[MARMAM] New paper on humpback whales across the Hawaiian archipelago
Aloha colleagues, My coauthors and I would like to share with you a paper recently published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science titled "The occurrence of humpback whales across the Hawaiian archipelago revealed by fixed and mobile acoustic monitoring." The paper is open access and presents new findings about humpback whale presence across the archipelago. Lammers MO, Goodwin B, Kügler A, Zang EJ, Harvey M, Margolina T, Martinez JA, Merkens K and Hatch LT (2023) The occurrence of humpback whales across the Hawaiian archipelago revealed by fixed and mobile acoustic monitoring. Front. Mar. Sci. 10:1083583. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2023.1083583 The occurrence of humpback whales (*Megaptera novaeangliae) *across the 2600 km of Hawaiian archipelago, which include the remote atolls, banks, and seamounts of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM), remains poorly understood. Previous surveys for humpback whales beyond the main Hawaiian Islands have been scarce due to limited access and the challenging winter conditions typically found in PMNM when whales are present. To overcome these limitations, a combination of moored acoustic recorders and a Wave Glider autonomous surface vehicle were used to acoustically monitor eight locations and survey approximately 1500 km of the Hawaiian archipelago for the occurrence of humpback whale song during the 2019-2020 breeding season. Relative song prevalence was established using a machine learning tool and by quantifying the level of song chorusing. A generalized additive model framework was applied to understand the associations between habitat variables and humpback whale song occurrence, and sound propagation modeling was performed to examine whether acoustic propagation influenced observed patterns. Whale song was recorded at all monitored and surveyed locations across the archipelago, albeit in varying amounts. Among the locations monitored with moored recorders, the highest and most sustained seasonal chorusing levels were measured off Maui followed by French Frigate Shoals (Kānemilohaʻi), Hawaiʻi Island, Middle Bank, Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, Gardner Pinnacles (Pūhāhonu) and Pearl and Hermes Reef (Holoikauaua), respectively. The Wave Glider mission to PMNM revealed that song prevalence was highest at Middle Bank and gradually decreased further to the northwest, reaching a minimum at Gardner Pinnacles (Pūhāhonu). However, song occurrence increased again at Raita Bank, remaining high between Raita Bank and the Northampton Seamounts. The results reveal that nearly the entire Hawaiian archipelago is exploited by humpback whales during the winter and early spring months. Moreover, song occurrence patterns suggest that there may be more structure in the distribution of whales in PMNM than previously known and raises questions about whether multiple subpopulations occur across the archipelago. Best wishes, Marc -- *Marc O. Lammers, PhD* Research Ecologist | Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary 726 S. Kihei Rd. | Kihei, HI 96753 | Ph: +1-808-419-7211 Fax: +1-808-874-3815 | marc.lamm...@noaa.gov ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
[MARMAM] New publication on historical whaling in Ireland
Dear Colleagues, I would like to inform you of a new publication in the Irish Naturalists' Journal (published in December 2022, details below). Please email me with any questions or enquiries. Best wishes, Conor Ryan Ryan, C. (2022) Insights into the biology and ecology of whales in Ireland 100 years ago from archived whaling data. Irish Naturalists’ Journal 39: 24-35. https://irishnaturalistsjournal.org/whats-new-in-the-inj/ Abstract: Whaling in Ireland began in the 14th century and ended in 1976. This paper focuses on industrial shore-based whaling carried out from two stations in Co. Mayo (Iniskea and Blacksod) from 1908 to 1922. Archive landing records (n = 894) were analysed providing coarse but important baseline information on diet, sex ratios, pregnancy rates, and seasonal occurrences of Blue, Fin, Humpback, Northern Right, Sei and Sperm Whales. Catches were skewed in favour of females in Blue Whales and males for Sei and Sperm Whales. Right and Sei Whales arrived in the whaling ground in May-June followed by Blue and Fin Whales in July-August. Right Whales appear to have been driven locally extinct by whaling, while Humpback Whales were apparently already scarce by 1908. Whaling had a profound and enduring impact on the numbers of Blue, Right and Sei Whales in the former whaling ground. ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
[MARMAM] Special Issue for the 20 years of LAJAM
Dear MARMAM community, On behalf of the Editorial board of the Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals (LAJAM), led by our Editor-in-Chief Dr. Miriam Marmontiel and our Managing Editor Dr. Daniel González-Socoloske, I would like to announce the publication of a Special Issue for the 20th anniversary of the Journal. As many of you may already know, LAJAM is an open access peer-reviewed scientific electronic journal that publishes articles on research, management and conservation biology of aquatic mammals in Latin America. To celebrate our 20-year milestone, a new special issue of the journal was conceived with the idea of publishing a series of review papers focusing on major topics related to the aquatic mammals of Latin America. A call for proposals was sent to aquatic mammal scientists that work in the area. We received over 30 proposals, which were carefully reviewed and the authors of 15 of these proposals were invited to submit reviews. The Editor-in-Chief along with four associate editors (Nataly Castelblanco-Martinez, Daniel Gonzalez-Socoloske, Carolina Loch, and Aldo S. Pacheco) were selected as guest editors for this special issue. In the end, 10 review articles passed the peer-review process, and these are: Huesca-Domínguez, I., Morteo, E., Hernández-Candelario, I., Delfín-Alfonso, C. A., Abarca-Arenas, L. G., Marmontel, M., & Palacios, D.M. (2023). Two decades of the Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals (LAJAM): A bibliometric review for the period 2002 – 2022. Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals, 18(1), 5-20. https://doi.org/10.5597/lajam00294 Borobia, M., Vail, C., Pusineri, C., & Conruyt, G. (2023). Review of threats and implementation of the Regional Action Plan for the Conservation of Marine Mammals in the Wider Caribbean Region. Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals, 18(1), 21-38. https://doi.org/10.5597/lajam00300 Escobar-Lazcano, M. J., Morteo, E., Delfin-Alfonso, C. A., Hernández-Candelario, I. C., & Abarca-Arenas, L. G. (2023). Trends and gaps in marine mammal research from Mexico during 1998 - 2021. Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals, 18(1), 39-49. https://doi.org/10.5597/lajam00299 Viglino, M., Valenzuela-Toro, A. M., Benites-Palomino, A., Hernández-Cisneros, A. E., Gutstein, C. S., Aguirre-Fernández, G., Vélez-Juarbe, J., Cozzuol, M. A., Buono, M. R., & Loch, C. (2023). Aquatic mammal fossils in Latin America – a review of records, advances and challenges in research in the last 30 years. Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals, 18(1), 50-65. https://doi.org/10.5597/lajam00295 Loizaga, R., Caballero, S., Cunha, H. A., Gravena, W., Herrerra-Trujillo, O., Lopes, F., Milmann, L., Ott, P. H., Pérez-Alvarez, M. J., Túnez, J. I., Durante, C. A., & Oliveira, L. R. (2023). South American aquatic mammals: an overview of 20 years focusing on molecular techniques applied to conservation. Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals, 18(1), 66-95. https://doi.org/10.5597/lajam00303 Chávez-Andrade, M., de la Cueva, H., Luévano-Esparza, J., & Lavín Murcio, P. A. (2023). Contributions of bioacoustics to the scientific knowledge of marine mammals in Latin America.Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals, 18(1), 96-113. https://doi.org/10.5597/lajam00302 Gonzalez-Socoloske, D., & Olivera-Gómez, L. D. (2023). Seeing in the dark: A review of the use of side-scan sonar to detect and study manatees, with an emphasis on Latin America. Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals, 18(1), 114-124. https://doi.org/10.5597/lajam00301 Amaral, R. S., Marmontel, M., Souza, D. A., Carvalho, C. C., Valdevino, G. C. M., Guterres-Pazin, M. G., Mello, D. M. D., Lima, D. S., Chávez-Pérez, H. I., & da Silva, V. M. F. (2023). Advances in the knowledge of the biology and conservation of the Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis). Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals, 18(1), 125-138. https://doi.org/10.5597/lajam00296da Silva, V. M. F., Brum, S. M., Mello, D. M. D., Amaral, R. S., Gravena, W., Campbell, E., Gonçalves, R. S., & Mintzer, V. J. (2023). The Amazon River dolphin, Inia geoffrensis: What have we learned in the last two decades of research? Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals, 18(1), 139-157. https://doi.org/10.5597/lajam00298 Castelblanco-Martínez, D. N., Gonzalez-Socoloske, D., Cabrias, L., Garcés-Cuartas, N., Arévalo-González, G. K., Borges, J. C. G., & Marmontel, M. (2023). Accomplishments and challenges of research on the Antillean manatee: A bibliometric analysis. Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals, 18(1), 158-166. https://doi.org/10.5597/lajam00297 Please click the following link to have full access to the publications: https://lajamjournal.org/index.php/lajam/issue/view/49 We hope you enjoy
[MARMAM] New Publication: Drone-enabled quantification of skin disease in Arabian Sea humpback whales
Dear Colleagues, On behalf of my co-authors I am pleased to present our recently published paper entitled: Remote and non‑invasive quantification of ‘Tattoo Skin Disease‑Like' dermatopathy in endangered Arabian Sea humpback whales using drone photography. The view-only version is available here: https://rdcu.be/c3pb0. A pdf version can be found here: https://www.matthewsleslie.com/publications-1 Abstract: Arabian Sea humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae; ASHW) are listed as Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The long-term presence and increased prevalence of tattoo skin disease-like (TSD-L) dermatopathy is a concern for this small non-migratory population. Characterized by irregular or rounded, light gray or whitish cutaneous lesions, this condition resembles tattoo skin disease, caused by cetacean poxviruses. Although the etiological agent and pathogenicity of TSD-L dermatopathy are unknown, previous studies have suggested that it is an indicator of population health. Until now, disease diagnosis had been based on photographs collected from survey vessels. In this study, we describe a novel method of identifying and quantifying TSD-L lesions in ASHW, using drone aerial photography. Aerial photos of the entire dorsum were selected for 18 whales with the same criteria applied for assessing body condition to quantify the percent coverage for each individual. We effectively diagnosed this condition from close-up aerial photos or good-quality photos of the lateral body surface taken from the research vessel in 13 whales. TSD-L dermatopathy coverage ranged from 2.34 to 57.00% and measurements were consistent between photographs of the same whale (SD=1.86%). Drone aerial photography provided a useful and complementary approach to identify and quantify TSD-L lesions. Continued monitoring using this non-invasive method should be combined with other population and health monitoring tools to increase our understanding of the characteristics and epidemiology of this condition, and to provide critical information for conservation efforts that ensure the recovery of this endangered population. Citation: Leslie MS, Kant L, Perkins-Taylor C, Van Bressem MF, Minton G, MacDonald D, Christiansen F, Willson MS, Collins T, Baldwin R, Al Harthi S. 2023. Remote and non‑invasive quantification of ‘Tattoo Skin Disease‑Like’ dermatopathy in endangered Arabian Sea humpback whales using drone photography. Mammalian Biology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42991-022-00337-0 Many thanks to all involved and those who provided support. Please reach out if you have questions. Sincerely, Matt Matthew S. Leslie, Ph.D. ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
