Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T11:38:14.242Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Influence of environmental and longline fishing operational variables on the presence of killer whales (Orcinus orca) in south-western Atlantic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 November 2012

Cecilia Passadore ,
Andrés Domingo ,
María Szephegyi  and
Eduardo R. Secchi
Cecilia Passadore*
Affiliation:
Proyecto ODAS/Cetáceos Uruguay, Iguá 4225, P.C. 11400, Sección Etología–Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay Recursos Pelágicos, Dirección Nacional de Recursos Acuáticos, Montevideo, Uruguay ONG CICMAR, (Centro de Investigación y Conservación Marina), El Pinar, Uruguay
Andrés Domingo
Affiliation:
Recursos Pelágicos, Dirección Nacional de Recursos Acuáticos, Montevideo, Uruguay
María Szephegyi
Affiliation:
Proyecto ODAS/Cetáceos Uruguay, Iguá 4225, P.C. 11400, Sección Etología–Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
Eduardo R. Secchi
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Tartarugas e Mamíferos Marinhos, Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: C. Passadore, Proyecto ODAS/Cetáceos Uruguay, Iguá 4225, C.P. 11400, Sección Etología–Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Killer whale (Orcinus orca) is frequently encountered in coastal and high productive pelagic waters, near the shelf break. In the south-western Atlantic Ocean, spatial and temporal occurrence patterns are poorly known. However, the monitoring of the interaction between killer whales and longline fishery suggests that the species is frequent in this region. We analysed the killer whale presence within the Uruguayan pelagic longline fishing zone. Data were collected from 1996 to 2007, during 2189 fishing events, by vessel skippers and on-board observers. We estimated the sighting rate (SR = sightings days/fishing days * 100) for different time scales and in 1 × 1 degree grids. Generalized linear models were used to evaluate the effect of spatial, temporal, environmental and operational variables on the species presence. Killer whales were sighted in 100 fishing days (SR = 4.5%), this occurrence being explained by distance from shore and sea surface temperature, varying among months and fishing boats. Although sightings occurred year round, they were more frequent in autumn and winter, at 150–400 nautical miles (nm) from shore (mean = 250 nm) and in waters with temperatures ranging from 19 to 24°C (mean = 22°C). Sets took place between 19°–40°S and 21°–54°W, while killer whales occurred mostly from 34°–37°S and 48°–53°W. In this region, the high productive Brazil—Malvinas Confluence Zone is located, and concentrates fishing effort and also killer whales.

Keywords

killer whalesOrcinus orcadistributionsouth-western Atlanticlongline fisheryfishing practicesenvironmental variables
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 94 , Issue 6 , September 2014 , pp. 1267 - 1276
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2012 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Acha, E.M., Mianzan, H.W., Guerrero, R.A., Favero, M. and Bava, J. (2004) Marine fronts at the continental shelves of austral South America physical and ecological processes. Journal of Marine Systems 44, 83–105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alemany, D., Acha, E.M. and Iribarne, O. (2009) The relation between marine fronts and fish diversity in the Patagonian Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem. Journal of Biogeography 36, 2111–2124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baird, R.W. (2000) The killer whale—foraging specializations and group hunting. In Mann, J., Connor, R.C., Tyack, P.L. and Whitehead, H. (eds) Cetacean societies: field studies of dolphins and whales. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, pp. 127–153.Google Scholar
Baird, R.W., Abrams, P.A. and Dill, L.M. (1992) Possible indirect interactions between transient and resident killer whales: implications for the evolution of foraging specializations in the genus Orcinus. Oecologia 89, 125–132.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barré, N., Provost, C. and Saraceno, M. (2006) Spatial and temporal scales of the Brazil–Malvinas Current confluence documented by simultaneous MODIS Aqua 1.1-km resolution SST and color images. Advances in Space Research 37, 770–786.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bastida, R., Rodriguez, D., Secchi, E.R. and Da Silva, V.M.F. (2007) Mamíferos acuáticos de Sudamérica y Antártida. Buenos Aires: Vazquez Mazzini Editors.Google Scholar
Bisbal, G. (1995) The southeast South American shelf large marine ecosystem; evolution and components. Marine Policy 19, 21–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Braga, E.S., Chiozzini, V.C., Berbel, G.B.B., Maluf, J.C.C., Aguiar, V.M.C., Charo, M., Molina, D., Romero, S.I. and Eichler, B.B. (2008) Nutrient distributions over the south-western South Atlantic continental shelf from Mar del Plata (Argentina) to Itajaí (Brazil): winter–summer aspects. Continental Shelf Research 28, 1649–1661.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brandini, F.P., Boltovskoy, D., Piola, A., Kocmur, S., Röttgers, R., Abreu, P.C. and Mendes Lopes, R. (2000) Multiannual trends in fronts and distribution of nutrients and chlorophyll in the south-western Atlantic (30–62°S). Deep-Sea Research I 47, 1015–1033.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brum, F.L. and Marín, Y.H. (2000) Interacciones entre mamíferos marinos y la pesquería de pez espada Xiphias gladius con palangres pelágicos en el Atlántico Sudoccidental. In Arena, G. and Rey, M. (eds) Captura de grandes peces pelágicos (pez espada y atunes) en el Atlántico Sudoccidental y su interacción con otras poblaciones. Montevideo: INAPE, MGAP, PNUD, pp. 89–96.Google Scholar
Burnham, K. and Anderson, D. (2002) Models selection and multi-nodel inference. Berlin: Springer Verlag.Google Scholar
Dalla Rosa, L. and Secchi, E.R. (2007) Killer whale (Orcinus orca) interactions with the tuna and swordfish longline fishery off southern and south-eastern Brazil: a comparison with shark interactions. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 87, 135–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dalla Rosa, L., Secchi, E.R., Lailson-Brito, J. Jr and Azevedo, A.F. (2007) Status of killer whale in Brazilian waters. SC/59/SM11-IWC.Google Scholar
Dantas, W. (2007) Interações entre orcas Orcinus orca (Linnaeus, 1758) e falsas-orcas Pseudorca crassidens (Owen, 1846) com a pesca de espinhel pelágico monofilamento no Atlântico Oeste Tropical. MSc dissertation. Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Pernambuco, Brazil.Google Scholar
Domingo, A., Mora, O. and Cornes, M. (2002) Evolución de las capturas de elasmobranquios pelágicos en la pesquería de atunes de Uruguay, con énfasis en los tiburones azul (Prionace glauca), moro (Isurus oxyrinchus) y porbeagle (Lamna nasus). Collective Volume of Scientific Papers ICCAT 54, 1406–1420.Google Scholar
Domingo, A., Mora, O., Pons, M., Miller, P. and Pereyra, G. (2007) Análisis de la CPUE y la composición de tallas del pez espada (Xiphias gladius), capturado por la flota uruguaya (2001 – 2005) en el Atlántico SW. Collective Volume of Scientific Papers ICCAT 60, 1953–1966.Google Scholar
Domingo, A., Rios, M. and Pons, M. (2009) Spatial and temporal distribution, size and sex composition of yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) in the south-west Atlantic Ocean. Collective Volume of Scientific Papers ICCAT 64, 999–1010.Google Scholar
Donoghue, M., Reeves, R.R. and Stone, G.S. (2002) Report of the workshop on interactions between cetaceans and longline fisheries, November 2002. Boston: MA New England Aquarium Press.Google Scholar
Durban, J.W. and Pitman, R.L. (2012) Antarctic killer whales make rapid, round-trip movements to subtropical waters: evidence for physiological maintenance migrations? Biology Letters 8, 274–277.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ford, J.K.B. (2002) Killer whale Orcinus orca. In Perrin, W.F., Wursig, B. and Thewissen, J.G.M. (eds) Encyclopedia of marine mammals. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Ford, J.K.B., Ellis, G.M., Olesiuk, P.F. and Balcomb, K.C. (2010) Linking killer whale survival and prey abundance: food limitation in the oceans' apex predator? Biology Letters 6, 139–142.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Forney, K.A. and Wade, P. (2007) Worldwide distribution and abundance of killer whales. In Estes, J.A., Brownell, R.L. Jr, DeMaster, D.P., Doak, D.F. and Williams, T.M. (eds) Whales, whaling and ocean ecosystems. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, pp. 145–162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grémillet, D., Kuntz, G., Delbart, F., Mellet, M., Kato, A., Robin, J.P., Chaillon, P.E., Gendner, J.P., Lorentsen, S.H. and Le Maho, Y. (2004) Linking the foraging performance of a marine predator with local prey abundance. Functional Ecology 18, 793–801.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guisan, A. and Thuiller, W. (2005) Predicting species distribution: offering more than simple habitat models. Ecology Letters 8, 993–1009.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hernandez-Milian, G., Goetz, S., Varela-Dopico, C., Rodriguez-Gutierrez, J., Romon-Olea, J., Fuertes-Gamundi, J.R., Ulloa-Alonso, E., Tregenza, N.J.C., Smerdon, A., Otero, M.G., Tato, V., Wang, J.J., Santos, M.B., Lopez, A., Lago, R., Portela, J.M. and Pierce, G.J. (2008) Results of a short study of interactions of cetaceans and longline fisheries in Atlantic waters: environmental correlates of catches and depredation events. Hydrobiologia 612, 251–268.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heyning, J.E. and Dahlheim, M.E. (1988) Orcinus orca. Mammalian Species No. 304. The American Society of Mammologists 15, 1–9.Google Scholar
Hoelzel, A.R., Dahlheim, M. and Stern, S.J. (1998) Low genetic variation among killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the eastern North Pacific and genetic differentiation between foraging specialists. Journal of Heredity 89, 121–128.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Iñíguez, M.A. (2001) Seasonal distribution of killer whales (Orcinus orca) in northern Patagonia, Argentina. Aquatic Mammals 27, 154–161.Google Scholar
Iñíguez, M.A., Secchi, E.R., Tossenberger, V. and Dalla Rosa, L. (1994) Orcas, Orcinus orca, en la Argentina y Brasil: Informe premiliar. In VI Reunión de Trabajo de Especialistas en Mamíferos Acuáticos de América del Sur, Florianópolis, Brazil, 24–28 October 1994.Google Scholar
Iriarte, V. (2006) Killer whale (Orcinus orca) occurrence at Isla de Lobos, Uruguay. Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals 5, 73–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Irish, K.E., Ford, J.K.B., Barrett-Lennard, L.G. and Trites, A.W. (2002) Killer whale (Orcinus orca) sightings in Alaska: preliminary results from mariner survey data. In Barrett-Lennard, L., Ford, J., Guinet, C., Similä, T. and Ugarte, F. (orgs) Fourth International Orca Symposium and Workshops, CEBC–CNRS, France, 23–28 September 2002, pp. 86–87.Google Scholar
Jimenez, S., Domingo, A. and Brazeiro, A. (2008) Seabird bycatch in the south-west Atlantic: interaction with the Uruguayan pelagic longline fishery. Polar Biology 32, 187–196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jimenez, S., Abreu, M., Pons, M., Ortiz, M. and Domingo, A. (2010) Assessing the impact of the pelagic longline fishery on albatrosses and petrels in the southwest Atlantic. Aquatic Living Resources 23, 49–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaschner, K., Watson, R., Trites, A.W. and Pauly, D. (2006) Mapping world-wide distributions of marine mammal species using a relative environmental suitability (RES) model. Marine Ecology Progress Series 316, 285–310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lodi, L. and Hetzel, B. (1998) Orcinus orca (Cetacea; Delphinidae) em águas costeiras do estado do Rio de Janeiro. Bioikos 12, 46–54.Google Scholar
López, J.C. and López, D. (1985) Killer whales (Orcinus orca) of Patagonia, and their behaviour of intentional stranding while hunting nearshore. Journal of Mammalogy 66, 181–183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marques, F.F.C. and Buckland, S.T. (2003) Incorporating covariates into standard line transect analyses. Biometrics 59, 924–935.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Matkin, D. and Sautilis, E. (1994) Killer whale population biology and feeding ecology in southern Alaska. In Barrett-Lennard, L., Ford, J., Guinet, C., Similä, T. and Ugarte, F. (orgs) Fourth International Orca Symposium and Workshops, CEBC–CNRS, France, 23–28 September 2002, pp. 98–104.Google Scholar
McCullagh, P. and Nelder, J.A. (1989) Generalized linear models. 2nd edition. New York: Chapman & Hall.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Monteiro, D. (2008) Fatores determinantes da captura incidental de aves e tartarugas marinhas e da interação com orcas/falsas-orcas, na pescaria com espinhel pelágico no sudeste-sul do Brasil. MSc dissertation. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande/FURG, Rio Grande, Brazil.Google Scholar
Mora, O. (1988) Descripción de pesquería de pez espada. Collective Volume of Scientific Papers ICCAT 27, 283–286.Google Scholar
Mora, O. and Domingo, A. (2006) La flota atunera Uruguaya: evolución y tendencias (1981–2004). Collective Volume of Scientific Papers ICCAT 59, 608–614.Google Scholar
Olson, D.B., Podestá, G.P., Evans, R.H. and Brown, O.B. (1988) Temporal variations in the separation of Brazil and Malvinas Currents. Deep-Sea Research 35, 1971–1990.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ott, P.H. and Danilewicz, D. (1998) Presence of franciscana dolphins (Pontoporia blanvillei) in the stomach of a killer whale (Orcinus orca), stranded in southern Brazil. Mammalia 62, 605–609.Google Scholar
Palacios, D.M., Bograd, S.J., Foley, D.G. and Schwing, F.B. (2006) Oceanographic characteristics of biological hot spots in the North Pacific: a remote sensing perspective. Deep-Sea Research II 53, 250–269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Passadore, M.C. (2010) Interacciones de mamíferos marinos con la pesquería de palangre de superficie en el Océano Atlántico Sudoccidental. MSc dissertation. Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay.Google Scholar
Passadore, C., Szephegyi, M., Domingo, A. and Mora, O. (2007) La flota de palangre como fuente de información sobre la distribución de la orca (Orcinus orca) en el Océano Atlántico Sudoccidental (2002–2006). Collective Volume of Scientific Papers ICCAT 60, 2118–2129.Google Scholar
Pinedo, M.C., Polacheck, T., Barreto, A.S. and Mammardo, M.P. (2002) A note on vessel of opportunity sighting surveys for cetaceans in the shelf edge region off the southern coast of Brazil. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 4, 323–329.Google Scholar
Piola, A.R. and Matano, R.P. (2001) Brazil and Falklands (Malvinas) Currents. In Steele, J.H., Thorpe, S.A. and Turekian, K.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of ocean sciences 1. London: Academic Press, pp. 340–349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pitman, R.L. and Ensor, P. (2003) Three forms of killer whales in Antarctic waters. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 5, 131–139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pons, M., Domingo, A., Sales, G., Niemeyer Fiedler, F., Miller, P., Giffoni, B. and Ortiz, M. (2010) Standardization of CPUE of loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) caught by pelagic longliners in the south-western Atlantic ocean. Aquatic Living Resources 23, 65–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Purves, M., Agnew, D.J., Bulguerias, E., Moreno, C.A. and Watkins, B. (2002) Killer whale Orcinus orca and sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus interactions with longline vessels in the Patagonian toothfish fishery at South Georgia, South Atlantic. CCAMLR Science 11(2004), 111–126.Google Scholar
R Development Core Team (2008) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, Australia: R Foundation for Statistical Computing. ISBN 3-900051-07-0, URL http://www.R-project.orgGoogle Scholar
Reisinger, R.R., de Bruyn, P.J.N., Tosh, C.A., Oosthuizen, W.C., Mufanadzo, N.T. and Bester, M.N. (2011) Prey and seasonal abundance of killer whales at sub-Antarctic Marion Island. African Journal of Marine Science 33, 99–105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Secchi, E.R. and Vaske, T. Jr (1998) Killer whale (Orcinus orca) sightings and depredation on tuna and swordfish longline catches in southern Brazil. Aquatic Mammals 24, 117–122.Google Scholar
Siciliano, S., Lailson Brito, J. Jr and Azevedo, A. de F. (1999) Seasonal occurrence of killer whales (Orcinus orca) in waters of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Mammalian Biology 64, 251–255.Google Scholar
Sinclair, E.H., Moore, S.E., Fiday, N.A., Zeppelin, T.K. and Waite, J.M. (2005) Do patterns of steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) diet, population trend and cetacean occurrence reflect oceanographic domains from the Alaska Peninsula to the central Aleutian Isands?. Fisheries Oceanography 14, 223–242.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tynan, C.T., Ainley, D.G., Barth, J.A., Cowles, T.J., Pierce, S.D. and Spear, L.B. (2005) Cetacean distributions relative to ocean processes in the northern California Current System. Deep-Sea Research II 52, 145–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, A.J., Petersen, S.L., Goren, M. and Watkins, B.P. (2009) Sightings of killer whales Orcinus orca from longline vessels in South African waters, and consideration of the regional conservation status. African Journal of Marine Science 31, 81–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yano, K. and Dahlheim, M.E. (1995) Killer whale, Orcinus orca, depredation on longline catches of bottom fish in the southeastern Bering Sea and adjacent waters. Fishery Bulletin 93, 355–372.Google Scholar
Yates, O. and Brickle, P. (2007) On the relative abundance and distribution of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) and killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the Falkland Islands longline fishery. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 9, 65–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zerbini, A.N., Secchi, E.R., Bassoi, M., Dalla Rosa, L., Higa, A., De Sousa, L., Moreno, I.B., Moller, L.M. and Caon, G. (2004) Distribuição e abundância relativa de cetáceos na Zona Econômica Exclusiva da região sudeste-sul do Brasil. São Paulo: REVIZEE: Score Sul.Google Scholar