Movements and Dive Patterns of Short-Finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) Released from a Mass Stranding in the Florida Keys

Abstract

Short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus

Complex biogeographical patterns support an ecological connectivity network of a large marine predator in the north‐east Atlantic

“…This suggests that, as a species, there is variability in home range size. Such variability, which includes large home ranges (>1,000 km in farthest distance), has also been shown in this species in the west Atlantic, which support our findings (Thorne et al., ; Wells et al., ).…”

“…We considered that such a period of time should be enough to travel the maximum distance between individual matches used in this analysis (i.e., 1,000 km between São Miguel Island in the Azores and Madeira, see Figure and Table ). This was based on the mean travelling speed of about 100 km per day obtained from one short‐finned pilot whale tracked with a satellite‐linked transmitter in the west Atlantic (Wells et al., ). That individual travelled nearly 1,500 km during 15 days over abyssal depths, which are similar to the depths occurring between the sampled areas in Macaronesia.…”

“…The short‐finned pilot whale ( Globicephala macrorhynchus ) is a large‐sized delphinid that performs deep vertical dives and presents large horizontal movements (de Soto et al., ; Quick et al., ; Wells et al., ). It has a wide distribution from tropical to warm‐temperate waters (Olson, ), and on a global scale, its conservation status is described as data deficient and its population trend is unknown (IUCN, ).…”

Hearing threshold measurements of five stranded short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus)

“…A total of eight animals were recovered alive between May 5 and May 6, 2011, all other stranded animals were dead when discovered. Two adult males were deemed fit for immediate release and were released with satellite tracking tags (Wells et al, 2013a). One sub-adult male and four females were transported to the Marine Mammal Conservancy (MMC) in Key Largo, FL for rehabilitation.…”

“…They are one of the species more commonly observed in mass stranding events (Sergeant, 1962), likely due to the behavior of a pod following a "pilot" or single lead animal. In some cases, such as with some of the animals from the May 5, 2011 stranding, stranded animals can be tagged and immediately released into deeper waters with no apparent signs of being compromised (Wells et al, 2013a;Wells et al, 2013b;Mate et al, 2005;and Nawojchik et al, 2003).…”