Small-scale spatial variability of sperm and sei whales in relation to oceanographic and topographic features along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Skov, Henrik; Gunnlaugsson, Þorvaldur; Budgell, W. Paul; Horne, John K.; Nøttestad, Leif; Olsen, Erik; Søiland, Henrik; Víkingsson, Gísli A.; Waring, Gordon T.

doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2007.09.020

Cited by 49 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Doyle et al 2008, Gore et al 2008, Egevang et al 2010. Recently, association with offshore fronts and seamounts was found for migratory sei whales in the North Atlantic Ocean (Skov et al 2008, Olsen et al 2009).Since baleen whales capitalize on enhanced secondary production, it is unlikely that the timing of whale migration will coincide with the timing of the phytoplankton spring bloom. Rather, zooplankton development often tracks the phytoplankton spring bloom with a time lag of several weeks to months (Longhurst 2007).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hence, after their visit to the Azores, baleen whales may follow the spring bloom northward, and benefit from other areas of locally enhanced productivity (e.g. the Faraday Seamounts and the Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone; Skov et al 2008, Olsen et al 2009). The North Atlantic spring bloom can thus be envisioned as a northward propagating wave of high productivity, which may create a consecutive series of feeding areas en route that ultimately lead the whales to their summer feeding grounds.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Timing of migratory baleen whales at the Azores in relation to the North Atlantic spring bloom

Visser

Hartman

Pierce³

et al. 2011

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Each year, a phytoplankton spring bloom starts just north of the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre, and then expands northwards across the entire North Atlantic. Here, we investigate whether the timing of the spring migration of baleen whales is related to the timing of the phytoplankton spring bloom, using 4 yr of dedicated whale observations at the Azores in combination with satellite data on ocean chlorophyll concentration. Peak abundances of blue whale Balaenoptera musculus, fin whale B. physalus, humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae and sei whale B. borealis were recorded in April-May. The timing of their presence tracked the onset of the spring bloom with mean time lags of 13, 15, 15 and 16 wk, respectively, and was more strongly related to the onset of the spring bloom than to the actual time of year. Baleen whales were actively feeding on northern krill Meganyctiphanes norvegica in the area, and some photo-identified individuals stayed in Azorean waters for at least 17 d. Baleen whales were not observed in this area in autumn, during their southward migration, consistent with low chlorophyll concentrations during summer and autumn. Our results support the hypothesis that baleen whales track the secondary production generated by the North Atlantic spring bloom, utilizing mid-latitude areas such as the Azores as foraging areas en route towards their summer feeding grounds.KEY WORDS: Baleen whales · Balaenopteridae · Phytoplankton spring bloom · Whale migration · Feeding area · Satellite remote sensing · North Atlantic Ocean · Azores Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherMar Ecol Prog Ser 440: [267][268][269][270][271][272][273][274][275][276][277][278][279] 2011 tune their migration to the timing of the North Atlantic spring bloom. Baleen whales need dense aggregations of krill or fish to enable efficient foraging (Whitehead & Carscadden 1985, Friedlaender et al. 2006, Goldbogen et al. 2011, and temporal synchrony with the presence of suitable prey is evident in these species. Most baleen whale species undertake extensive north-south migrations associated with feeding at mid-to high latitudes in summer and breeding in (sub)tropical regions during winter (Kellogg 1929, Norris 1967; but see Simon et al. 2010 for a counterexample). Seasonal presence of baleen whales at the summer feeding grounds coincides with increased food availability in these waters. Nevertheless, migratory patterns over the North Atlantic are still largely unknown for most species of baleen whales.The North Atlantic spring bloom could temporarily produce sufficient prey densities to induce foraging of baleen whales during their spring migration towards the high-latitude feeding grounds. This might particularly apply to areas where the phytoplankton spring bloom combines with physical factors to con- centrate prey. Physical conditions conducive to concentrating prey may include coastal zones, upwelling areas, fronts and seamounts. For example, offshore regions of high marine productivit...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Timing of migratory baleen whales at the Azores in relation to the North Atlantic spring bloom

Visser

Hartman

Pierce³

et al. 2011

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…Aggregation of feeding cetaceans may be associated with the enhanced secondary production of oceanic ridges. In several locations of the MAR, aggregations of sperm (Physeter macrocephalus) and sei (Balaenoptera borealis) whales and other cetaceans capitalize on secondary production maintained by enhanced primary production associated with the frontal processes in the upper part of the water column (Skov et al, 2008;Doksaeter et al, 2008). Oceanic ridges provide important and diverse habitats for many deep-water fish (such as the orange roughy) and shark species.…”

Section: Oceanic Ridges (Eunis A673)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of goods and services, vulnerability, and conservation status of European seabed biotopes: a stepping stone towards ecosystem-based marine spatial management

et al. 2012

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The goal of ecosystem-based marine spatial management is to maintain marine ecosystems in a healthy, productive and resilient condition; hence, they can sustainably provide the needed goods and services for human welfare. However, the increasing pressures upon the marine realm threaten marine ecosystems, especially seabed biotopes, and thus a well-planned approach of managing use of marine space is essential to achieve sustainability. The relative value of seabed biotopes, evaluated on the basis of goods and services, is an important starting point for the spatial management of marine areas. Herein, 56 types of European seabed biotopes and their related goods, services, sensitivity issues, and conservation status were compiled, the latter referring to management and protection tools which currently apply for these biotopes at European or international level. Fishing activities, especially by benthic trawls, and marine pollution are the main threats to European seabed biotopes. Increased seawater turbidity, dredged sediment disposal, coastal constructions, biological invasions, mining, extraction of raw materials, shipping-related activities, tourism, hydrocarbon exploration, and even some practices of scientific research, also exert substantial pressure. Although some first steps have been taken to protect the European sea beds through international agreements and European and national legislation, a finer scale of classification and assessment of marine biotopes is considered crucial in shaping sound priorities and management guidelines towards the effective conservation and sustainability of European marine resources.

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“…Then, a statistical model is built relating the sightings to environmental data from in situ observations or satellites. This approach has been used to define relationships between oceanographic features and a variety of cetaceans (Forney 2000, Hamazaki 2002, Biggs et al 2005, Hastie et al 2005, Tynan et al 2005, Kaschner et al 2006, Ferguson et al 2006, Keller et al 2006, Firestone et al 2008, Skov et al 2008). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Model-based estimates of right whale habitat use in the Gulf of Maine

Pershing¹,

Record²,

Monger³

et al. 2009

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Balancing human uses of the marine environment with the recovery of protected species requires accurate information on when and where species of interest are likely to be present. Here, we describe a system that can produce useful estimates of right whale Eubalaena glacialis presence and abundance on their feeding grounds in the Gulf of Maine. The foundation of our system is a coupled physical-biological model of the copepod Calanus finmarchicus, the preferred prey of right whales. From the modeled prey densities, we can estimate when whales will appear in the Great South Channel feeding ground. Based on our experience with the system, we consider how the relationship between right whales and copepods changes across spatial scales. The scale-dependent relationship between whales and copepods provides insight into how to improve future estimates of the distribution of right whales and other pelagic predators. KEY WORDS: Eubalaena glacialis · Calanus finmarchicus · Gulf of Maine · Population dynamics · ModelResale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher

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Small-scale spatial variability of sperm and sei whales in relation to oceanographic and topographic features along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Cited by 49 publications

References 33 publications

Timing of migratory baleen whales at the Azores in relation to the North Atlantic spring bloom

Timing of migratory baleen whales at the Azores in relation to the North Atlantic spring bloom

Assessment of goods and services, vulnerability, and conservation status of European seabed biotopes: a stepping stone towards ecosystem-based marine spatial management

Model-based estimates of right whale habitat use in the Gulf of Maine

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