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Southern right whales in the South-western Atlantic Ocean: proposed criteria to identify suitable areas of use in poorly known reproductive grounds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 January 2019

Giovanna Corrêa e Figueiredo ,
Samara Cazzoli y Goya  and
Marcos César de Oliveira Santos
Giovanna Corrêa e Figueiredo*
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Biologia da Conservação de Mamíferos Aquáticos, Instituto Oceanográfico, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Samara Cazzoli y Goya
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Geologia de Margens Continentais, Instituto Oceanográfico, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Marcos César de Oliveira Santos
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Biologia da Conservação de Mamíferos Aquáticos, Instituto Oceanográfico, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
*
Author for correspondence: Giovanna Corrêa e Figueiredo, E-mail: gifigueiredo@gmail.com
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Abstract

Urbanization and intense vessel traffic in coastal areas are obstacles for right whales when selecting breeding and calving grounds. Human activities might be the main cause for the recently observed drop in right whale sightings along the south-eastern coast of Brazil. Information concerning the biology and the activities that can potentially affect the presence of individuals along the coast are essential for management purposes, as well as for the recovery of the species stocks after a period of whaling pressure. This study correlated the occurrence of right whales in the northern limit of the breeding ground in the South-western Atlantic Ocean with local geomorphology, degree of urbanization and oceanographic features to better identify suitable areas for use by these whales. The study area was divided into 14 sub-areas based on local coastal geomorphology and discharge of large rivers. The following five ranking criteria were applied to each sub-area: presence of whaling stations and whaling activity in the past; presence and activity of ports; protection from swell, coastal slope and composition of the bottom substrate. The sub-areas that offered conditions conducive to the presence of right whales received higher scores. The proposed criteria were validated by overlapping the ranking scores with the records of right whales sighted in each sub-area. In south-eastern Brazil, protected areas with sandy bottom and gentle slope were associated with more sightings of female-calf pairs. The criteria can be used as a primary diagnostic indicating suitable sub-areas for right whales in poorly known breeding grounds.

Keywords

BalaenidaeCetaceaEubalaena australisSouthern right whaleuse of area
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 99 , Issue 5 , August 2019 , pp. 1231 - 1236
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2019 

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