Visual health assessment of North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) using photographs

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather M Pettis ◽  
Rosalind M Rolland ◽  
Philip K Hamilton ◽  
Solange Brault ◽  
Amy R Knowlton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Condition ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Health Assessment ◽  
Skin Condition ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Physical Parameters ◽  
Eubalaena Glacialis ◽  
Health Trends ◽  
Right Whale ◽  
Right Whales

Although trends in reproduction, mortality, and entanglement events have been analyzed for the endangered North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) population, no method has been available to assess individual right whale health. Here, we describe a technique for assessing health based on evaluation of selected physical parameters from archived photographs of right whales. A scoring system was developed to assess body and skin condition, blowhole cyamids, and rake marks in over 200 000 photographs. Comparison of body condition scores of females during calving and noncalving years found that females were significantly thinner in calving years and in the year after calving compared with the year before calving, showing that changes in body condition known to occur during the reproductive cycle can be successfully evaluated from photographs. Comparison of scores for all parameters between living whales and whales with more than a 5-year gap in sighting history ("presumed dead") found that presumed dead whales received health assessment scores indicating compromised health with body condition emerging as a key visual indicator. This health assessment method provides a new tool to monitor health trends in right whales at individual and population levels and may provide a model for assessments of other well-photographed cetaceans.

Fishing-gear threat to right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) in Canadian waters and the risk of lethal entanglement

2011 ◽  
Vol 68 (12) ◽  
pp. 2174-2193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelia S.M. Vanderlaan ◽  
R. Kent Smedbol ◽  
Christopher T. Taggart
Keyword(s):  
Relative Risk ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Eubalaena Glacialis ◽  
Bay Of Fundy ◽  
Commercial Fishing ◽  
Fishing Gear ◽  
Critical Habitat ◽  
North Atlantic Right Whale ◽  
Right Whale ◽  
Right Whales

Commercial fishing gear can potentially entangle any whale, and this is especially true for the endangered North Atlantic right whale ( Eubalaena glacialis ), for which entanglement is second only to vessel strike as being responsible for documented right whale deaths. We use right whale survey data and Canadian fishing-gear deployment data to estimate the relative threat of gear entanglement in a Scotia–Fundy study area and the relative risk of lethal entanglement in the Bay of Fundy and on Roseway Basin, Scotian Shelf, where Critical Habitat has been legislated. We focus on groundfish and pelagic hook-and-line; groundfish gillnet; and crab-, hagfish-, and inshore and offshore lobster-trap gear. Our analyses demonstrate that groundfish hook-and-line gear poses the greatest threat to right whales among the seven gear types analysed during the summer-resident period in Critical Habitat and that gear from the lobster fisheries poses the greatest threat during the spring and autumn periods when whales are migrating to and from Critical Habitat. We suggest that area-specific seasonal closures of some fisheries would reduce threat and risk to whales without unduly compromising fishing interests.

scholarly journals Confirmation of right whales near a nineteenth-century whaling ground east of southern Greenland

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
David K. Mellinger ◽  
Sharon L. Nieukirk ◽  
Karolin Klinck ◽  
Holger Klinck ◽  
Robert P. Dziak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Eubalaena Glacialis ◽  
Acoustic Survey ◽  
Temporal Separation ◽  
Right Whale ◽  
Right Whales ◽  
North Atlantic Right Whales ◽  
Passive Acoustic

North Atlantic right whales ( Eubalaena glacialis ) were found in an important nineteenth century whaling area east of southern Greenland, from which they were once thought to have been extirpated. In 2007–2008, a 1-year passive acoustic survey was conducted at five sites in and near the ‘Cape Farewell Ground’, the former whaling ground. Over 2000 right whale calls were recorded at these sites, primarily during July–November. Most calls were northwest of the historic ground, suggesting a broader range in this region than previously known. Geographical and temporal separation of calls confirms use of this area by multiple animals.

Assessment of the population structure of western North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) based on sighting and mtDNA data

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 339-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine M. Schaeff ◽  
Scott D. Kraus ◽  
Moira W. Brown ◽  
Bradley N. White
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Courtship Behavior ◽  
Restriction Enzymes ◽  
Eubalaena Glacialis ◽  
Bay Of Fundy ◽  
Right Whale ◽  
Right Whales ◽  
North Atlantic Right Whales ◽  
Reproductive Females

Photoidentifications and 11 years of sighting data revealed that only two-thirds of the western North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) reproductive females took their calves to the Bay of Fundy, the only known summer nursery. Study of cow–calf pairs further indicated that female, and to a lesser extent male, calves were philopatric with respect to this nursery. To further examine population structure, mtDNA composite restriction morphs were determined for 150 animals (47% of the population). Using 11 restriction enzymes, three composite mtDNA morphs were identified. One morph was not found among reproductive females that brought all of their calves to the Bay of Fundy. In contrast, all three morphs were present, in the same relative frequencies, among males that were seen in the Bay of Fundy and those that were not. These findings support the hypothesis that this population may be divided into two subgroups, which are defined by their use of the Fundy nursery, and that males are generally less philopatric than females. Animals from both subgroups were seen on the southern Scotian shelf, where most right whale courtship behavior was observed. Hence, although segregated by nursery areas, the western North Atlantic right whales probably represent a single breeding population.

Southern Right Whale Eubalaena australis sightings on the Australian coast and the increasing potential for entanglement

2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Allen ◽  
Lars Bejder
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Coastal Development ◽  
Eubalaena Glacialis ◽  
Precautionary Approach ◽  
Right Whale ◽  
Eubalaena Australis ◽  
Right Whales ◽  
North Atlantic Right Whales ◽  
Southern Right Whales ◽  
Development Applications

Southern Right Whales Eubalaena australis are an endangered species that have been recovering from unsustainable whaling practices and, despite being reported along the east and west coasts of Australia, they have not been duly accounted for in recent risk assessments for marine development. This review of the last decade of sightings highlights northerly movements into temperate and sub-tropical waters, indicates that fatal entanglement has occurred and points toward an increasing likelihood of interactions between migrating whales and inshore marine development. Given that entanglements and vessel strike are preventing the recovery of North Atlantic Right Whales Eubalaena glacialis, we recommend a precautionary approach to risk assessment around Australia and the formation of a national animal entanglement committee with both a pre-emptive role in assessing coastal development applications and a reactive role in the event of entanglement.

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