scholarly journals Natal origin of Namibian grey whale implies new distance record for in-water migration

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 20210136
Author(s):  
A. Rus Hoelzel ◽  
Fatih Sarigol ◽  
Tess Gridley ◽  
Simon H. Elwen
Keyword(s):  
North Pacific ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
Water Migration ◽  
Natal Origin ◽  
The North ◽  
Pacific Population ◽  
Conservation Implications ◽  
Grey Whale ◽  
The World ◽  
The North Pacific

We use genomics to identify the natal origin of a grey whale found in the South Atlantic, at least 20 000 km from the species core range (halfway around the world). The data indicate an origin in the North Pacific, possibly from the endangered western North Pacific population, thought to include only approximately 200 individuals. This contributes to our understanding of Atlantic sightings of this species known primarily from the North Pacific, and could have conservation implications if grey whales have the potential for essentially global dispersion. More broadly, documenting and understanding rare extreme migration events have potential implications for the understanding of how a species may be able to respond to global change.

scholarly journals Conservation status of North Pacific right whales

2020 ◽  
pp. 269-286
Author(s):  
Robert L. Brownell ◽  
Phillip J. Clapham ◽  
Tomio Miyashita ◽  
Toshio Kasuya
Keyword(s):  
North Pacific ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Okhotsk Sea ◽  
Right Whale ◽  
The North ◽  
Pacific Population ◽  
Right Whales ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The North Pacific

The North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica) is among the most endangered of all great whales, having been subject to intensivecommercial whaling in the 19th century. All available 20th century records of this species in the North Pacific were reviewed. There hasbeen a total of 1,965 recorded sightings since 1900; of these, 988 came from the western North Pacific, 693 from the eastern North Pacificand 284 had no location specified. Thirteen strandings (all but one from the western North Pacific) were recorded. Known catches forcommercial or scientific purposes totalled 742 (331 in the western North Pacific, 411 in the eastern North Pacific). Most of the reportedSoviet ‘sightings’ in the eastern North Pacific were actually catches, as may be the case for Soviet sightings in the Okhotsk Sea. In addition,the impact of known Soviet illegal catches in the Okhotsk Sea may be reflected in an apparent decline in sightings after the 1960s (althoughthis may be partly explained by low observer effort). Overall, the data support the hypothesis that at least two stocks of right whales existin the North Pacific. Any recovery in the western North Pacific population was compromised by the Soviet catches in the Okhotsk region,although recent sightings suggest that this population is still large enough to sustain reproduction. By contrast, Soviet catches in thenow-smaller eastern North Pacific population have severely reduced its prospects for recovery. Although the prognosis for this populationis poor, a long-term monitoring programme is required to better understand its conservation status and to determine whether it may beaffected by human-related problems that would require mitigation.

Satellite-Derived Tropical Cyclone Intensity in the North Pacific Ocean Using the Deviation-Angle Variance Technique

2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 505-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Ritchie ◽  
Kimberly M. Wood ◽  
Oscar G. Rodríguez-Herrera ◽  
Miguel F. Piñeros ◽  
J. Scott Tyo
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
North Pacific Ocean ◽  
Deviation Angle ◽  
Intensity Estimation ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The North Pacific

Abstract The deviation-angle variance technique (DAV-T), which was introduced in the North Atlantic basin for tropical cyclone (TC) intensity estimation, is adapted for use in the North Pacific Ocean using the “best-track center” application of the DAV. The adaptations include changes in preprocessing for different data sources [Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-East (GOES-E) in the Atlantic, stitched GOES-E–Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-West (GOES-W) in the eastern North Pacific, and the Multifunctional Transport Satellite (MTSAT) in the western North Pacific], and retraining the algorithm parameters for different basins. Over the 2007–11 period, DAV-T intensity estimation in the western North Pacific results in a root-mean-square intensity error (RMSE, as measured by the maximum sustained surface winds) of 14.3 kt (1 kt ≈ 0.51 m s−1) when compared to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center best track, utilizing all TCs to train and test the algorithm. The RMSE obtained when testing on an individual year and training with the remaining set lies between 12.9 and 15.1 kt. In the eastern North Pacific the DAV-T produces an RMSE of 13.4 kt utilizing all TCs in 2005–11 when compared with the National Hurricane Center best track. The RMSE for individual years lies between 9.4 and 16.9 kt. The complex environment in the western North Pacific led to an extension to the DAV-T that includes two different radii of computation, producing a parametric surface that relates TC axisymmetry to intensity. The overall RMSE is reduced by an average of 1.3 kt in the western North Pacific and 0.8 kt in the eastern North Pacific. These results for the North Pacific are comparable with previously reported results using the DAV for the North Atlantic basin.

scholarly journals Report on hydrozoans (Cnidaria), excluding Stylasteridae, from the Emperor Seamounts, western North Pacific Ocean

Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4950 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-247
Author(s):  
DALE R. CALDER ◽  
LES WATLING
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
North Pacific Ocean ◽  
First Record ◽  
Western North Pacific Ocean ◽  
The North ◽  
Seamount Chain ◽  
The North Pacific

Fourteen species of hydroids, collected during August 2019 by ROV SuBastian of the Schmidt Ocean Institute, are reported from the Emperor Seamount chain in the western North Pacific Ocean. Two others, Candelabrum sp. and Eudendrium sp., were observed only on videos taken by the ROV. From collections and video observations, eight species of hydroids were found at Jingū Seamount, three at Yomei, Nintoku, and Annei seamounts, and one at Koko Seamount and Hess Rise. At Suiko and Godaigo seamounts, hydroids were seen in videos but they could not be identified. Latebrahydra schulzei, an endobiotic associate of the hexactinellid sponge Walteria flemmingii Schulze, 1886 from Annei Seamount and Hess Rise, is described as a new genus and species tentatively attributed to Hydractiniidae L. Agassiz, 1862. Another new species, Hydractinia galeai, is described from Jingū Seamount. Among its distinctive characters is a zooid termed a sellectozooid, likely serving in both food capture and defence. Hydroids examined from Yomei, Nintoku, and Jingū seamounts are elements of a cold-water fauna occurring in the North Pacific Boreal Bathyal province, while those of Annei and Koko seamounts, and Hess Rise, are part of the biota of the Central North Pacific Bathyal province. Hydroids identified as Bouillonia sp., from Nintoku Seamount, represent the first record of this predominantly deep water tubulariid genus in the North Pacific Ocean. Bonneviella superba Nutting, 1915, from Jingū Seamount, is reported for the first time outside the Aleutian Islands. Bonneviella cf. gracilis Fraser, 1939, known elsewhere only from Dease Strait in the western Canadian Arctic, was also collected on Jingū. In addition to hydroids, medusae of Ptychogastria polaris Allman, 1878 were observed on videos from Nintoku, Jingū, Annei, and Koko seamounts at depths between 2423–1422 m. An unidentified siphonophore was observed near bottom at 2282 m on Nintoku Seamount. 

scholarly journals Downstream Development of the Summertime Tropical Cyclone/Submonthly Wave Pattern in the Extratropical North Pacific

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (8) ◽  
pp. 2223-2229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken-Chung Ko ◽  
Huang-Hsiung Hsu
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
Wave Pattern ◽  
Wave Activity ◽  
Western North America ◽  
Energy Propagation ◽  
The North ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The North Pacific

Abstract The impact of tropical perturbation on the extratropical wave activity in the North Pacific in the submonthly time scale is demonstrated here. Previous studies identified a tropical cyclone (TC)/submonthly wave pattern, which propagated north-northwestward in the Philippine Sea and recurved in the oceanic region between Japan and Taiwan. This study found that, after the arrival of the TC/submonthly wave pattern at the recurving region, the eastward-propagating wave activity in the extratropical North Pacific was significantly enhanced. It is suggested that the TC/submonthly wave pattern, which is originated in the tropical western North Pacific, enhances the eastward energy propagation of Rossby wave–like perturbation in the extratropical North Pacific and may have an impact on the long-range weather predictability in the eastern North Pacific and western North America.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document