On-behalf of my co-authors I am pleased to share our new publication in Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals regarding southern right whale Chile-Peru subpopulation breeding site at low latitudes of the SE Pacific.
Garcia-Cegarra, A.M., Malebran, M., Van Waerebeek, K. 2021. Antofagasta Region in northern Chile, a potential nursing ground for the Southern right whale *Eubalaena australis*. Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals 16(1), doi: 10.5597/lajam00270 Abstract: The Chile-Peru subpopulation (CPe) of the Southern right whale (*Eubalaena australis*) is classified as Critically Endangered following intense whaling in past centuries. Due to their very low abundance, information on breeding and feeding grounds is also scarce. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly applied in marine mammal research thanks to their low cost and relative ease of use. This case study documents a Southern right whale nursing in Bahía Moreno (23º S), Antofagasta, in northern Chile through high-resolution images taken by UAV of an adult in July 2019 and the same, photo-identified, whale with a neonate in August 2019. Combined with earlier data we hypothesize that the Antofagasta Region may be a potential calving and nursing ground for the CPe subpopulation. Given the intense shipping traffic and fishing activities around the Mejillones Peninsula and Antofagasta port, priorly recommended marine spatial planning to help avoid net entanglements and vessel collisions of fin and humpback whales may also contribute to the conservation of the CPe stock. Access to the article: https://doi.org/10.5597/lajam00270 You can download the article from the LAJAM website: https://lajamjournal.org/index.php/lajam/article/view/1213 If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me: cifamacch...@gmail.com PhD. Ana M. Garcia Cegarra Marine Fauna Research Center (CIFAMAC) Mejillones, Chile https://cifamac-chile.weebly.com/ *Ana M. García-Cegarra, Ph.D.*
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