Seasonal occurrence of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) around Kelvin Seamount in the Sargasso Sea in relation to oceanographic processes

Sarah N.P. Wong; Hal Whitehead

doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2014.05.001

Seasonal occurrence of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) around Kelvin Seamount in the Sargasso Sea in relation to oceanographic processes

Sarah N.P. Wong, Hal Whitehead

Medicine

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

36 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Sperm whales ( Physeter macrocephalus) are widely distributed in all oceans, but they are clumped geographically, generally in areas associated with high primary and secondary productivity. The warm, clear waters of the Sargasso Sea are traditionally thought to be low in productivity, however recent surveys have found large numbers of sperm whales there. The New England Seamount Chain bisects the north-western portion of the Sargasso Sea, and might influence the mesoscale eddies associated with the Gulf Stream; creating areas of higher productivity within the Sargasso Sea. We investigated the seasonal occurrence of sperm whales over Kelvin Seamount (part of the New England Seamount Chain) and how it is influenced by oceanographic variables. An autonomous recording device was deployed over Kelvin Seamount from May to June 2006 and November 2006 to June 2007. A total of 6505 hourly two-minute recordings were examined for the presence of sperm whale echolocation clicks. Sperm whales were more prevalent around Kelvin in the spring (April to June: mean=51% of recordings contained clicks) compared to the winter (November to March: mean=16% of recordings contained clicks). Sperm whale prevalence at Kelvin was related to chlorophyll- a concentration four weeks previous, eddy kinetic energy and month. The mesoscale activity associated with the Gulf Stream and the Gulf Stream's interaction with the New England Seamount Chain likely play an important role in sperm whale occurrence in this area, by increasing productivity and perhaps concentration of cephalopod species.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	10-16
Number of pages	7
Journal	Deep-Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers
Volume	91
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2014.05.001
Publication status	Published - Sept 2014

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Many thanks to H. Moors for logistical support with the pop-ups and W. Krkoska and K. White from Cornell Lab of Ornithology for technical support. Thank you to all Balaena׳ s crew members, especially R. Ronconi and M. Janikowski for help in the winter deployment. Thanks to C. Gómez-Salazar, R. Ronconi, M. Lewis, B. Worm and two anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions on the manuscript. Funding was provided by Okeanos-Foundation for the Sea, Operating and Equipment Grants to H. Whitehead from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society . S.Wong was supported by an Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Postgraduate Scholarship (PGS-D), Dalhousie University and the Patrick Lett Fund . Research was carried out under Dalhousie Animal Care and Use Committee approved protocols 04–006, 05–136, 07–145 and 08–138.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

Oceanography
Aquatic Science

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10.1016/j.dsr.2014.05.001

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title = "Seasonal occurrence of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) around Kelvin Seamount in the Sargasso Sea in relation to oceanographic processes",

abstract = "Sperm whales ( Physeter macrocephalus) are widely distributed in all oceans, but they are clumped geographically, generally in areas associated with high primary and secondary productivity. The warm, clear waters of the Sargasso Sea are traditionally thought to be low in productivity, however recent surveys have found large numbers of sperm whales there. The New England Seamount Chain bisects the north-western portion of the Sargasso Sea, and might influence the mesoscale eddies associated with the Gulf Stream; creating areas of higher productivity within the Sargasso Sea. We investigated the seasonal occurrence of sperm whales over Kelvin Seamount (part of the New England Seamount Chain) and how it is influenced by oceanographic variables. An autonomous recording device was deployed over Kelvin Seamount from May to June 2006 and November 2006 to June 2007. A total of 6505 hourly two-minute recordings were examined for the presence of sperm whale echolocation clicks. Sperm whales were more prevalent around Kelvin in the spring (April to June: mean=51% of recordings contained clicks) compared to the winter (November to March: mean=16% of recordings contained clicks). Sperm whale prevalence at Kelvin was related to chlorophyll- a concentration four weeks previous, eddy kinetic energy and month. The mesoscale activity associated with the Gulf Stream and the Gulf Stream's interaction with the New England Seamount Chain likely play an important role in sperm whale occurrence in this area, by increasing productivity and perhaps concentration of cephalopod species.",

author = "Wong, {Sarah N.P.} and Hal Whitehead",

note = "Funding Information: Many thanks to H. Moors for logistical support with the pop-ups and W. Krkoska and K. White from Cornell Lab of Ornithology for technical support. Thank you to all Balaena׳ s crew members, especially R. Ronconi and M. Janikowski for help in the winter deployment. Thanks to C. G{\'o}mez-Salazar, R. Ronconi, M. Lewis, B. Worm and two anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions on the manuscript. Funding was provided by Okeanos-Foundation for the Sea, Operating and Equipment Grants to H. Whitehead from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society . S.Wong was supported by an Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Postgraduate Scholarship (PGS-D), Dalhousie University and the Patrick Lett Fund . Research was carried out under Dalhousie Animal Care and Use Committee approved protocols 04–006, 05–136, 07–145 and 08–138.",

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Seasonal occurrence of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) around Kelvin Seamount in the Sargasso Sea in relation to oceanographic processes

Abstract

Bibliographical note

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

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