The Food and Feeding Habits of the Sperm Whales (Physeter Catodon L.) Taken off the West Coast of Iceland

1969 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. S. J. Roe
Keyword(s):  
West Coast ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Sperm Whales ◽  
The West ◽  
Food And Feeding

An aerial survey for sperm whales off the coast of Western Australia 1963-1965.

1968 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 31 ◽  
Author(s):  
JL Bannister
Keyword(s):  
Continental Slope ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
West Coast ◽  
Aerial Survey ◽  
South Coast ◽  
Sperm Whales ◽  
The South ◽  
The West ◽  
Offshore Area ◽  
Direction Of Movement

Objectives, methods, and results of a two-year aerial survey for sperm whales off the coast of Western Australia, 1963-65, are described. Data from commercial whaling operations have been included where appropriate. Sperm whales were found well off the west coast, but only in a narrow strip along the continental slope off the south coast. On both coasts, the main direction of movement was parallel to the coastline and towards Cape Leeuwin. Unexpectedly, whales off the west coast were heading mainly southwards throughout the year. Densities in the offshore area north of Perth were significantly higher than along the continental slope in the same region but similar to those along the continental slope from Perth to Cape Leeuwin. The situation was reversed on the south coast with whales being found, in high densities, only along the continental slope. Off the west coast, there were marked decreases in abundance in winter, with peaks in spring-early summer and autumn; no change in direction of movement could be related to the peaks. Average numbers calculated as present in the survey area at one time were: west coast, c. 1000 whales; south coast, c. 200 whales. South coast data indicate the passage of about 40 whales in one 24 hr period, very similar to results from whaling company aerial spotter data off Albany. The hypothesis of two separate populations of sperm whales off Western Australia is discussed and thought to be unlikely. A small amount of data on baleen whale sightings is recorded.

Feeding Habits of Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) in the West Coast of Yellow Sea of Korea

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-82
Author(s):  
Dong-Hyek Choi ◽  
Myoung-Ho Sohn ◽  
Maeng Jin Kim ◽  
Seung-Jong Lee
Keyword(s):  
West Coast ◽  
Yellow Sea ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Pacific Cod ◽  
The West ◽  
Pacific Cod Gadus Macrocephalus ◽  
Gadus Macrocephalus

scholarly journals The alien invasive land snail Theba pisana in the West Coast National Park: Is there cause for concern?

Koedoe ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lizelle J. Odendaal ◽  
Tanya M. Haupt ◽  
Charles L. Griffiths
Keyword(s):  
West Coast ◽  
National Park ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Average Density ◽  
Land Snails ◽  
Adult Size ◽  
The West ◽  
Theba Pisana ◽  
Very High

The distribution, abundance, size distribution and diurnal activity patterns of invasive land snails, Theba pisana, in the West Coast National Park (WCNP), South Africa, were investigated. The park was divided into 1 km2 grids, within each of which five 1 m2 quadrat counts of live snails were recorded. Of 106 grids sampled, 19% contained live snails. The average density of snails was 4.04 m-2 ± 24.9, significantly lower than in disturbed habitats adjacent to the park (57 m-2 ± 96.25), but very high densities were recorded at two sites. Snails were most abundant along roadsides and densities decreased dramatically with distance from roads. T. pisana in the WCNP appear to have an annual lifecycle, breeding in autumn to winter and growing to adult size of about 14 mm diameter by the end of the following summer. Snails were observed on a wide variety of endemic and introduced plant species and appeared to have a catholic diet. They are active mostly at night and especially during periods of high humidity, irrespective of temperature. Given the very high densities that T. pisana can attain at some sites, plus their apparently catholic feeding habits, their potential impact on the vegetation of the park is cause for concern and should be further investigated. Control of the main colonies should also be considered.

scholarly journals Clicking throughout the year: sperm whale clicks in relation to environmental conditions off the west coast of South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 475-494
Author(s):  
FW Shabangu ◽  
RK Andrew
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
West Coast ◽  
Sperm Whale ◽  
Acoustic Monitoring ◽  
Height Anomaly ◽  
Sperm Whales ◽  
Passive Acoustic Monitoring ◽  
The West ◽  
Passive Acoustic

Knowledge of cetacean occurrence and behaviour in southern African waters is limited, and passive acoustic monitoring has the potential to address this gap efficiently. Seasonal acoustic occurrence and diel-vocalizing patterns of sperm whales in relation to environmental conditions are described here using passive acoustic monitoring data collected off the west coast of South Africa. Four autonomous acoustic recorders (AARs) were deployed on 3 oceanographic moorings from July 2014 to January 2017. Sperm whale clicks were detected year round in most recording sites, with peaks in acoustic occurrence in summer and late winter through spring. Diel-vocalizing patterns were detected in winter, spring and summer. Higher percentages of sperm whale clicks were recorded by AARs deployed at 1100 m water depth compared to those concurrently deployed at 850 and 4500 m, likely inferring that the whales exhibited some preference to water depths around 1100 m. Acoustic propagation modelling suggested a maximum detection range of 83 km in winter for sperm whale clicks produced at 1100 m. Random forest models classified daylight regime, sea surface height anomaly and month of the year as the most important predictors of sperm whale acoustic occurrence. The continuous acoustic occurrence of sperm whales suggests that the study area supports large biomasses of prey to sustain this species’ food requirements year round. This is the first study to describe the seasonal acoustic occurrence and diel-vocalizing patterns of sperm whales off the west coast of South Africa, extending knowledge of the species previously available only through whaling records.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document