Patterns of blubber fat deposition and evaluation of body condition in growing southern right whale calves ( Eubalaena australis )

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carina F. Marón ◽  
María Carla Lábaque ◽  
Lucas Beltramino ◽  
Matías Di Martino ◽  
Lucía Alzugaray ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Condition ◽  
Fat Deposition ◽  
Right Whale ◽  
Eubalaena Australis

scholarly journals A tale of two whales

2020 ◽  
pp. 205-226
Author(s):  
Kathleen E. Hunt ◽  
Alejandro Fernández Ajó ◽  
Carley Lowe ◽  
Elizabeth A. Burgess ◽  
C. Loren Buck
Keyword(s):  
Body Condition ◽  
Health Assessment ◽  
Conservation Physiology ◽  
North Atlantic Right Whale ◽  
Photo Identification ◽  
Right Whale ◽  
Eubalaena Australis ◽  
The North ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Visual Health

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.

Half a century of sightings data of southern right whales in Mar del Plata (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

2019 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-171
Author(s):  
Maria A. Mandiola ◽  
Gisela Giardino ◽  
Julián Bastida ◽  
Sergio Morón ◽  
Diego H. Rodríguez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Buenos Aires ◽  
Buenos Aires Province ◽  
Western Atlantic ◽  
Right Whale ◽  
Eubalaena Australis ◽  
Coastal Marine ◽  
Past Half Century ◽  
Southern Right Whales ◽  
Inshore Waters

AbstractIn South-western Atlantic waters, individuals of the southern right whale (SRW) Eubalaena australis spend part of the year (the austral winter and spring) in northern inshore waters where they breed and then migrate to southern feeding grounds during the summer. Mar del Plata (MDP) is located between two main reproductive areas (Península Valdés-Argentina and Santa Catarina-Brazil). The purpose of the present study is to report the presence of SRWs on their journey off the coast of MDP based on sighting records during the past half century. We carried out whale observations through systematic weekly coastal marine mammal surveys in different points of the MDP area from 1966 to 2016. The first SRW sighting was recorded in 1970; since then, sighting frequency has gradually increased, reaching a peak of 28 sightings (N = 63 whales) in 2016. These are unique long-term sighting records of SRWs in Argentina and the first on their journey off the shores of Buenos Aires province. We expect that these results will help local authorities to regulate tourism and other activities in the area and thereby contribute to the conservation of the species.

Intestinal lactase activity in southern right whale calves (Eubalaena australis)

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 398-403
Author(s):  
Kevin D. Kohl ◽  
Carina F. Marón ◽  
Andrea Chirife ◽  
Matías Di Martino ◽  
M. Denise Dearing ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lactase Activity ◽  
Right Whale ◽  
Eubalaena Australis

scholarly journals Anatomy of nasal complex in the southern right whale, Eubalaena australis (Cetacea, Mysticeti)

2014 ◽  
Vol 226 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mónica R. Buono ◽  
Marta S. Fernández ◽  
R. Ewan Fordyce ◽  
Joy S. Reidenberg
Keyword(s):  
Right Whale ◽  
Eubalaena Australis

Estimated calving interval for the New Zealand southern right whale (Eubalaena australis)

2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 372-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Raphael Davidson ◽  
William Rayment ◽  
Steve M Dawson ◽  
Trudi Webster ◽  
Elisabeth Slooten
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Calving Interval ◽  
Right Whale ◽  
Eubalaena Australis

scholarly journals Upcall production by southern right whale (Eubalaena australis ) mother-calf pairs may be independent of diel period in a nursery area

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 669-677 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia R. G. Dombroski ◽  
Susan E. Parks ◽  
Karina R. Groch ◽  
Paulo A. C. Flores ◽  
Renata S. Sousa-lima
Keyword(s):  
Nursery Area ◽  
Right Whale ◽  
Eubalaena Australis ◽  
Diel Period

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.

scholarly journals The use of underwater viewing deck of the semi-submersible whalewatching vessel Yellow Submarine at Península Valdés, Argentina as a platform of opportunity for scientifc research with the southern right whale, Eubalaena australis

10.5597/00242 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 2-8
Author(s):  
Mariano Sironi ◽  
Lucía Alzugaray ◽  
Agustina Saez ◽  
Florencia Ornela Vilches ◽  
Alejandro Fernández Ajó ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Short Duration ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
Photo Identification ◽  
Right Whale ◽  
Eubalaena Australis ◽  
Southern Right Whales ◽  
History Of

Whale-watching vessels can be used as platforms to collect scientific data on the natural history of cetaceans. Vessels with underwater viewing decks are exceptional and offer a unique view of the whales. We assessed the underwater viewing platform of the semi-submersible vessel Yellow Submarine that operates off Puerto Pirámides, Península Valdés, Argentina as a platform of opportunity for southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) research. The variables considered during observations included, among others, the age class and sex of the animals observed, behavioral patterns, opportunities for individual photo-identification, distance and duration of the underwater observations and how weather conditions affected data collection. The Yellow Submarine offers a unique platform to make underwater observations of southern right whales in this calving ground. The main limitations are the relatively short duration of the observations and reduced visibility in spring.

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