My co-authors and I are pleased to share our recent publication in the Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.
De Weerdt J, Patulny C, Ruiz Pérez N, Blanchet L (2024). Sightings of Bryde’s whale, Balaenoptera edeni, off the Pacific coast of Nicaragua. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 104,e40,1–7. https://doi.org/ 10.1017/S0025315424000250
Abstract.
Here, we report the first sighting records of Bryde's whales in Nicaragua. Four sightings were made in 2022 during boat-based surveys off the southwestern coast of Nicaragua. Photo-identification, distributional data, dive times, and behavioural information were collected, and environmental parameters, including sea surface temperature, were measured for each sighting. Sightings included calf and non-calf groups displaying travelling (n = 1; 25%), milling (n = 1; 25%), and suspected feeding (n = 2; 50%) behaviours. Approximately 4 h of focal following allowed the calculation of short and long breath intervals. Based on our observations , the individuals were suspected of feeding in the area, based on the presence of feeding birds, feeding humpback whales, relatively high time-lagged chlorophyll-a, and observed general behaviours. Our findings indicate that this species may occasionally visit Nicaraguan coastal areas in search of feeding opportunities, and could represent a possible range extension of the Eastern North Pacific stock.
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