Dear MARMAM community, My co-authors and I are pleased to share our recent publication in the Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.
De Weerdt J, Patulny C, Ruiz Pérez N, Blanchet L (2024). Sightings of Bryde’s whale, *Balaenoptera edeni*, off the Pacific coast of Nicaragua. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 104,e40,1–7. https://doi.org/ 10.1017/S0025315424000250 Abstract. Here, we report the first sighting records of Bryde's whales in Nicaragua. Four sightings were made in 2022 during boat-based surveys off the southwestern coast of Nicaragua. Photo-identification, distributional data, dive times, and behavioural information were collected, and environmental parameters, including sea surface temperature, were measured for each sighting. Sightings included calf and non-calf groups displaying travelling (n = 1; 25%), milling (n = 1; 25%), and suspected feeding (n = 2; 50%) behaviours. Approximately 4 h of focal following allowed the calculation of short and long breath intervals. Based on our observations , the individuals were suspected of feeding in the area, based on the presence of feeding birds, feeding humpback whales, relatively high time-lagged chlorophyll-a, and observed general behaviours. Our findings indicate that this species may occasionally visit Nicaraguan coastal areas in search of feeding opportunities, and could represent a possible range extension of the Eastern North Pacific stock. The pdf of the paper is available here: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315424000250 If you wish to support this project you can order an original whale bracelet that is handmade and custom made by Association ELI-S. https://eli-s.com/shop/, consider a donation <https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=6DCP5GMKBKYLA>, or follow us on our social media. Best regards, *Joëlle De Weerdt* *I support Whale Research in Nicaragua with my online searches on lilo <http://www.lilo.org/fr/?utm_source=eli-scientific>* PhD Candidate at Vrije Universiteit University Award winner of Jane Goodall Institute and Fondation Yves-Rocher Scientist at Association ELI-S --------------------- www.eli-s.com Find more on Association ELI-S: Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/AssociationELIS> | Instagram <http://www.instagram.com/association.elis> | Twitter <http://twitter.com/ELI_Scientific> | Youtube <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjeseHPDvE6pq-MmoZXWNkg> ResearchGate <https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Joelle-De-Weerdt> | ORCiD <https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4054-6609> | LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/in/jo%C3%ABlle-de-weerdt/>
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