No CrossRef data available.
Article contents
Southern right whales in the South-western Atlantic Ocean: proposed criteria to identify suitable areas of use in poorly known reproductive grounds
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 January 2019
Abstract
Urbanization and intense vessel traffic in coastal areas are obstacles for right whales when selecting breeding and calving grounds. Human activities might be the main cause for the recently observed drop in right whale sightings along the south-eastern coast of Brazil. Information concerning the biology and the activities that can potentially affect the presence of individuals along the coast are essential for management purposes, as well as for the recovery of the species stocks after a period of whaling pressure. This study correlated the occurrence of right whales in the northern limit of the breeding ground in the South-western Atlantic Ocean with local geomorphology, degree of urbanization and oceanographic features to better identify suitable areas for use by these whales. The study area was divided into 14 sub-areas based on local coastal geomorphology and discharge of large rivers. The following five ranking criteria were applied to each sub-area: presence of whaling stations and whaling activity in the past; presence and activity of ports; protection from swell, coastal slope and composition of the bottom substrate. The sub-areas that offered conditions conducive to the presence of right whales received higher scores. The proposed criteria were validated by overlapping the ranking scores with the records of right whales sighted in each sub-area. In south-eastern Brazil, protected areas with sandy bottom and gentle slope were associated with more sightings of female-calf pairs. The criteria can be used as a primary diagnostic indicating suitable sub-areas for right whales in poorly known breeding grounds.
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 99 , Issue 5 , August 2019 , pp. 1231 - 1236
- Copyright
- Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2019
References
Best, PB, Bannister, JL, Brownell, RL Jr and Donovan, GP (2001) Report of the workshop on the comprehensive assessment of right whales: a worldwide comparison. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 2, 1–60.Google Scholar
Carroll, EL, Rayment, WJ, Alexander, AM, Baker, CS, Patenaude, NJ, Steel, D, Constantine, R, Cole, R, Boren, LJ and Childerhouse, S (2014) Reestablishment of former wintering grounds by New Zealand Southern right whales. Marine Mammal Science 10, 206–220. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mms.12031Google Scholar
Castro, BM and Miranda, LB (1998) Physical oceanography of the western Atlantic continental shelf located between 4N and 34S. In Robinson, AR and Brink, KH (eds), The Sea, vol. 11. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, pp. 209–251.Google Scholar
Clapham, P, Aguilar, A and Hatch, LT (2008) Determining spatial and temporal scales for management of cetaceans: lessons from whaling. Marine Mammal Science 24, 183–201.Google Scholar
Corkeron, PJ and Connor, RC (1999) Why do baleen whales migrate? Marine Mammal Science 15, 1228–1245.Google Scholar
Ellis, M (1969) A Baleia no Brasil Colonial. São Paulo: Melhoramentos/Editora da Universidade de São Paulo.Google Scholar
Elwen, SH and Best, PB (2004 a) Environmental factors influencing the distribution of southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) on the south coast of South Africa. I: Broad scale patterns. Marine Mammal Science 20, 567–582.Google Scholar
Elwen, SH and Best, PB (2004 b) Environmental factors influencing the distribution of southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) on the south coast of South Africa. II: Within bay distribution. Marine Mammal Science 20, 583–601.Google Scholar
Figueiredo, GC, Santos, MC, Siciliano, S and Moura, JF (2017) Southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) in an urbanized area off the southwestern Atlantic Ocean: updated records and conservation issues. Aquatic Mammals 43, 52–62.Google Scholar
Francisconi, O, Costa, MP, Coutinho, MG and Vicalvi, MA (1979) Geologia costeira e sedimentos da plataforma continental brasileira. In Petrobrás, DNPM, CPRM, DHN and CNPq (eds), Reconhecimento global da margem continental brasileira: Projeto REMAC. Rio de Janeiro: Petrobrás, pp. 35–51.Google Scholar
Groch, KR (2001) Cases of harassment by kelp gulls (Larus dominicanus) on right whales (Eubalaena australis) of southern Brazil. Biotemas 14, 146–156.Google Scholar
Groch, KR, Palazzo, JT Jr, Flores, PAC, Adler, FR and Fabian, ME (2005) Recent rapid increases in the right whale (Eubalaena australis) population off southern Brazil. Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals 4, 41–47.Google Scholar
Johnson, AJ, Kraus, SD, Kenney, JF and Mayo, CA (2007) The entangled lives of right whales and fisherman: can they coexist? In Kraus, SD and Rolland, RM (eds), The Urban Whale. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, pp. 380–408.Google Scholar
Kenney, RD (2009) Right whales Eubalaena glacialis, E. japonica and E. australis. In Perrin, WF, Würsig, B and Thewissen, JGM (eds), Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. London: Elsevier, pp. 962–972.Google Scholar
Kraus, SD and Rolland, RM (2007) Right whales in the urban ocean. In Kraus, SD and Rolland, RM (eds), The Urban Whale. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, pp. 1–38.Google Scholar
Lodi, L, Siciliano, S and Bellini, C (1996) Ocorrências e conservação de baleias- francas-do-sul, Eubalaena australis, no litoral do Brasil. Papeis Avulsos de Zoologia 39, 307–328.Google Scholar
Muehe, D, Lima, CF and Lins-de-Barros, FM (2006) Rio de Janeiro. In Muehe, D (ed.), Erosão e progradação do litoral brasileiro. Brasilia: Ministério do Meio Ambiente, pp. 265–296.Google Scholar
Parks, SE and Clark, CW (2007) Acoustic communication: social sounds and the potential impacts of noise. In Kraus, SD and Rolland, RM (eds), The Urban Whale. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, pp. 310–332.Google Scholar
R Core Team (2016) R: A language and environment for statistical computing (Version 3.2.4). Vienna: R Foundation for Statistical Computing. Available at http://www.R-project.org (Accessed 19 April 2016).Google Scholar
Richards, R. (2009) Past and present distributions of southern right whales (Eubalaena australis). New Zealand Journal of Zoology 36, 447–459.Google Scholar
Richardson, WJ, Greene, CR Jr, Malme, CI and Thomson, DH (1995) Marine Mammals and Noise. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Rodrigues, M, Furtado, VV, Tessler, MG and Mahiques, MM (2003) Atlas sedimentológico da plataforma continental do Estado de São Paulo: texto explicativo e mapas. São Paulo: IOUSP.Google Scholar
Rolland, RM, Parks, SE, Hunt, KE, Castellote, M, Corkeron, PJ, Nowacek, DP, Wasser, SK and Kraus, SD (2012) Evidence that ship noise increases stress in right whales. Proceeding of the Royal Society B 279, 2363–2368.Google Scholar
Santos, MC de O, Siciliano, S, de Souza, SP and Pizzorno, JLA (2001) Occurrence of southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) along southeastern Brazil. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 2, 153–156.Google Scholar
Santos, MCde O, Siciliano, S, Vicente, AFde C, Alvarenga, FS, Zampirolli, E, de Souza, SP and Maranho, A (2010) Cetacean records along São Paulo state coast, southeastern Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Oceanography 58, 123–142.Google Scholar
Tessler, MG, Goya, SC, Yoshikawa, PS and Hurtado, SN (2006) São Paulo. In Muehe, D (ed.), Erosão e progradação do litoral brasileiro. Brasilia: Ministério do Meio Ambiente, pp. 297–346.Google Scholar
Van Waerebeek, K, Baker, AN, Félix, F, Gedamke, J, Iñiguez, M, Sanino, GP, Secchi, E, Sutaria, D, Van Helden, A and Wang, Y (2007) Vessel collision with small cetaceans worldwide and with large whales in the southern hemisphere, an initial assessment. Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals 6, 44–69.Google Scholar
Figueiredo et al. supplementary material
Figueiredo et al. supplementary material 1
Image
13.9 MB