Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T22:00:10.688Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Cetacean encounters around the island of Montserrat (Caribbean Sea) during 2007 and 2010, including new species state records

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 May 2011

Caroline R. Weir ,
Susannah Calderan ,
Michael Unwin  and
Michele Paulatto
Caroline R. Weir*
Affiliation:
Ketos Ecology, 44 Lord Hay's Grove, Aberdeen, AB24 1WS, UK
Susannah Calderan
Affiliation:
1, Forestry, Aros, Isle of Mull, PA72 6JS, UK
Michael Unwin
Affiliation:
163 High Road, Leavesden, Watford, Herts, WD25 7DU, UK
Michele Paulatto
Affiliation:
National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, University of Southampton, European Way, SO15 5DL, UK
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: C. Weir, Ketos Ecology, 44 Lord Hay's Grove, Aberdeen, AB24 1WS, UK email: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

A total of 168.4 hours of visual cetacean survey work was carried out in association with two geophysical surveys in Montserrat waters (eastern Caribbean) during December 2007 and May 2010, using a seismic vessel as a platform of opportunity. Nine cetacean sightings were recorded: pantropical spotted dolphin Stenella attenuata (N = 2), Fraser's dolphin Lagenodelphis hosei (N = 1), sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus (N = 1), humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae (N = 1), and sightings of unidentified dolphins (N = 1) and large whales (N = 3). A total of 73.3 hours of acoustic monitoring effort was carried out during December 2007, resulting in 19 cetacean detections. Sperm whale (N = 10) and unidentified dolphin (N = 7) detections predominated. Two acoustic detections were of pantropical spotted dolphins, corresponding with visual sightings. An opportunistic sighting of 14 pygmy killer whales Feresa attenuata during October 2008 was reported. Although the humpback whale was known previously for Montserrat waters, the sightings of other species represent the first verified records for the state.

Keywords

Fraser's dolphinhumpback whalepantropical spotted dolphinpygmy killer whalesperm whaleMontserratdistribution
Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 4 , December 2011 , e42
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2011

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

Boisseau, O., Carlson, C.A. and Seipt, I. (2000) A report on cetacean research conducted by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) off Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, Grenada and Tobago from 12 January to 30 March 2000. Unpublished Report to the International Fund for Animal Welfare.Google Scholar
Boisseau, O., Leaper, R. and Moscrop, A. (2006) Observations of small cetaceans in the Eastern Caribbean. Paper SC/58/SM24 presented to the Scientific Committee, 58th Annual Meeting of the International Whaling Commission, St Kitts and Nevis.Google Scholar
Borobia, M. and Barros, N.B. (2006) Major threats to small cetaceans in the Caribbean region: a summary report. Paper SC/58/SM15 presented to the Scientific Committee, 58th Annual Meeting of the International Whaling Commission, St Kitts and Nevis.Google Scholar
Cardona-Maldonado, M. and Mignucci-Giannoni, A. (1999) Pygmy and dwarf sperm whales in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, with a review of Kogia in the Caribbean. Caribbean Journal of Science 35, 29–37.Google Scholar
Debrot, A.O., De Meyer, J.A. and Dezentjé, P.J.E. (1998) Additional records and a review of the cetacean fauna of the Leeward Dutch Antilles. Caribbean Journal of Science 34, 204–210.Google Scholar
Erdman, D.S. (1970) Marine mammals from Puerto Rico to Antigua. Journal of Mammalogy 51, 636–639.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flores, P.A.C. and da Silva, V.M.F. (2009) Tucuxi and guiana dolphin—Sotalia fluviatilis and S. guianensis. In Perrin, W.F., Würsig, B. and Thewissen, J.G.M. (eds) Encyclopedia of marine mammals. Amsterdam: Academic Press, pp. 1188–1192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gallegos, A. (1996) Descriptive physical oceanography of the Caribbean Sea. In Maul, G.A. (ed.) Small Islands: marine science and sustainable development, Coastal and Estuarine Studies, 51. Washington, DC: American Geophysical Union, pp. 36–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gero, S. and Whitehead, H. (2006) Opportunistic sightings of small cetaceans off the leeward shore of the Commonwealth of Dominica. Paper SC/58/SM1 presented to the Scientific Committee, 58th Annual Meeting of the International Whaling Commission, St Kitts and Nevis.Google Scholar
Gordon, J., Gillespie, D., Potter, J., Frantzis, A., Simmonds, M.P., Swift, R. and Thompson, D. (2004) A review of the effects of seismic surveys on marine mammals. Marine Technology Society Journal 37, 16–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gordon, J., Moscrop, A., Carlson, C., Ingram, S., Leaper, R., Matthews, J. and Young, K. (1998) Distribution, movements and residency of sperm whales off the commonwealth of Dominica, eastern Caribbean: implications for the development and regulation of the local whalewatching industry. Reports of the International Whaling Commission 48, 551–557.Google Scholar
Jefferson, T.A., Fertl, D., Bolaños-Jiménez, J. and Zerbini, A.N. (2009) Distribution of common dolphins (Delphinus spp.) in the western Atlantic Ocean: a critical re-examination. Marine Biology 156, 1109–1124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jefferson, T. and Lynn, S.K. (1994) Marine mammal sightings in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, summer 1991. Caribbean Journal of Science 30, 83–89.Google Scholar
Jefferson, T.A. and Schiro, A.J. (1997) Distribution of cetaceans in the offshore Gulf of Mexico. Mammal Review 27, 27–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
JNCC (2009) JNCC guidelines for minimising the risk of disturbance and injury to marine mammals from seismic surveys (June 2009 version). Peterborough: Joint Nature Conservation Committee.Google Scholar
Mattila, D.K., Clapham, P.J., Katona, S.K. and Stone, G.S. (1989) Population composition of humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, on Silver Bank, 1984. Canadian Journal of Zoology 67, 281–285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mignucci-Giannoni, A.A. (1996) Marine mammal strandings in Puerto Rico and the United States and British Virgin Islands. PhD thesis. Department of Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, 247 pp.Google Scholar
Mignucci-Giannoni, A.A. (1998) Zoogeography of cetaceans off Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Caribbean Journal of Science 34, 173–190.Google Scholar
Mignucci-Giannoni, A.A., Montoya-Ospina, R.A., Perez-Zayas, J.J., Rodriguez-Lopez, M.A. and Williams, E.H. Jr (1999a) New records of Fraser's dolphin (Lagenodelphis hosei) for the Caribbean. Aquatic Mammals 25, 15–19.Google Scholar
Mignucci-Giannoni, A.A., Toyos-Gonzales, G.M., Pérez-Padilla, J., Rodríguez-López, M.A. and Overing, J. (1999b) Mass strandings of pygmy killer whales (Feresa attenuata) in the British Virgin Islands. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 80, 759–760.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mignucci-Giannoni, A.A., Swartz, S.L., Martínez, A., Burks, C.M. and Watkins, W.A. (2003) First records of the Pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata) for the Puerto Rican Bank, with a review of the species in the Caribbean. Caribbean Journal of Science 39, 381–392.Google Scholar
Nowacek, D.P., Thorne, L.H., Johnston, D.W. and Tyack, P.L. (2007) Responses of cetaceans to anthropogenic noise. Mammal Review 37, 81–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Palka, D. (1996) Effects of Beaufort Sea State on the sightability of harbour porpoises in the Gulf of Maine. Reports of the International Whaling Commission 46, 575–582.Google Scholar
Reeves, R.R. (2005) Distribution and status of marine mammals of the wider Caribbean region: an update of UNEP documents. United Nations Environment Programme, Report UNEP(DEC)/CAR WG.27/INF.3, 18 July 2005, 8 pp.Google Scholar
Reeves, R.R., Swartz, S.L., Wetmore, S.E. and Clapham, P.J. (2001) Historical occurrence and distribution of humpback whales in the eastern and southern Caribbean Sea, based on data from American whaling logbooks. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 3, 117–129.Google Scholar
Richardson, W.J., Greene, C.R. Jr, Malme, C.I. and Thomson, D.H. (1995) Marine mammals and noise. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Rinaldi, C., Rinaldi, R. and Sahagian, P. (2006) Report of surveys conducted on small cetaceans off Guadeloupe 1998 to 2005. Paper SC/58/SM17 presented to the Scientific Committee, 58th Annual Meeting of the International Whaling Commission, St Kitts and Nevis.Google Scholar
Roden, C.L. and Mullin, K.D. (2000) Sightings of cetaceans in the northern Caribbean Sea and adjacent waters, winter 1995. Caribbean Journal of Science 36, 280–288.Google Scholar
Swartz, S.L., Cole, T., McDonald, M.A., Hildebrand, J.A., Oleson, E.M., Martinez, A., Clapham, P.J., Barlow, J. and Jones, M.L. (2003) Acoustic and visual survey of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) distribution in the eastern and southeastern Caribbean Sea. Caribbean Journal of Science 39, 195–208.Google Scholar
Townsend, C.H. (1935) The distribution of certain whales as shown by logbook records of American whaleships. Zoologica 19, 1–50 + 6 maps.Google Scholar
Ward, N., Moscrop, A. and Carlson, C. (2001) Elements for the development of a marine mammal action plan for the wider Caribbean: a review of marine mammal distribution. Report UNEP(DEC)/CAR IG.20/INF.3, First Meeting of the Contracting Parties (COP) to the Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) in the Wider Caribbean Region. Havana, Cuba, 24–25 September 2001.Google Scholar
Watkins, W.A. and Moore, K.E. (1982) An underwater acoustic survey for sperm whales (Physeter catodon) and other cetaceans in the southeast Caribbean. Cetology 46, 1–7.Google Scholar
Watkins, W.A., Dahler, M.A., Fristrup, K. and Notobartolo di Sciara, G. (1994) Fishing and acoustic behavior of Fraser's dolphin (Lagenodelphis hosei) near Dominica, southeast Caribbean. Caribbean Journal of Science 30, 76–82.Google Scholar
Wenz, G.M. (1962) Acoustic ambient noise in the ocean: spectra and sources. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 34, 1936–1956.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitehead, H. and Weilgart, L. (1990) Click rates from sperm whales. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 87, 1798–1806.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Würsig, B., Jefferson, T.A and Schmidly, D.J. (2000) The marine mammals of the Gulf of Mexico. College Station: Texas A&M University Press.Google Scholar
Yoshida, H., Compton, J., Punnett, S., Lovell, T., Draper, K., Franklin, G., Norris, N., Phillip, P., Wilkins, R. and Kato, H. (2010) Cetacean sightings in the eastern Caribbean and adjacent waters, Spring 2004. Aquatic Mammals 36, 154–161.CrossRefGoogle Scholar