Satellite tracking reveals novel migratory patterns and the importance of seamounts for endangered South Pacific humpback whales

The humpback whale population of New Caledonia appears to display a novel migratory pattern characterized by multiple directions, long migratory paths and frequent pauses over seamounts and other shallow geographical features. Using satellite-monitored radio tags, we tracked 34 whales for between 5 and 110 days, travelling between 270 and 8540 km on their southward migration from a breeding ground in southern New Caledonia. Mean migration speed was 3.53±2.22 km h-1, while movements within the breeding ground averaged 2.01±1.63 km h-1. The tag data demonstrate that seamounts play an important role as offshore habitats for this species. Whales displayed an intensive use of oceanic seamounts both in the breeding season and on migration. Seamounts probably serve multiple and important roles as breeding locations, resting areas, navigational landmarks or even supplemental feeding grounds for this species, which can be viewed as a transient component of the seamount communities. Satellite telemetry suggests that seamounts represent an overlooked cryptic habitat for the species. The frequent use by humpback whales of such remote locations has important implications for conservation and management

Review of the occurrence and management of <i>Sotalia</i> bycatch in Central and South American coastal and riverine fisheries: priorities for immediate action

Despite the fact that cetacean bycatch has been acknowledged as the “greatest immediate and well documented threat to the survival of cetacean species and populations… …progress at reducing the scale and conservation impact of cetacean bycatch has been slow, sporadic, and limited to a few specific fisheries or circumstances “. In this paper, we 1) Review the occurrence of Sotalia bycatch all along its distribution area, 2) Examine how the problem has been addressed in some areas and 3) Outline some priority actions for conservation of the genus regarding management of bycatch issues. A recent review of cetacean bycatch in the Wider Caribbean Region indicates that mortality of Sotalia in fisheries-related operations with gillnets occurs in Colombia, French Guyana, Honduras, Surinam and Venezuela. Bycatch is also reported in Brazil, Nicaragua and Peru. Some mitigative measures including a ban on fisheries in protected areas, monitoring programs and field surveys for evaluation of bycatch have been made or are planned in Costa Rica and Venezuela. In Brazil, bycatch of Sotalia has been widely documented in coastal areas and also in the Amazon River Basin. In this country, an official action plan for the conservation of aquatic mammals includes specific recommendations to evaluate the impact of bycatch and to develop mitigative measures. According to recent statistics, most of cetacean bycatch worldwide occurs in gillnet fisheries. A precautionary approach suggests that – to protect Sotalia and other cetacean populations-these fisheries should be either regulated, monitored, limited or -in some instances – banned, taking into account that creative solutions should be provided by means of collaborative efforts between resource managers, fishermen, scientists and interested parties. On the other side, because of the socioeconomic aspects involved in such a decision, appropriate alternatives and/or incentives as well as local characteristics of some fisheries must be properly considered

Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) distribution and movements in the vicinity of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Marine Protected Area

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are showing strong recovery from commercial whaling in the western South Atlantic. In this region, humpback whales migrate annually from their winter breeding grounds off the coast of Brazil to their summer feeding grounds near to the Polar Front, an area that includes the waters of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI). This latter region includes a Marine Protected Area (MPA), which has been developed to ensure sustainable management of fisheries, and protection of foraging predators. To date, management measures within the MPA have primarily been concerned with foraging predators that rely upon Antarctic krill, including for a number of previously over-exploited species. This includes the regional humpback whale population now in recovery in the western South Atlantic. With humpback whales increasing, understanding their spatiotemporal distribution within the MPA is important as it will help inform management particularly in respect of interactions between humpback whales and the regional fishery for Antarctic krill. Here we develop habitat models from the distribution and movement patterns of 16 individuals at their high-latitude feeding grounds, south of 50°S. We show that whale habitat use varies throughout the foraging period. Upon reaching their feeding ground, whales use the area to the east of the South Sandwich Islands, moving westward into the centre of the Scotia Arc and towards South Georgia during the high summer, and then expanding back towards the east in the winter. Based on these findings, we discuss the implications for the future, including necessary research required for underpinning management

Spectral analysis and zeta determinant on the deformed spheres

We consider a class of singular Riemannian manifolds, the deformed spheres $S^N_k$, defined as the classical spheres with a one parameter family $g[k]$ of singular Riemannian structures, that reduces for $k=1$ to the classical metric. After giving explicit formulas for the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the metric Laplacian $\Delta_{S^N_k}$, we study the associated zeta functions $\zeta(s,\Delta_{S^N_k})$. We introduce a general method to deal with some classes of simple and double abstract zeta functions, generalizing the ones appearing in $\zeta(s,\Delta_{S^N_k})$. An application of this method allows to obtain the main zeta invariants for these zeta functions in all dimensions, and in particular $\zeta(0,\Delta_{S^N_k})$ and $\zeta'(0,\Delta_{S^N_k})$. We give explicit formulas for the zeta regularized determinant in the low dimensional cases, $N=2,3$, thus generalizing a result of Dowker \cite{Dow1}, and we compute the first coefficients in the expansion of these determinants in powers of the deformation parameter $k$.Comment: 1 figur

Feeding grounds of the eastern South Pacific humpback whale population include the South Orkney Islands

This paper reports on two photo-identified humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) that were sighted in different years in the proximity of the South Orkney Islands, at the boundary between the Scotia and Weddell seas(60854.5?S*46840.4?W and 60842.6?S*45833?W). One of the whales had been previously sighted off Ecuador, a breeding ground for the eastern South Pacific population. The other whale was subsequently resighted in Bransfield Strait, off the western Antarctic Peninsula, a well-documented feeding ground for the same population. These matches give support to a hypothesis that the area south of the South Orkney Islands is occupied by whales from the eastern South Pacific breeding stock. Consequently, we propose 408W as a new longitudinal boundary between the feeding grounds associated with the eastern South Pacific and western South Atlantic breeding stocks

Avaliação da Composição de Vários Alimentos e Determinação da Cinética Ruminal da Proteína, Utilizando o Método de Produção de Gás e Amônia in Vitro Chemical Composition Evaluation and Ruminal Protein Kinetics of Some Feedstuffs Using a Gas and Ammonia Production in vitro Method

Realizaram-se determinações químicas e estudos sobre a cinética ruminal dos compostos nitrogenados de 24 alimentos concentrados e 10 volumosos, utilizando as medições das concentrações de nitrogênio solúvel em ácido tricloroacético e a produção de gás. Foram utilizados 200 mL de líquido ruminal e 800 mL do meio fermentador para a incubação de 100 tubos. Para 400 mL do meio fermentador foi pesado 1,0 g de trypticase e adicionado 0,1 mL de uma solução de microminerais. Para 200 mL da solução tampão pesaram-se 0,8 g de bicarbonato de amônia e 7 g de bicarbonato de sódio e, para preparar 200 mL da solução de macrominerais, foram pesados 1,15 g de fosfato de sódio dibásico, 1,25 g de fosfato de potássio dibásico e 0,1 g de sulfato de magnésio. Foram preparados 100 mL de solução redutora, pesando 0,64 g de cisteína-HCL, 0,64 g de sulfeto de sódio, adicionando-se 4 mL de hidróxido de sódio 1N e água destilada. A degradação dos compostos nitrogenados dos alimentos foi determinada nos tempos 6 e 12 horas, incubando-se 1,875 mg de N com 0, 33, 67 e 100 mg de amido, 6 mL do meio fermentador, 4 mL da mistura líquido ruminal-meio fermentador e 0,1 mL da solução redutora utilizando-se CO2. As estimativas das taxas de degradação, nos tempos 6 e 12 horas, mostraram que farelo de glúten de milho, caseína, grão moído de amendoim, raspa de mandioca, silagem de sorgo com e sem inóculo, silagem de milho e capim-gordura apresentaram proteínas de rápida degradação. A mais lenta degradação foi observada para os alimentos: levedura de cana-de-açúcar, farinha de penas, farinha de peixe, cama de frango de cepilha de madeira e capim-braquiária. As estimativas foram maiores que as observadas previamente com o método de inibidores, para os alimentos volumosos. Recomenda-se utilizar o tempo de 12 horas para a avaliação dos concentrados e 6 horas para os volumosos.<br>Chemical determinations and kinetics studies of nitrogen compounds of 24 concentrate feedstuffs and 10 grasses were made using the concentrations of soluble nitrogen in TCA and gas production. It was used 200 mL of ruminal fluid and 800 mL of medium for 100 vessels. It was used 1.0 g of trypticase and 0.1 mL of microminerals solution to prepare 400 mL of medium. It was used 0.8 g of ammonium bicarbonate and 7 g of sodium bicarbonate to prepare 200 mL of buffer solution and, to prepare 200 mL of macromineral solution, 1.15 g of Na2HPO4 anhydrous, 1.25 g of KH2PO4 anhydrous and 0.1 g of MgSO4.7H2O were weighed. Reducing solution was prepared with 0.64 g of cysteine-HCL, 0.64 g of sodium sulfide and 4 mL of 1N NaOH. The disappearance of nitrogen compounds of feedstuffs was determined at 6 and 12 hours, where 1.875 mg of N was incubated with 0, 33, 67, 100 mg oh starch, 6 mL of medium, 4 mL of ruminal fluid-medium mixture and 0.1 mL of reducing solution using CO2. Data of degradation rates indicated that corn gluten feed, casein, dry grounded peanut grain, cassava rasp, sorghum silage with or without inoculum, corn silage and honeygrass showed the highest rates of protein degradation and the slowest degradation rates were obtained by sugar cane yeast, feather meal, fish meal, broiler litter using wood rind as adsorvent and signalgrass. Estimates of degradation rates of forage feedstuffs were higher than degradation rates estimated previously by an inhibitor method. It is recommended to use 12 hours for incubation of concentrate feedstuffs and 6 hours for grasses