[MARMAM] Aquatic Mammals Issue 50.2 is available online

[Kathleen Dudzinski]

Dear MARMAM Subscribers,
 
Happy Spring! 
The second issue of volume 50 (50.2) of Aquatic Mammals journal is available 
online and will be officially published on Friday (15 March). 
 
Further information about the journal can be found at: 
http://www.aquaticmammalsjournal.org/
To submit a manuscript for publication consideration, please visit: 
http://am.expressacademic.org/actions/author.php
 
With regards,
 
Kathleen M. Dudzinski, Ph.D.
Editor, Aquatic Mammals Journal
busin...@aquaticmammalsjournal.org 

Articles with ** are open access:


Sarah G. Trabue, Melinda L. Rekdahl, and Howard C. Rosenbaum. (2024). 
Photo-Identification and Skin Lesion Prevalence of Bottlenose Dolphins 
(Tursiops erebennus) in the Waters of New York and New Jersey. Aquatic Mammals, 
50(2), 65-85.
 
**Britney E. Pepper, Marina A. Piscitelli-Doshkov, Paul K. Doshkov, and Andrew 
J. Read. (2024).Heading South for the Winter: The Seasonal Occurrence of Harbor 
Seals (Phoca vitulina vitulina) Near Oregon Inlet, North Carolina, USA. Aquatic 
Mammals, 50(2), 86-92.
 
Josh D. McInnes, Andrew W. Trites, Chelsea R. Mathieson, Marilyn E. Dahlheim, 
Jeffrey E. Moore, Paula A. Olson, and Kevin M. Lester. (2024). Evidence for an 
Oceanic Population of Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) in Offshore Waters of 
California and Oregon. Aquatic Mammals, 50(2), 93-106.
 
**Ronald A. Kastelein, Lean Helder-Hoek, Laura Van Acoleyen, Linde N. Defillet, 
and John M. Terhune. (2024). Temporary Hearing Threshold Shift in California 
Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus) Due to a Noise Band Centered at 32 kHz. 
Aquatic Mammals, 50(2), 107-121.
 
Jaime Bolaños-Jiménez and Tulio Gutiérrez. (2024). An Antarctic Minke Whale 
(Balaenoptera bonaerensis) Live-Stranding in Venezuela: First Record for the 
Caribbean Sea. Aquatic Mammals, 50(2),122-126.
 
Andrés Moreira-Mendieta, Diego O. Urquía, Pacarina Asadobay, and Diego 
Páez-Rosas. (2024). Evidence of a Predatory Interaction of a Cookiecutter Shark 
(Isistius brasiliensis) on Galapagos Fur Seals (Arctocephalus galapagoensis). 
Aquatic Mammals, 50(2), 127-131.



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[MARMAM] New publication: Disentangling the influence of entanglement on recruitment in North Atlantic right whales

[joshua.reed]

Dear MARMAN community, 

 

On behalf of my co-author, we are pleased to share our paper in Proceedings
of the Royal Society B, which is open access and available here
<https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2024.0314> .

 

Abstract:

North Atlantic right whales are Critically Endangered and declining, with
entanglements in fishing gear a key contributor to their decline.
Entanglement events can result in lethal and sub-lethal (i.e. increased
energetic demands and reduced foraging ability) impacts, with the latter
influencing critical life-history states, such as reproduction. Using a
multi-event framework, we developed a Bayesian mark-recapture model to
investigate the influence of entanglement severity on survival and
recruitment for female right whales. We used information from 199 known-aged
females sighted between 1977 and 2018, combined with known entanglements of
varying severity that were classified as minor, moderate or severe. Severe
entanglements resulted in an average decline in survival of 27% for
experienced non-breeders, 9% for breeders and 26% for pre-breeding females
compared with other entanglements and unentangled individuals. Surviving
individuals with severe entanglements had low transitional probabilities to
breeders, but surprisingly, individuals with minor entanglements had the
lowest transitional probabilities, contrary to expectations underpinning
current management actions. Management actions are needed to address the
lethal and sub-lethal impacts of entanglements, regardless of severity
classification.

 

Citation: REED, J., NEW, L., CORKERON, P. & HARCOURT, R. 2024. Disentangling
the influence of entanglement on recruitment in North Atlantic right whales.
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 291, 20240314.
doi:10.1098/rspb.2024.0314

 

A companion piece on The Conversation is also available here: Surviving
fishing gear entanglement isn
<https://theconversation.com/surviving-fishing-gear-entanglement-isnt-enough
-for-endangered-right-whales-females-still-dont-breed-afterward-225257> 't
enough for endangered right whales - females still don't breed afterward.

 

Kind regards,

Josh

 

 

--

Joshua Reed, Ph.D. 

Marine Predator Research Group

School of Natural Sciences

Macquarie University

Sydney, NSW 2109,

Australia

 

 

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[MARMAM] VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED FOR A BEHAVIOURAL RESPONSE STUDY ON HUMPBACK WHALES IN AUSTRALIA

[Michael Noad]

The Cetacean Ecology and Acoustics Group at the University of Queensland are 
seeking expressions of interest from volunteers for a six-week behavioural 
response study (BRS) on humpback whales from September 8 to October 19 this 
year (2024).

The first part of the study will be the fourth in a series to determine the 
hearing range of humpback whales by measuring their behavioural response to 
tones of various frequencies. The second part of the study will assess the 
efficacy of various stimuli as acoustic deterrents. The study will be conducted 
at Peregian Beach on the Sunshine Coast, just north of Brisbane, and follows 
several successful studies of humpback whale vocalisations and behaviour at the 
same site during the Humpback whale Acoustic Research Collaboration (HARC; 2002 
- 2008), the BRAHSS experiments in 2010 - 2015 (http://www.brahss.org.au/; 
https://www.ceal.lab.uq.edu.au/ ) and years 1, 2 and 3 (2021, 2022, 2023) of 
the "Hearing in Humpbacks" project.

Volunteers are required mainly to conduct land-based observations of the whales 
as they pass our study site. Approximately 5,000 whales should migrate 
southwards within 10 km of Peregian Beach during the field period making the 
site ideal for land-based tracking and observations of behaviour. Some whales 
will be tagged with Acousonde suction cup tags. Although volunteers will be 
used to help on the boats, opportunities for volunteers to participate in boat 
work are limited, and most time will be spent doing land-based observations.

Volunteers will receive detailed training at the beginning of the project and 
therefore successful applicants must be available for the entire duration of 
the project. A high standard of safety will be maintained throughout the field 
work and volunteers will be trained in safety procedures.

Peregian Beach is a beautiful area on the Sunshine Coast, and there are plenty 
of things for volunteers to do during downtime. Favourite activities in 
previous projects here have included surfing, hanging out at cafes (within 
walking distance of our field site), diving, walking the Noosa National Park, 
trips to Fraser Island (K'gari), etc.

Volunteers must be sociable as they will be expected to work and live as part 
of teams with shared cooking and cleaning duties. We expect that there will be 
up to 30 people (researchers, staff, and volunteers) at the site. Volunteers 
must organise and pay for their own transport to the study site (approximately 
1.5h from the Brisbane International Airport or 30 mins from the Sunshine Coast 
Airport) but food and accommodation are provided once there. Meals are communal.

This project will suit people with a background in science (including recent 
graduates and graduate students as well as higher level undergraduate students) 
keen to gain experience in cetacean survey techniques, acoustics, and 
behavioural response studies. Applicants should also be highly motivated, 
enthusiastic, sociable, and able to concentrate for several hours at a time. 
Those with previous survey experience of marine mammals or other taxa will be 
preferred.

The first part of the research project is being funded by the Subcommittee on 
Ocean Science and Technology (SOST) through the U.S. Navy Living Marine 
Resources (LMR) applied research program and the second part is funded by the 
Sea World Foundation (Gold Coast, Australia).

Applicants should reply with an email to Rebecca Dunlop 
(r.dun...@uq.edu.au), Kelsey Stone 
(kelsey.st...@uq.edu.au), Riona McNamara 
(r.mcnam...@uq.net.au), and Liam Johnson 
(l.e.john...@uq.edu.au) outlining why they would 
be suitable for this work, why they would like to participate, an outline of 
previous relevant experience, and any other relevant details. The email should 
include an attached CV and the names and contact details of two professional 
referees. The closing date for volunteer applications is 30 April and 
successful field applicants will be notified in late May.

Associate Professor Rebecca Dunlop
BSc(Hons) PhD

Lecturer in Animal Behaviour and Physiology

School of the Environment

The University of Queensland
Brisbane Qld 4072 Australia
Ph: +61 7 3443 2028
Email: r.dun...@uq.edu.au

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[MARMAM] New publication: Environmental drivers of odontocete occurrence in a nearshore temperate habitat

[Matt Sharpe]

Dear MARMAM community,

I'm pleased to be able to share with you our new publication in Estuarine,
Coastal and Shelf Science titled: Environmental drivers of odontocete
occurrence in a nearshore temperate habitat. It is available open access:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2024.108697, for further details see below.

Cheers,
Matt Sharpe

Matt Sharpe, Per Berggren,
Environmental drivers of odontocete occurrence in a nearshore temperate
habitat,
Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science,
Volume 299,
2024,
108697,
ISSN 0272-7714,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2024.108697.
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272771424000842)

Abstract: Nearshore coastal waters off Northumberland, UK, are important
habitats for marine megafauna including marine mammals and seabirds. The
area also features extensive anthropogenic activities including shipping,
marine renewables development, fisheries, and tourism. Meanwhile there is
lack of baseline data on odontocete occurrence to allow assessment of the
potential impact from human disturbance. A recent increase in the number of
sightings of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the area
has provided impetus for new data to inform conservation managers and
policy makers. To provide this information, acoustic data were collected
using broadband passive acoustic recorders at three sites (Druridge Bay,
Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, and St Mary's Island) off the Northumberland coast
and analyzed to identify species-specific click trains of common bottlenose
dolphin, white-beaked dolphin (Lagenorhynchus albirostris) and harbor
porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). Detection data were modelled for each species
as detection-positive hours (DPH) using Generalized Additive Models with
Generalized Estimating Equations (GAM-GEE) to investigate the effects of
environmental covariates, including day of year, diel phase, lunar phase,
salinity, year, month and sea surface temperature, and their interaction
with location. A total of 20,845 h were recorded during the study resulting
in a total of 1660, 71, and  DPH identified for bottlenose dolphin,
white-beaked dolphin and porpoise, respectively. The final model for
bottlenose dolphins retained all covariates except tidal index and an
interaction between location and day of year after model selection and all
covariates in the final model were significant. The final model for
white-beaked dolphin retained month, year, location, diel index,
temperature, lunar index and interactions between location and diel index
and all covariates except lunar index were significant. The final model for
porpoise retained all covariates and interactions between location and diel
phase, day of year, lunar index, and salinity, however, salinity and the
interaction between location and lunar index were not significant.
Bottlenose dolphin clicks were detected in the area year-round but with two
peak periods in occurrence coinciding with May and late September;
white-beaked dolphin clicks were detected predominantly in July and August;
and porpoise clicks were present year-round but with much greater
probability of detection at the Druridge Bay site, where there were peaks
in winter and in September. The results of this study provide important
information for conservation and management actions that may be needed to
reduce anthropogenic pressures on odontocetes in UK waters.

Keywords: Coastal; Marine mammals; Passive acoustics; Environmental drivers
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[MARMAM] New Publication: Evidence for an oceanic population of killer whales (Orcinus orca) in offshore waters of California and Oregon

[McInnes, Joshua]

Dear colleagues,

On behalf of my co-authors, we are pleased to share with you our recent
publication published in Aquatic Mammals:


McInnes, J.D., Trites, A.W., Mathieson, C.R., Dahlheim, M.E., Moore, J.E., 
Olson, P.A., and Lester, K.M. (2024). Evidence for an oceanic population of 
killer whales (Orcinus orca) in offshore waters of California and Oregon. 
Aquatic Mammals 50(2), 93-106, DOI https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.50.2.2024.93.


Summary:

In the northeastern Pacific, sightings of small numbers of killer whales 
(Orcinus orca) of unknown ecotype have been sporadically reported during open 
ocean marine mammal surveys, pelagic birding expeditions, and high seas fishing 
operations. However, it is unknown whether these oceanic killer whales belong 
to a mammal-eating ecotype of killer whale, an offshore fish-eating ecotype, or 
an offshore generalist type. We attempted to determine the ecotype of 49 
unknown individuals observed during nine encounters from 1997 to 2021 in the 
deep oceanic waters far from the coastlines of California and Oregon (> 65 km) 
based on their foraging behaviors, prey species consumed, morphologies, and the 
prevalence of cookiecutter shark (Isistius sp.) bite scars. We hypothesize that 
these killer whales may represent a distinct oceanic subpopulation of transient 
killer whales or an undescribed oceanic population that feeds on marine mammals 
and sea turtles in the open ocean beyond the continental shelf break.


Best regards,


Josh D. McInnes, MSc Candidate

Marine Mammal Research Unit
Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries

Aquatic Ecosystem Research Laboratory

University of British Columbia

Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z4


Research Associate | Pacific Wildlife Foundation

Port Moody, British Columbia, Canada, V3H 1V6

Centre for Wildlife Ecology

Department of Biological Sciences

 University Drive

Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC



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