Antofagasta Region in northern Chile, a potential nursing ground for the Southern right whale Eubalaena australis

The Chile-Peru subpopulation (CPe) of the Southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) is classified as Critically Endangered following intense whaling in past centuries. Due to their very low abundance, information on breeding and feeding grounds is also scarce. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly applied in marine mammal research thanks to their low cost and relative ease of use. This case study documents a Southern right whale nursing in Bahía Moreno (23º S), Antofagasta, in northern Chile through high-resolution images taken by UAV of an adult in July 2019 and the same whale with a neonate in August. Combined with earlier data we hypothesize that the Antofagasta Region may be a potential calving and nursing ground for the CPe subpopulation. Given the intense shipping traffic and fishing activities around the Mejillones Peninsula and Antofagasta port, priorly recommended marine spatial planning to help avoid net entanglements and vessel collisions of fin and humpback whales may also contribute to the conservation of the CPe stock.

A Potential Nursing Ground for the Southern Right Whale Eubalaena australis in Northern Chile

The Chile-Peru subpopulation (CPe) of the southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) is classified as critically endangered following intense whaling in past centuries. Due to their very low abundance, information on breeding and feeding grounds is also scarce. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly applied in marine mammal research thanks to their low cost and relative ease of use. This case study documents a southern right whale nursing in Bahía Moreno (23ºS), Antofagasta, northern Chile, through high-resolution images taken by UAV of a lone adult in July 2019 and the same (photo-identified) whale with a neonate in August, confirming local parturition. Combined with earlier data we hypothesize that the Antofagasta Region may be a calving and nursing ground for the CPe subpopulation. Given the intense shipping traffic and fishing activities around the Mejillones Peninsula and Antofagasta port, priorly recommended marine spatial planning to help avoid net entanglements and vessel collisions of fin and humpback whales would also contribute to the conservation of the CPe stock of southern right whale.

Etnoecologia comportamental da baleia-franca-austral Eubalaena australis (Desmoulins, 1822) por meio do conhecimento ecológico local de pescadores artesanais na Área de Proteção Ambiental da Baleia Franca, Sul do Brasil

O objetivo deste estudo foi caracterizar o conhecimento ecológico local dos pescadores artesanais do município de Garopaba, Santa Catarina, Sul do Brasil, em relação ao comportamento da baleia-franca-austral, Eubalaena australis, na Área de Proteção Ambiental (APA) da Baleia Franca. Em outubro de 2010, foram realizadas 33 entrevistas etnográficas com pescadores em que 81,8% (n = 27) dos entrevistados identificam a espécie por meio da sua área de ocorrência, coloração e tamanho corporal. As análises das entrevistas foram baseadas nestes 27 pescadores selecionados, com a descrição de mais de uma etnocategoria por entrevistado. Os pescadores indicaram dez etnocategorias comportamentais comuns a adultos e infantes, e a categoria ‘não faz nada’ frente a embarcações (n = 13; 26,0%) foi a mais frequente. Para comportamentos específicos de adultos, foram descritas 25 etnocategorias e a mais frequente foi ‘brincar’ (n = 13; 18,1%). Quatro etnocategorias foram descritas para infantes (n = 18) e estão relacionadas à alimentação/amamentação (n = 15; 83,3%) e à vocalização/eventos de interação com a fêmea adulta (n = 3; 16,7%). A partir das experiências empíricas proporcionadas pela prática pesqueira artesanal, os entrevistados foram capazes de reconhecer a espécie, distinguir indivíduos adultos e infantes e descrever suas principais características comportamentais.

The missing whales: relevance of “struck and lost” rates for the impact assessment of historical whaling in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean

The massive impact that open-boat historical whaling (18th to 20th centuries) had on whale populations has been traditionally estimated from records of oil and baleen plate production. However, an unknown proportion of hunted whales were struck, wounded, eventually killed, but lost, and not included in these records, suggesting that whaling impact may be critically underestimated. Whaling logbooks provide a key source for assessing past catches and losses. Here, we extract detailed records of 19875 days of activity in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean from 255 logbooks of offshore whaling voyages. During the period considered (1776–1923), whalers first targeted southern right whales (Eubalaena australis, 2497 sightings and 658 catches), gradually substituted by sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus, 1157 sightings and 843 catches) after 1840. Loss rate factors, calculated to account for the number of “struck and lost” whales, decreased across time for both species, and were particularly high (ranging 1.09–1.6) for the southern right whale, whose population was drastically reduced by whaling, as compared to previous estimates based on rough catch records. Accurate accounting for these “lost” individuals is essential for reconstructing the impact of whaling on cetacean populations and for a proper assessment of their initial population size and demographic trends.

A tale of two whales

Conservation physiology tools can be difficult to employ in the wild. Here we discuss developments in conservation physiology research of large whales, a taxonomic group that is famously difficult to study with traditional tools. We focus on the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) and southern right whale (Eubalaena australis), two closely related species that present similar logistical challenges for research, yet differ in population status and conservation pressures. Research has advanced via a suite of creative approaches including photo-identification, visual health assessment, remote methods of assessing body condition, and endocrine research on non-plasma sample types such as faeces, respiratory vapour, and baleen. These efforts have illuminated conservation-relevant physiological questions for both species, such as discrimination of acute from chronic stress, identification of likely causes of mortality, and monitoring causes and consequences of changes in body condition and reproduction.

Have whales returned to a historical hotspot of industrial whaling? The pattern of southern right whale Eubalaena australis recovery at South Georgia

Around 176500 whales were killed in the sub-Antarctic waters off South Georgia (South Atlantic) between 1904 and 1965. In recent decades, whales have once again become summer visitors, with the southern right whale (SRW) the most commonly reported species until 2011. Here, we assess the distribution, temporal pattern, health status and likely prey of SRWs in these waters, combining observations from a summertime vessel-based expedition to South Georgia, stable isotope data collected from SRWs and putative prey and sightings reports collated by the South Georgia Museum. The expedition used directional acoustics and visual surveys to localise whales and collected skin biopsies and photo-IDs. During 76 h of visual observation effort over 19 expedition days, SRWs were encountered 15 times (~31 individuals). Photo-IDs, combined with publicly contributed images from commercial vessels, were reconciled and quality-controlled to form a catalogue of 6 fully (i.e. both sides) identified SRWs and 26 SRWs identified by either left or right sides. No photo-ID matches were found with lower-latitude calving grounds, but 3 whales had gull lesions supporting a direct link with Península Valdés, Argentina. The isotopic position of SRWs in the South Georgia food web suggests feeding on a combination of copepod and krill species. Opportunistic reports of SRW sightings and associated group sizes remain steady over time, while humpback whales provide a strong contrast, with increased sighting rates and group sizes seen since 2013. These data suggest a plateau in SRWs and an increasing humpback whale presence in South Georgia waters following the cessation of whaling.