower than the peak of 150% observed in the North Atlantic. The dilution of the peak-amplitude of Δ14C in western Mediterranean surface waters is attributed to mixing of North Atlantic Central Water inflow with relatively depleted underlying Intermediate Mediterranean and Levantine Intermediate waters. Intensification of this mixing is observed in 1963–1964, consistent with the change in atmospheric circulation from a positive to negative NAO phase (1960–1967). The post-peak Δ14C variability is relatively limited, reflecting mainly local vertical mixing forced by wind stress.

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