Occurrence of Omura’s whale, Balaenoptera omurai (Cetacea: Balaenopteridae), in the Equatorial Atlantic Ocean based on Passive Acoustic Monitoring

Type Article
Date 2020-12
Language English
Author(s) Moreira Sergio CORCID1, Weksler Marcelo1, Sousa-Lima Renata S2, Maia Marcia3, Sukhovich Alexey3, Royer Jean-Yves3, Marcondes Milton C C4, Cerchio Salvatore5, 6
Affiliation(s) 1 : Departamento de Vertebrados, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
2 : Laboratorio de Bioacústica, Departamento de Fisiologia e Comportamento, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil
3 : Laboratoire Géosciences Océan, CNRS-UBO-UBS, Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer, Plouzané, France
4 : Instituto Baleia Jubarte, Caravelas, BA, Brazil
5 : African Aquatic Conservation Fund, Chilmark, MA, USA
6 : Center for Coastal Studies, Provincetown, MA, USA
Source Journal Of Mammalogy (0022-2372) (Oxford University Press (OUP)), 2020-12 , Vol. 101 , N. 6 , P. 1727-1735
DOI 10.1093/jmammal/gyaa130
WOS© Times Cited 1
Keyword(s) acoustic detection, Atlantic Ocean, Balaenoptera omurai, Balaenopteridae, seasonality, song, vocalization
Abstract

The current known distribution of Omura’s whale includes the tropical and warm temperate waters of the western Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans. Evidence of their presence in the Atlantic Ocean is based on beach cast specimens found on the coasts of Mauritania (North Atlantic) and Northeastern Brazil (South Atlantic). The present study characterizes the occurrence of this species in the São Pedro and São Paulo Archipelago (SPSPA), on the mid-Atlantic ridge between South America and Africa, based on autonomous recording systems. Acoustic signals were similar, but not identical, to B. omurai vocalizations recorded off the coast of Madagascar. Although these signals were recorded for only 11 months, there are peaks in vocal activity between May and June in the vicinities of SPSPA, suggesting either a shift in distribution within the Atlantic equatorial waters or seasonality in the species’ vocal behavior in this region. The first acoustic records of Omura’s whales in the Equatorial Atlantic suggest that these animals may also use deep-water habitats, in addition to the shallow-water habitat use observed in other regions.

Abstract <p>A atual distribui&ccedil;&atilde;o conhecida da baleia-de-Omura (Balaenoptera omurai) inclui as &aacute;guas tropicais e temperadas quentes dos oceanos Pac&iacute;fico ocidental, &Iacute;ndico e Atl&acirc;ntico. A evid&ecirc;ncia de sua presen&ccedil;a no oceano Atl&acirc;ntico baseia-se em esp&eacute;cimes encalhados encontrados em praias da Maurit&acirc;nia (Atl&acirc;ntico Norte) e do Nordeste do Brasil (Atl&acirc;ntico Sul). O presente estudo caracteriza a ocorr&ecirc;ncia dessa esp&eacute;cie no Arquip&eacute;lago de S&atilde;o Pedro e S&atilde;o Paulo (ASPSP), localizado sobre a Dorsal Mesoatl&acirc;ntica entre a Am&eacute;rica do Sul e a &Aacute;frica, com base em sistemas de monitoramento ac&uacute;stico passivo. Os sinais ac&uacute;sticos detectados foram similares, mas n&atilde;o id&ecirc;nticos, &agrave;s vocaliza&ccedil;&otilde;es de B. omurai gravadas na costa de Madagascar. Embora esses sinais tenham sido registrados por apenas 11 meses, h&aacute; picos na atividade vocal entre maio e junho nas proximidades do ASPSP, sugerindo uma mudan&ccedil;a na distribui&ccedil;&atilde;o da esp&eacute;cie nas &aacute;guas equatoriais do Atl&acirc;ntico ou uma sazonalidade no comportamento vocal nessa regi&atilde;o. Os primeiros registros ac&uacute;sticos das baleias-de-Omura no Atl&acirc;ntico Equatorial sugerem que esses animais tamb&eacute;m podem utilizar habitats de &aacute;guas profundas, al&eacute;m de habitats de &aacute;guas rasas como observado em outras regi&otilde;es.</p>
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Moreira Sergio C, Weksler Marcelo, Sousa-Lima Renata S, Maia Marcia, Sukhovich Alexey, Royer Jean-Yves, Marcondes Milton C C, Cerchio Salvatore (2020). Occurrence of Omura’s whale, Balaenoptera omurai (Cetacea: Balaenopteridae), in the Equatorial Atlantic Ocean based on Passive Acoustic Monitoring. Journal Of Mammalogy, 101(6), 1727-1735. Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyaa130 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00682/79440/