Health of North Atlantic right whales Eubalaena glacialis over three decades: from individual health to demographic and population health trends

2016 ◽  
Vol 542 ◽  
pp. 265-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
RM Rolland ◽  
RS Schick ◽  
HM Pettis ◽  
AR Knowlton ◽  
PK Hamilton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Health ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Eubalaena Glacialis ◽  
Health Trends ◽  
Individual Health ◽  
Right Whales ◽  
North Atlantic Right Whales

scholarly journals Sedation at Sea of Entangled North Atlantic Right Whales (Eubalaena glacialis) to Enhance Disentanglement

PLoS ONE ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. e9597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Moore ◽  
Michael Walsh ◽  
James Bailey ◽  
David Brunson ◽  
Frances Gulland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Eubalaena Glacialis ◽  
Right Whales ◽  
North Atlantic Right Whales

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.

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