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Cheeseman T, Barlow J, Acebes JM, Audley K, Bejder L, Birdsall C, Bracamontes OS, Bradford AL, Byington J, Calambokidis J, Cartwright R, Cedarleaf J, Chavez AJG, Currie J, De Castro RC, De Weerdt J, Doe N, Doniol-Valcroze T, Dracott K, Filatova O, Finn R, Flynn KR, Ford J, Frisch-Jordán A, Gabriele C, Goodwin B, Hayslip C, Hildering J, Hill MC, Jacobsen JK, Jiménez-López ME, Jones M, Kobayashi N, Lammers M, Lyman E, Malleson M, Mamaev E, Loustalot PM, Masterman A, Matkin CO, McMillan C, Moore J, Moran J, Neilson JL, Newell H, Okabe H, Olio M, Ortega-Ortiz CD, Pack AA, Palacios DM, Pearson H, Quintana-Rizzo E, Barragán RR, Ransome N, Rosales-Nanduca H, Sharpe F, Shaw T, Southerland K, Stack S, Staniland I, Straley J, Szabo A, Teerlink S, Titova O, Urban-Ramirez J, van Aswegen M, Vinicius M, von Ziegesar O, Witteveen B, Wray J, Yano K, Yegin I, Zwiefelhofer D, Clapham P. Bellwethers of change: population modelling of North Pacific humpback whales from 2002 through 2021 reveals shift from recovery to climate response. R Soc Open Sci 2024; 11:231462. [PMID: 38420629 PMCID: PMC10898971 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.231462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
For the 40 years after the end of commercial whaling in 1976, humpback whale populations in the North Pacific Ocean exhibited a prolonged period of recovery. Using mark-recapture methods on the largest individual photo-identification dataset ever assembled for a cetacean, we estimated annual ocean-basin-wide abundance for the species from 2002 through 2021. Trends in annual estimates describe strong post-whaling era population recovery from 16 875 (± 5955) in 2002 to a peak abundance estimate of 33 488 (± 4455) in 2012. An apparent 20% decline from 2012 to 2021, 33 488 (± 4455) to 26 662 (± 4192), suggests the population abruptly reached carrying capacity due to loss of prey resources. This was particularly evident for humpback whales wintering in Hawai'i, where, by 2021, estimated abundance had declined by 34% from a peak in 2013, down to abundance levels previously seen in 2006, and contrasted to an absence of decline in Mainland Mexico breeding humpbacks. The strongest marine heatwave recorded globally to date during the 2014-2016 period appeared to have altered the course of species recovery, with enduring effects. Extending this time series will allow humpback whales to serve as an indicator species for the ecosystem in the face of a changing climate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ted Cheeseman
- Marine Ecology Research Centre, Southern Cross University, Lismore, New South Wales, Australia
- Happywhale, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Jay Barlow
- Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University, Newport, OR, USA
| | | | | | - Lars Bejder
- Marine Mammal Research Program, Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Kaneohe, HI, USA
| | - Caitlin Birdsall
- Marine Education and Research Society, Port McNeill, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | - Amanda L Bradford
- NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Honolulu, HI, USA
| | - Josie Byington
- Pacific Wildlife Foundation Canada, Port Moody, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | - Rachel Cartwright
- The Keiki Kohola Project, Delray Beach, FL, USA
- California State University Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA, USA
| | - Jen Cedarleaf
- University of Alaska Southeast, Sitka Campus, Sitka, AK, USA
| | | | | | | | - Joëlle De Weerdt
- Association ELI-S, Gujan-Mestras, France
- Vrije Universiteit, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Nicole Doe
- Marine Education and Research Society, Port McNeill, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Thomas Doniol-Valcroze
- Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | - Olga Filatova
- Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Rachel Finn
- Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, Kīhei, HI, USA
| | | | - John Ford
- Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | - Chris Gabriele
- Hawai'i Marine Mammal Consortium, Waimea, HI, USA
- Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Gustavus, AK, USA
| | - Beth Goodwin
- Eye of the Whale Marine Mammal Research, Kamuela, HI, USA
| | - Craig Hayslip
- Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University, Newport, OR, USA
| | - Jackie Hildering
- Marine Education and Research Society, Port McNeill, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Marie C Hill
- NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Honolulu, HI, USA
- Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Research Corporation of the University of Hawai'i, Honolulu, HI, USA
| | | | - M Esther Jiménez-López
- Departamento Académico de Ingeniería en Pesquerías, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, La Paz, BCS, Mexico
| | | | | | - Marc Lammers
- Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, Kīhei, HI, USA
| | - Edward Lyman
- Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, Kīhei, HI, USA
| | | | - Evgeny Mamaev
- FGBU Gosudarstvennyj zapovednik Komandorskij, Commander Islands, Kamchatka Krai, Russia
| | | | - Annie Masterman
- National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Auke Bay Laboratories, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Juneau, AK, USA
| | | | - Christie McMillan
- Marine Education and Research Society, Port McNeill, British Columbia, Canada
- Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Jeff Moore
- NOAA Fisheries Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - John Moran
- National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Auke Bay Laboratories, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Juneau, AK, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Adam A Pack
- Department of Psychology, University of Hawai'i at Hilo, Hilo, HI, USA
- The Dolphin Institute, Hilo, HI, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Nicola Ransome
- College of Sustainable Aquatic Ecosystems, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Hiram Rosales-Nanduca
- Departamento Académico de Ingeniería en Pesquerías, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, La Paz, BCS, Mexico
| | - Fred Sharpe
- McCowan Lab, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Tasli Shaw
- Humpback Whales of the Salish Sea, Duncan, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Suzie Teerlink
- Juneau Flukes, Juneau, AK, USA
- NOAA Fisheries Alaska Regional Office, Juneau, AK, USA
| | - Olga Titova
- A. N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | | | - Martin van Aswegen
- Marine Mammal Research Program, Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Kaneohe, HI, USA
| | | | | | - Briana Witteveen
- University of Alaska Fairbanks College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, Fairbanks, AK, USA
| | - Janie Wray
- North Coast Cetacean Society, Alert Bay, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Kymberly Yano
- NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Honolulu, HI, USA
- Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Research Corporation of the University of Hawai'i, Honolulu, HI, USA
| | - Igor Yegin
- Happywhale, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
- University of Stirling, Stirling, UK
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De Weerdt J, Pacheco AS, Calambokidis J, Castaneda M, Cheeseman T, Frisch-Jordán A, Garita Alpízar F, Hayslip C, Martínez-Loustalot P, Palacios DM, Quintana-Rizzo E, Ransome N, Urbán Ramírez J, Clapham P, Van der Stocken T. Migratory destinations and spatial structuring of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) wintering off Nicaragua. Sci Rep 2023; 13:15180. [PMID: 37704666 PMCID: PMC10500005 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-41923-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding the migratory patterns of large whales is of conservation importance, especially in identifying threats to specific populations. Migration ecology, including migratory destinations, movements and site fidelity for humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) remain poorly studied in parts of the range of the Central America population, considered endangered under the United States Endangered Species Act. This study aimed to investigate the migratory destinations of humpback whales sighted at two study sites in Nicaragua, which are part of the Central America population. A ten-year photographic database of humpback whales observed off Nicaragua was combined with citizen science contributions and sightings from dedicated research programs. The resulting image collection was compared with available historical photo identifications and databases using an automated image recognition algorithm. This approach yielded 36 years of photographic identification totaling 431 recaptures in Nicaragua (2006-2008 and 2016-2021) and 2539 recaptures (1986-2020) in both feeding and breeding grounds of 176 unique individuals sighted in Nicaragua. Our results showed that photo-identified whales were recaptured between October and April in breeding grounds and year-round in feeding grounds between British Columbia and California, with peak recaptures between June and October. Our study provided first-time evidence on fine-scale site affinity of individual humpback whales within Nicaraguan waters and to other breeding and feeding grounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joëlle De Weerdt
- Association ELI-S, Education, Liberté, Indépendance-Scientifique, Allée de Verdalle 39, 33470, Gujan-Mestras, France.
- Biology Department, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, VUB, Pleinlaan, 1050, Brussel, Belgium.
| | - Aldo S Pacheco
- Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Av. Carlos Germán Amezaga #375, Lima, Perú
| | - John Calambokidis
- Cascadia Research Collective, 218½ W 4th Avenue, Olympia, WA, 98501, USA
| | | | - Ted Cheeseman
- Happywhale.com, Marine Ecological Research Centre, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia
| | | | | | - Craig Hayslip
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, Newport, OR, USA
- Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University, Newport, OR, USA
| | - Pamela Martínez-Loustalot
- Departamento de Ciencias Marinas y Costeras, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, La Paz, México
| | - Daniel M Palacios
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, Newport, OR, USA
- Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University, Newport, OR, USA
| | | | - Nicola Ransome
- Fundación Naturaleza El Salvador, San Salvador, El Salvador
- Murdoch University (Harry Butler Institute), Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Jorge Urbán Ramírez
- Departamento de Ciencias Marinas y Costeras, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, La Paz, México
| | - Phillip Clapham
- Seastar Scientific, 27605 Hake Rd SW, Vashon, WA, 98070, USA
| | - Tom Van der Stocken
- Biology Department, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, VUB, Pleinlaan, 1050, Brussel, Belgium
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Cheeseman T, Southerland K, Acebes JM, Audley K, Barlow J, Bejder L, Birdsall C, Bradford AL, Byington JK, Calambokidis J, Cartwright R, Cedarleaf J, Chavez AJG, Currie JJ, De Weerdt J, Doe N, Doniol-Valcroze T, Dracott K, Filatova O, Finn R, Flynn K, Ford JKB, Frisch-Jordán A, Gabriele CM, Goodwin B, Hayslip C, Hildering J, Hill MC, Jacobsen JK, Jiménez-López ME, Jones M, Kobayashi N, Lyman E, Malleson M, Mamaev E, Martínez Loustalot P, Masterman A, Matkin C, McMillan CJ, Moore JE, Moran JR, Neilson JL, Newell H, Okabe H, Olio M, Pack AA, Palacios DM, Pearson HC, Quintana-Rizzo E, Ramírez Barragán RF, Ransome N, Rosales-Nanduca H, Sharpe F, Shaw T, Stack SH, Staniland I, Straley J, Szabo A, Teerlink S, Titova O, Urban R J, van Aswegen M, de Morais MV, von Ziegesar O, Witteveen B, Wray J, Yano KM, Zwiefelhofer D, Clapham P. A collaborative and near-comprehensive North Pacific humpback whale photo-ID dataset. Sci Rep 2023; 13:10237. [PMID: 37353581 PMCID: PMC10290149 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-36928-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/25/2023] Open
Abstract
We present an ocean-basin-scale dataset that includes tail fluke photographic identification (photo-ID) and encounter data for most living individual humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the North Pacific Ocean. The dataset was built through a broad collaboration combining 39 separate curated photo-ID catalogs, supplemented with community science data. Data from throughout the North Pacific were aggregated into 13 regions, including six breeding regions, six feeding regions, and one migratory corridor. All images were compared with minimal pre-processing using a recently developed image recognition algorithm based on machine learning through artificial intelligence; this system is capable of rapidly detecting matches between individuals with an estimated 97-99% accuracy. For the 2001-2021 study period, a total of 27,956 unique individuals were documented in 157,350 encounters. Each individual was encountered, on average, in 5.6 sampling periods (i.e., breeding and feeding seasons), with an annual average of 87% of whales encountered in more than one season. The combined dataset and image recognition tool represents a living and accessible resource for collaborative, basin-wide studies of a keystone marine mammal in a time of rapid ecological change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ted Cheeseman
- Happywhale, Santa Cruz, California, USA.
- Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia.
| | | | | | | | - Jay Barlow
- NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Lars Bejder
- Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Kaneohe, Hawai'i, USA
| | - Caitlin Birdsall
- Marine Education and Research Society, Port McNeill, British Columbia, Canada
- Ocean Wise, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Amanda L Bradford
- NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA
| | - Josie K Byington
- Pacific Wildlife Foundation, Port Moody, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Nicole Doe
- Marine Education and Research Society, Port McNeill, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | - Karina Dracott
- Ocean Wise, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- North Coast Cetacean Society, Hartley Bay, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | - Rachel Finn
- NOAA Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, Kihei, Maui, Hawaii, USA
| | | | - John K B Ford
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | - Christine M Gabriele
- Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Gustavus, Alaska, USA
- Hawai'i Marine Mammal Consortium, Kamuela, Hawai'i, USA
| | - Beth Goodwin
- Eye of the Whale Marine Mammal Research, Kamuela, Hawai'i, USA
| | - Craig Hayslip
- Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University, Newport, Oregon, USA
| | - Jackie Hildering
- Marine Education and Research Society, Port McNeill, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Marie C Hill
- NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA
- Cooperative Institution of Marine and Atmospheric Research, Research Corporation of the University of Hawai'i, Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA
| | | | - M Esther Jiménez-López
- Departamento Académico de Ingeniería en Pesquerías, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, La Paz, Baja California Sur, México
| | | | | | - Edward Lyman
- NOAA Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, Kihei, Maui, Hawaii, USA
| | - Mark Malleson
- Humpback Whales of the Salish Sea, Duncan, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Evgeny Mamaev
- Commander Islands National Park, Kamchatka Krai, Russian Federation
| | | | | | | | - Christie J McMillan
- Marine Education and Research Society, Port McNeill, British Columbia, Canada
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Jeff E Moore
- NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center, San Diego, California, USA
| | - John R Moran
- NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Juneau, Alaska, USA
| | - Janet L Neilson
- Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Gustavus, Alaska, USA
| | | | - Haruna Okabe
- Okinawa Churashima Foundation, Kunigami-gun, Japan
| | | | - Adam A Pack
- University of Hawai'i at Hilo, Hilo, Hawai'i, USA
- The Dolphin Institute, Hilo, Hawai'i, USA
| | - Daniel M Palacios
- Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University, Newport, Oregon, USA
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, Newport, Oregon, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Hiram Rosales-Nanduca
- Departamento Académico de Ingeniería en Pesquerías, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, La Paz, Baja California Sur, México
| | - Fred Sharpe
- Alaska Whale Foundation, Petersburg, Alaska, USA
| | - Tasli Shaw
- Humpback Whales of the Salish Sea, Duncan, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | | | - Jan Straley
- University of Alaska Southeast, Juneau, Alaska, USA
| | - Andrew Szabo
- Alaska Whale Foundation, Petersburg, Alaska, USA
| | - Suzie Teerlink
- NOAA Fisheries Alaska Regional Office, Juneau, Alaska, USA
| | - Olga Titova
- Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Jorge Urban R
- Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, La Paz, Mexico
| | | | | | | | | | - Janie Wray
- North Coast Cetacean Society, Hartley Bay, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Kymberly M Yano
- NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA
- Cooperative Institution of Marine and Atmospheric Research, Research Corporation of the University of Hawai'i, Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA
| | | | - Phil Clapham
- Seastar Scientific, Vashon Island, Washington, USA
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