Long-Range Longitudinal Movements of Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in the North Atlantic Ocean Revealed by Photo-Identification

Mullin, Keith D.; Steiner, Lisa A.; Dunn, Charlotte; Claridge, Diane; García, Luis Pericot; Gordon, Jonathan; Lewis, Tim

doi:10.1578/am.48.1.2022.3

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…This is similar to African elephants ( Loxodonta africana ), which also display socially learned patterns of site and resource use [ 74 ]. Geographic or habitat specialization could account for differences in the scale of movements between EC sperm whales and ETP sperm whales, but also the general isolation of East and West Mediterranean sperm whales [ 75 ] and their fine-scale, bathymetry-related distribution [ 76 ]. This demonstrates more ecological diversity in the sperm whale species as a whole than was previously assumed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ocean nomads or island specialists? Culturally driven habitat partitioning contrasts in scale between geographically isolated sperm whale populations

et al. 2022

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The sperm whale ( Physeter macrocephalus ) is a deep-diving cetacean with a global distribution and a multi-leveled, culturally segregated, social structure. While sperm whales have previously been described as ‘ocean nomads’, this might not be universal. We conducted surveys of sperm whales along the Lesser Antilles to document the acoustic repertoires, movements and distributions of Eastern Caribbean (EC) sperm whale cultural groups (called vocal clans). In addition to documenting a potential third vocal clan in the EC, we found strong evidence of fine-scale habitat partitioning between vocal clans with scales of horizontal movements an order of magnitude smaller than from comparable studies on Eastern Tropical Pacific sperm whales. These results suggest that sperm whales can display cultural ecological specialization and habitat partitioning on flexible spatial scales according to local conditions and broadens our perception of the ecological flexibility of the species. This study highlights the importance of incorporating multiple temporal and spatial scales to understand the impact of culture on ecological adaptability, as well as the dangers of extrapolating results across geographical areas and cultural groups.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ocean nomads or island specialists? Culturally driven habitat partitioning contrasts in scale between geographically isolated sperm whale populations

et al. 2022

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“…Taking into consideration the existing connection between Macaronesian archipelagos already demonstrated by photo-id and genetics (Pinela et al, 2009;Steiner et al, 2015;Steiner, 2022), this could be causing a decrease in the Macaronesian population (as demonstrated with the stranding in the Canaries in 2019 of an individual already sighted in the Azores, with signs of ship strike; Vidal Martıń and Lisa Steiner own data). This impact could include the whole North Atlantic population if we consider the movement of males between Macaronesia, Norway, and the Bahamas (Steiner et al, 2012;Mullin et al, 2022). Second, the site fidelity index values for the Azores and Madeira subareas are similarly low (0.0067 ± 0.0093 and 0.0094 ± 0.0069, respectively; SSFI varies between 0 and 1).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Here, social groups of females and immature sperm whales are present yearround, with the occasional presence of visiting males (Andre, 1997;Silva et al, 2014;Fernandez et al, 2021). This biogeographic region is known to be used by sperm whales for reproduction, besides feeding and calving (Clarke, 1956;Andre, 1997;Steiner et al, 2012;Correia-Fagundes & Romano, 2013;Silva et al, 2014;Alves et al, 2018;Mullin et al, 2022). The sperm whale was the target species of a whaling activity that killed around 26 000 individuals in the Azores and Madeira, while in the Canaries it was a residual activity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unraveling site fidelity and residency patterns of sperm whales in the insular oceanic waters of Macaronesia

Ferreira

Steiner²,

Martín

et al. 2022

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Knowledge of the distribution and residency of pelagic marine megafauna, particularly deep-diving species, is scarce due to their high mobility over difficult-to-access oceanic areas and long periods underwater. However, the threatened status of many of these species, such as the sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus, increases the need to obtain quantitative data to support conservation measures. In the warm temperate waters of Macaronesia (Eastern North Atlantic), sperm whales occur year-round in a set of island systems (the Azores, Madeira, and the Canaries), mainly in social groups of females and juveniles with the occasional visits of mature males. Although it is known that they perform inter-archipelago movements, information on site fidelity and residency times is still scarce. Here, based on photographic-identification data, site fidelity and residency times of sperm whales were estimated for subareas of the Azores and the Madeira archipelagos, with a preliminary assessment for a subarea of the Canaries. The Azores and Madeira subareas presented similar proportions of individuals with recaptures (~25%), mainly inter-annual, while in the subarea of the Canaries, only <10% of the individuals were recaptured. Standardized Site Fidelity Indexes showed very low values (<0.01) for both the Azores and Madeira subareas. Lagged identification rates based on models including emigration and reimmigration estimated that an average of 44.8 individuals (SE=4.9) spent 12.9 days (SE=1.5) in the Azores before leaving for 99.1 days (SE=12.5), while 8.4 individuals (SE=16.1) spent 0.8 day (SE=6.6) in Madeira before leaving for 8.6 days (SE=6.9), with a very low mortality rate. This study i) indicates a degree of residency of about ¼ of the identified individuals for the Azores and Madeira subareas and ii) supports that these oceanic archipelagos constitute an important habitat for a Vulnerable species in the Atlantic. Moreover, it also highlights the importance of combining data from opportunistic and dedicated surveys and joint national and international efforts toward the conservation of marine megafauna.

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“…Although the three southbound whales did all leave before winter when sperm whale presence was at its lowest, there is no evidence that the animals 'migrate' to a specific area outside of their home range. There is also photo-identification evidence from the North Atlantic that sperm whales travel from higher latitudes areas like the Azores, to tropical latitudes like the Gulf of Mexico and Bahamas (78) but no concrete evidence that the animals have a pattern or routine to where and when they travel between presumed higher latitude foraging and lower latitude breeding grounds. Instead, it appears that sperm whales travel in response to the distribution of their often-patchy prey sources (4,79) and are linked with temporary breeding sites with favorable prey conditions driven by the effects of oceanographic conditions.…”

Section: Environmental Variabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Sperm Whales Demographics in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands: An Overlooked Female Habitat

Posdaljian

Berga

Hildebrand

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Sperm whales exhibit sexual dimorphism and sex-specific latitudinal segregation. Females and their young form social groups and are usually found in temperate and tropical latitudes, while males forage at higher latitudes. Historical whaling data and rare sightings of social groups in high latitude regions of the North Pacific, such as the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) and Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI), suggest a more nuanced distribution than previously understood. Sperm whales are the most sighted and recorded cetacean in marine mammal surveys in these regions but capturing their demographic composition and habitat use has proven challenging. This study detects sperm whale presence using passive acoustic data from seven sites in the GOA and BSAI from 2010 to 2019. Differences in click characteristics between males and females (i.e., inter-click and inter-pulse interval) was used as a proxy for animal size/sex to derive time series of animal detections. Generalized additive models with generalized estimation equations demonstrate how spatiotemporal patterns differ between the sexes. Social groups were present at all recording sites with the largest relative proportion at two seamount sites in the GOA and an island site in the BSAI. We found that the seasonal patterns of presence varied for the sexes and between the sites. Male presence was highest in the summer and lowest in the winter, conversely, social group peak presence was in the winter for the BSAI and in the spring for the GOA region, with the lowest presence in the summer months. This study demonstrates that social groups are not restricted to lower latitudes and capture their present-day habitat use in the North Pacific. It highlights that sperm whale distribution is more complex than accounted for in management protocol and underscores the need for improved understanding of sperm whale demographic composition to better understand the impacts of increasing anthropogenic threats, particularly climate change.

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Long-Range Longitudinal Movements of Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in the North Atlantic Ocean Revealed by Photo-Identification

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

Ocean nomads or island specialists? Culturally driven habitat partitioning contrasts in scale between geographically isolated sperm whale populations

Ocean nomads or island specialists? Culturally driven habitat partitioning contrasts in scale between geographically isolated sperm whale populations

Unraveling site fidelity and residency patterns of sperm whales in the insular oceanic waters of Macaronesia

Sperm Whales Demographics in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands: An Overlooked Female Habitat

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