Mehta,A.V.
How important are baleen whales as prey for killer whales (Orcinus orca) in high-latitude waters? PhD Thesis
2004.
Abstract | BibTeX | Tags: Alaska, Antarctic, Atlantic, Australia, baleen whales, Blue whale, blue whales, Gulf of Maine, Humpback Whale, humpback whales, killer whale, killer whales, New Caledonia, New Zealand, North Atlantic, North Atlantic right whale, North Pacific, Oman, Orca, Orcinus orca, population, prey, pygmy blue whale, Pygmy blue whales, right whale, right whales, whale, whales, whaling
@phdthesis{,
title = {How important are baleen whales as prey for killer whales (Orcinus orca) in high-latitude waters?},
author = {Mehta,A.V.},
year = {2004},
date = {2004-01-01},
number = {403},
pages = {1-15},
publisher = {Boston University},
abstract = {Data on humpback whales were collected from twenty-one regions: eleven in the North Atlantic and three in the North Pacific, as well as American Samoa, Vava'u (Tonga), New Zealand, New Caledonia, western Australia, the Antarctic Peninsula, and Oman. The other species and subspecies included in this project were sampled from a single population each (Fig. 1): North Atlantic right whales, blue whales off southeastern Australia, and pygmy blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) off western Australia. The proportion of whales in different sampling regions bearing rake marks ranged from 0% to over 40%. The Gulf of Maine population had a scarring rate of 9.9-11%, while SW Alaska had a rate of 21.1 to 21.9%. Oman had a rate of 9.1% (3 of 33 animals). The highest rate of scarring was the "Mexico" population with a scarring rate of over 40%. Of those scarred animals with multi-year sighting histories, 82.8% to 100% had those scars the first time they were sighted. Of the total number of whales sampled from these regions, 0% to only 4.8% acquired new or additional rake marks after their first sighting, supporting the hypothesis that most whales aquire their scars as calves, and that adult baleen whales do not constitute a major prey source for killer whales.Overall, the present study suggests that the hypothesis presented by Springer et al. (2003) - that killer whales in the North Pacific were forced by industrial whaling to switch prey from baleen whales to pinnipeds and sea otters - is untenable.},
keywords = {Alaska, Antarctic, Atlantic, Australia, baleen whales, Blue whale, blue whales, Gulf of Maine, Humpback Whale, humpback whales, killer whale, killer whales, New Caledonia, New Zealand, North Atlantic, North Atlantic right whale, North Pacific, Oman, Orca, Orcinus orca, population, prey, pygmy blue whale, Pygmy blue whales, right whale, right whales, whale, whales, whaling},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Data on humpback whales were collected from twenty-one regions: eleven in the North Atlantic and three in the North Pacific, as well as American Samoa, Vava'u (Tonga), New Zealand, New Caledonia, western Australia, the Antarctic Peninsula, and Oman. The other species and subspecies included in this project were sampled from a single population each (Fig. 1): North Atlantic right whales, blue whales off southeastern Australia, and pygmy blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) off western Australia. The proportion of whales in different sampling regions bearing rake marks ranged from 0% to over 40%. The Gulf of Maine population had a scarring rate of 9.9-11%, while SW Alaska had a rate of 21.1 to 21.9%. Oman had a rate of 9.1% (3 of 33 animals). The highest rate of scarring was the "Mexico" population with a scarring rate of over 40%. Of those scarred animals with multi-year sighting histories, 82.8% to 100% had those scars the first time they were sighted. Of the total number of whales sampled from these regions, 0% to only 4.8% acquired new or additional rake marks after their first sighting, supporting the hypothesis that most whales aquire their scars as calves, and that adult baleen whales do not constitute a major prey source for killer whales.Overall, the present study suggests that the hypothesis presented by Springer et al. (2003) - that killer whales in the North Pacific were forced by industrial whaling to switch prey from baleen whales to pinnipeds and sea otters - is untenable.
Roman, Joe.,Palumbi, Stephen. R.
Whales before Whaling in the North Atlantic Journal Article
In: Science, vol. 301, no. 451, pp. 508-510, 2003.
BibTeX | Tags: North Atlantic, whaling
@article{,
title = {Whales before Whaling in the North Atlantic},
author = {Roman, Joe.,Palumbi, Stephen. R.},
year = {2003},
date = {2003-01-01},
journal = {Science},
volume = {301},
number = {451},
pages = {508-510},
keywords = {North Atlantic, whaling},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Barber,R.T.,Marra,J.,Bidigare,R.C.,Codispoti,L.A.,Halpern,D.,Johnson,Z.,Latasa,M.,Goericke,R.,Smith,S.L.
Primary productivity and its regulation in the Arabian Sea during 1995 Journal Article
In: Deep-Sea Research Part II, vol. 48, no. 323, pp. 1127-1172, 2001.
Abstract | BibTeX | Tags: abundance, Arabian Sea, Atlantic, location, North Atlantic, Oman, Pacific Ocean, performance, productivity, Upwelling
@article{,
title = {Primary productivity and its regulation in the Arabian Sea during 1995},
author = {Barber,R.T.,Marra,J.,Bidigare,R.C.,Codispoti,L.A.,Halpern,D.,Johnson,Z.,Latasa,M.,Goericke,R.,Smith,S.L.},
year = {2001},
date = {2001-01-01},
journal = {Deep-Sea Research Part II},
volume = {48},
number = {323},
pages = {1127-1172},
abstract = {The annual cycle of monsoon-driven variability in primary productivity was studied in 1995 during the Arabian Sea Expedition as part of the United States Joint Global Ocean Flux Studies (US JGOFS). This paper describes the seasonal progression of productivity and its regulation on a section which ran from the coast of Oman to about 1000km offshore in the centralArabian Sea at 65§E. During the SW Monsoon (June-mid-September), the coolest water and highest nutrient concentrations were close to the coast, although they extended offshore to about 800 km; during the January NE Monsoon, deep convective mixing provided nutrients to the mixed layer in the region 400 - 1000km o!shore. As expected, the SW Monsoon was the most productive season (123ñ9mmolC m-2d-1) along the southern US JGOFS section from the coast to 1000km offshore, but productivity in the NE Monsoon was surprisingly high (112ñ7mmol C m-2d-1). There was no onshore/offshore gradient in primary productivity from 150 to 1000km o! the Omani coast in 1995, and there was no evidence of light limitation of either primary productivity or photosynthetic performance (PBopt) from deep convective mixing during the NE Monsoon, deep wind mixing during the SW Monsoon or offshore Ekman downwelling during the SW Monsoon. Productivity during the Spring Intermonsoon (86ñ6mmolC m-2d-1) was much higher than in oligotrophic regions such as the tropical Pacific Ocean (29ñ2 mmolC m-2 d-1) or the North Pacific gyre region (32ñ8 mmolC m-2 d-1). The 1995 annual mean productivity (111ñ11mmolC m-2 d-1) along this section from the Omani coast to the central Arabian Sea was about equal to the spring bloom maximum (107ñ23mmolC m-2 d-1) during the 1989 North Atlantic Bloom Experiment (NABE) and the equatorial, 1§N-1§S wave guide maximum (95ñ6mmolC m-2 d-1) in the Pacific Ocean during the 1992 EqPac study. The 1995 SW Monsoon primary productivity was similar to the mean value observed in the same region in 1994 by the Arabesque Expedition (127ñ14mmolC m-2 d-1) and in 1964 by the ANTON BRUUN Expedition (115ñ27 mmol C m-2 d-1). During the 1995 SW Monsoon, strong, narrow and meandering current filaments extended from the region of coastal upwelling to about 700km offshore; these filaments had levels of biomass, primary productivity, chlorophyll-specific productivity and diatom abundance that were elevated relative to other locations during the SW Monsoon. The SW Monsoon was the most productive period, but SW Monsoon primary productivity values were lower than predicted because effcient grazing by mesozooplankton kept diatoms from accumulating the biomass necessary for achieving the high levels of primary productivity characteristic of other coastal upwelling regions. The high rates of chlorophyll-specific productivity (PBopt>10mmolC mg Chl-1 d-1) observed in the 1995 SW Monsoon, together with the observed dust flux and iron concentrations, indicate that the Arabian Sea was more iron replete than the equatorial Pacific Ocean or the Southern Ocean },
keywords = {abundance, Arabian Sea, Atlantic, location, North Atlantic, Oman, Pacific Ocean, performance, productivity, Upwelling},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
The annual cycle of monsoon-driven variability in primary productivity was studied in 1995 during the Arabian Sea Expedition as part of the United States Joint Global Ocean Flux Studies (US JGOFS). This paper describes the seasonal progression of productivity and its regulation on a section which ran from the coast of Oman to about 1000km offshore in the centralArabian Sea at 65§E. During the SW Monsoon (June-mid-September), the coolest water and highest nutrient concentrations were close to the coast, although they extended offshore to about 800 km; during the January NE Monsoon, deep convective mixing provided nutrients to the mixed layer in the region 400 - 1000km o!shore. As expected, the SW Monsoon was the most productive season (123ñ9mmolC m-2d-1) along the southern US JGOFS section from the coast to 1000km offshore, but productivity in the NE Monsoon was surprisingly high (112ñ7mmol C m-2d-1). There was no onshore/offshore gradient in primary productivity from 150 to 1000km o! the Omani coast in 1995, and there was no evidence of light limitation of either primary productivity or photosynthetic performance (PBopt) from deep convective mixing during the NE Monsoon, deep wind mixing during the SW Monsoon or offshore Ekman downwelling during the SW Monsoon. Productivity during the Spring Intermonsoon (86ñ6mmolC m-2d-1) was much higher than in oligotrophic regions such as the tropical Pacific Ocean (29ñ2 mmolC m-2 d-1) or the North Pacific gyre region (32ñ8 mmolC m-2 d-1). The 1995 annual mean productivity (111ñ11mmolC m-2 d-1) along this section from the Omani coast to the central Arabian Sea was about equal to the spring bloom maximum (107ñ23mmolC m-2 d-1) during the 1989 North Atlantic Bloom Experiment (NABE) and the equatorial, 1§N-1§S wave guide maximum (95ñ6mmolC m-2 d-1) in the Pacific Ocean during the 1992 EqPac study. The 1995 SW Monsoon primary productivity was similar to the mean value observed in the same region in 1994 by the Arabesque Expedition (127ñ14mmolC m-2 d-1) and in 1964 by the ANTON BRUUN Expedition (115ñ27 mmol C m-2 d-1). During the 1995 SW Monsoon, strong, narrow and meandering current filaments extended from the region of coastal upwelling to about 700km offshore; these filaments had levels of biomass, primary productivity, chlorophyll-specific productivity and diatom abundance that were elevated relative to other locations during the SW Monsoon. The SW Monsoon was the most productive period, but SW Monsoon primary productivity values were lower than predicted because effcient grazing by mesozooplankton kept diatoms from accumulating the biomass necessary for achieving the high levels of primary productivity characteristic of other coastal upwelling regions. The high rates of chlorophyll-specific productivity (PBopt>10mmolC mg Chl-1 d-1) observed in the 1995 SW Monsoon, together with the observed dust flux and iron concentrations, indicate that the Arabian Sea was more iron replete than the equatorial Pacific Ocean or the Southern Ocean
Lento,G.M.,Dalebout,M.L.,Baker,C.S.
Species and individual identification of whale and dolphin products for sale in Japan by mtDNA sequences and nuclear microsatellite profiles Technical Report
no. 399, 1998.
Abstract | BibTeX | Tags: Atlantic, baleen whale, baleen whales, beaked whales, developing, DNA, dolphin, dolphins, fin whale, Japan, Microsatellite, minke whale, mtDNA, North Atlantic, Oman, population, Porpoise, pygmy sperm whale, Southern Hemisphere, sperm whale, stocks, survey, whale, whales, whaling
@techreport{,
title = {Species and individual identification of whale and dolphin products for sale in Japan by mtDNA sequences and nuclear microsatellite profiles },
author = {Lento,G.M.,Dalebout,M.L.,Baker,C.S.},
year = {1998},
date = {1998-01-01},
volume = {SC/50/O8},
number = {399},
pages = {1-12},
abstract = {We report on species and individual identification of whale and dolphin products available on commercial markets of Japan in 1997/98 based on analysis of mitochondria) DNA (mtDNA) sequences and microsatellite variation. The total sample of 74 products included four species of baleen whales, the fin (n=4), sei (n=1), northern minke (n=15) and southern minke (n=39) whales. The remaining 15 samples included dolphins (n = 8; at least four species), Baird's beaked whales (n=5), a porpoise (n=1), and a pygmy sperm whale (n=1), all sold as "kujira" in Japan. It is noted that two new species, the sei whale, and the pygmy sperm whale, appeared for the first time in this series of market surveys. With the inclusion of the sei whale, a total of eight species of baleen whale have been found for sale in post-moratorium surveys of markets in Korea and Japan. Comparison of the sei whale mtDNA to reference sequences from the North Atlantic and Southern Hemisphere suggested that this product originated from the Southern Hemisphere. The last legal hunting of this population was in 1979-80. To investigate the stock origins of northern minke whale products sold in Japan, in 1997-98, the mtDNA haplotypes of these products were compared to those found previously in Korea, 1994-97 (Lento et al. 1998). This comparison revealed that four (33%) of the 12 haplotypes among the Japanese products were identical to those from Korea. This is not consistent with the hypothesis that northern minke whale products sold in Japan originate exclusively from the scientific hunting of a stock that is genetically distinct from the Korean coastal bycatch. Instead, these findings could suggest that whales from both stocks are being hunted illegally or that whale products are being smuggled between the two countries. To further investigate the possibility of smuggling and to estimate the total number of individual whales represented in commercial products, we are developing protocols for DNA profiling using microsatellite loci. Based on preliminary analysis of three loci, the four fin whale products, representing three mtDNA haplotypes, were shown to have originated from four individuals. The 15 northern minke whale products found in 1997-98, representing 12 mtDNA haplotypes, were shown to have originated from a minimum of 14 individuals. One of these products that shared a haplotype with a 1997 product, was also shown to be unique.},
keywords = {Atlantic, baleen whale, baleen whales, beaked whales, developing, DNA, dolphin, dolphins, fin whale, Japan, Microsatellite, minke whale, mtDNA, North Atlantic, Oman, population, Porpoise, pygmy sperm whale, Southern Hemisphere, sperm whale, stocks, survey, whale, whales, whaling},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {techreport}
}
We report on species and individual identification of whale and dolphin products available on commercial markets of Japan in 1997/98 based on analysis of mitochondria) DNA (mtDNA) sequences and microsatellite variation. The total sample of 74 products included four species of baleen whales, the fin (n=4), sei (n=1), northern minke (n=15) and southern minke (n=39) whales. The remaining 15 samples included dolphins (n = 8; at least four species), Baird's beaked whales (n=5), a porpoise (n=1), and a pygmy sperm whale (n=1), all sold as "kujira" in Japan. It is noted that two new species, the sei whale, and the pygmy sperm whale, appeared for the first time in this series of market surveys. With the inclusion of the sei whale, a total of eight species of baleen whale have been found for sale in post-moratorium surveys of markets in Korea and Japan. Comparison of the sei whale mtDNA to reference sequences from the North Atlantic and Southern Hemisphere suggested that this product originated from the Southern Hemisphere. The last legal hunting of this population was in 1979-80. To investigate the stock origins of northern minke whale products sold in Japan, in 1997-98, the mtDNA haplotypes of these products were compared to those found previously in Korea, 1994-97 (Lento et al. 1998). This comparison revealed that four (33%) of the 12 haplotypes among the Japanese products were identical to those from Korea. This is not consistent with the hypothesis that northern minke whale products sold in Japan originate exclusively from the scientific hunting of a stock that is genetically distinct from the Korean coastal bycatch. Instead, these findings could suggest that whales from both stocks are being hunted illegally or that whale products are being smuggled between the two countries. To further investigate the possibility of smuggling and to estimate the total number of individual whales represented in commercial products, we are developing protocols for DNA profiling using microsatellite loci. Based on preliminary analysis of three loci, the four fin whale products, representing three mtDNA haplotypes, were shown to have originated from four individuals. The 15 northern minke whale products found in 1997-98, representing 12 mtDNA haplotypes, were shown to have originated from a minimum of 14 individuals. One of these products that shared a haplotype with a 1997 product, was also shown to be unique.