Two live sightings of Sowerby's beaked whale (<i>Mesoplodon bidens</i>) from the western Mediterranean (Tyrrhenian Sea)

Bittau, Luca; Leone, Mattia Federico; Gannier, Adrien; Gannier, Alexandre; Manconi, Renata

doi:10.1017/s0025315416001892

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…In the Northeast Atlantic, observations of SBWs have been recorded as far north as the polar seas of northern Norway [5] to the south and east around the Azores, in the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Mediterranean, and by the Canary Islands [6][7][8][9]. An abundance estimate, although based on a few sightings of SBWs and grouped together with other beaked whale species, showed sighting concentrations in a hot spot south of Iceland and northwest of Ireland [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sowerby’s Beaked Whales (Mesoplodon bidens) in the Skagerrak and Adjacent Waters: Historical Records and Recent Post-Mortem Findings

Stavenow

Roos

Ågren

et al. 2022

Oceans

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In contrast to sparse historical observational records, five Sowerby’s beaked whales (SBW) stranded and died in Swedish waters between 2015 and 2020. Here we summarize historical records of SBWs in the Skagerrak basin and adjacent waters. The three recent stranding events from Sweden are described, and the post-mortem findings, including diet analysis, from the five SBWs are presented. Of 30 historical records of SBWs observations since 1869, 13 (43%) were documented between 2010 and 2021, and records between July and November were the most frequent. The recent stranding events occurred in October 2015 (n = 1), August 2019 (n = 3) and July 2020 (n = 1). Four of the SBWs were examined through necropsy, and one was sampled in the field. They were all sub-adults and included a single female and four males. The causes of death were emaciation, euthanasia due to traumatic injury, and live stranding of undetermined cause. Two SBWs each had a focal bone lesion consistent with osteomyelitis. Other findings included pox-like dermatitis, trauma, focal granulomas in a lymph node and intestine, and ulceration of the stomach. CT scans were performed on the heads of two animals, with inconclusive results. Three SBWs had hard parts in the gastrointestinal tract that mainly consisted of otoliths from several fish species. An eDNA-analysis confirmed and supplemented the diet analysis, revealing 17 fish species in total, including species not previously described as prey for SBW, such as Pleuronectidae spp. The apparent increase in observational records since 2010 may indicate a shift in SBW distribution or changing threats to these animals. Our results support and expand theories on SBW movements and provide data on the biology and health of this poorly known species, which are valuable for conservation and legislation efforts.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sowerby’s Beaked Whales (Mesoplodon bidens) in the Skagerrak and Adjacent Waters: Historical Records and Recent Post-Mortem Findings

Stavenow

Roos

Ågren

et al. 2022

Oceans

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“…Its distribution in the west extends between Massachusetts, USA and Labrador, Canada and in the east between the Canary Islands, Spain and Norway (Carlström et al, 1997;Martín et al, 2011;Pitman & Brownell Jr., 2020). Extralimital stranding records have reportedly been made in the Gulf of Mexico, Mediterranean Sea, Dominican Republic and Brazil, but the majority of published records have been from strandings around Scotland and Ireland in the North-east Atlantic (MacLeod et al, 2004(MacLeod et al, , 2006Bachara et al, 2014;Bittau et al, 2018). This species is currently classed as least concern under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list (Pitman & Brownell Jr., 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strandings of a neonate and a pregnant Sowerby's beaked whale (Mesoplodon bidens(Sowerby, 1804)) in Ireland

O’Callaghan

Overy

Hunt³

et al. 2022

J. Mar. Biol. Ass.

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Sowerby's beaked whale is a deep-diving cetacean species specialized to live in the deep waters of the North Atlantic, including offshore Irish waters. Sightings of Sowerby's beaked whales in this area are infrequent and a substantial increase in our knowledge of their presence comes from recent static acoustic monitoring (SAM) and passive acoustic monitoring (PAM). However, most information on this species has been derived from stranding records, which provide opportunistic insights into this elusive species' cryptic life history. Here we report on the live stranding of a 1200 mm long neonate and an adult 5 m female Sowerby's beaked whale in July 2015 and on the stranding of a 4.9 m pregnant female in September 2020 with a 495 mm long male foetus in the south-west of Ireland. These stranding events provide an important insight into the reproductive life history of this species and provide further evidence that Sowerby's beaked whales calve in offshore Irish waters.

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Sowerby’s Beaked Whale Mesoplodon bidens Sowerby 1804

Smith

Peterson²

2022

Handbook of the Mammals of Europe

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Two live sightings of Sowerby's beaked whale (Mesoplodon bidens) from the western Mediterranean (Tyrrhenian Sea)

Cited by 4 publications

References 22 publications

Sowerby’s Beaked Whales (Mesoplodon bidens) in the Skagerrak and Adjacent Waters: Historical Records and Recent Post-Mortem Findings

Sowerby’s Beaked Whales (Mesoplodon bidens) in the Skagerrak and Adjacent Waters: Historical Records and Recent Post-Mortem Findings

Strandings of a neonate and a pregnant Sowerby's beaked whale (Mesoplodon bidens(Sowerby, 1804)) in Ireland

Sowerby’s Beaked Whale Mesoplodon bidens Sowerby 1804

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