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Population Dynamics, Movements, and Foraging Ecology of Polar Cetaceans
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Population Dynamics, Movements, and Foraging Ecology of Polar Cetaceans

A special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 February 2025) | Viewed by 4314

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Cortney A. Watt

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Research Scientist, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
2. Adjunct Professor, Departments of Biological Sciences and Environment & Geography, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Interests: narwhal; beluga; population assessment; stable isotopes; fatty acids; satellite telemetry
Dr. Outi Maria Tervo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Senior Scientist, Department of Mammals and Birds, Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Copenhagen, Denmark
Interests: behavioural ecology; bioacoustics; biotelemetry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

An increased anthropogenic activity and a changing climate are causing unprecedented changes to the polar regions. Understanding the population dynamics, distribution, abundance, and life history characteristics of polar cetaceans has never been more vital. This Special Issue aims to publish the latest research findings on polar cetaceans in order to facilitate the rapid dissemination of information on their conservation and management. We encourage the submission of high-quality papers utilizing state-of-the-art methods that directly address the aspects mentioned above.

Dr. Cortney A. Watt
Dr. Outi Maria Tervo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Arctic
  • Antarctic
  • narwhal
  • beluga whales
  • bowhead whales
  • killer whales
  • minke whales
  • humpback whales
  • blue whales
  • sperm whales
  • population modelling
  • population assessment
  • satellite telemetry
  • diet
  • chemical tracers

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 3482 KiB  
Article
Identification of Key Habitats of Bowhead and Blue Whales in the OSPAR Area of the North-East Atlantic—A Modelling Approach towards Effective Conservation
by Moritz Mercker, Miriam Müller, Thorsten Werner and Janos Hennicke
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2024, 12(8), 1445; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse12081445 - 21 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1100
Abstract
Effective protection of highly mobile and data-poor species constitutes a great challenge amid growing ocean exploitation and use. Blue whales and bowhead whales in the North-East Atlantic face several threats, such as climate change, ship strikes, pollution, and entanglement in fishing gear. Consequently, [...] Read more.
Effective protection of highly mobile and data-poor species constitutes a great challenge amid growing ocean exploitation and use. Blue whales and bowhead whales in the North-East Atlantic face several threats, such as climate change, ship strikes, pollution, and entanglement in fishing gear. Consequently, the OSPAR (“Oslo-Paris Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic”) Commission recognised their need for protection and included them on the OSPAR List of Threatened and/or Declining Species. Two actions to protect these endangered species that OSPAR Contracting Parties have agreed on are (i) identifying areas that play an essential role in the species’ life cycle—subsequently called key habitats, and (ii) ensuring that those key habitats are covered by OSPAR marine protected areas (MPAs). In addition, OSPAR has committed to expanding its network of MPAs and other effective area-based conservation measures by 2030 to cover at least 30% of the OSPAR maritime area (termed the 30 × 30 target) from today’s approx. 11%. In this paper, we present the results of modelling key habitats for the bowhead and blue whales in the North-East Atlantic, including Arctic waters. Due to the sparse data situation for these species, we apply presence-only modelling methods. As this method can, in principle, produce somewhat biased results, we recommend that systematic, regular surveys on these species in Arctic waters be significantly intensified for future analyses to overcome the data paucity and allow using presence–absence/count data modelling approaches. Key habitats of blue whales were identified between Iceland and Svalbard, extending to the Azores. For bowhead whales, key habitats were identified in the Fram Strait. However, our findings show that only 11.8% of blue whale key habitats and 4.1% of bowhead whale key habitats are currently covered by OSPAR MPAs. To protect 30% of key habitats for these species in the most efficient way, our analyses suggest that suitable areas to designate new OSPAR MPAs are located around the Azores for blue whales and in the Fram Strait for bowhead whales. With these additional MPAs, OSPAR would substantially improve the protection of the two endangered species and, at the same time, progress towards its 30 × 30 target. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Population Dynamics, Movements, and Foraging Ecology of Polar Cetaceans)
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14 pages, 2969 KiB  
Article
Changes in Carbon, Nitrogen, and Oxygen Stable Isotope Ratios and Mercury Concentrations in Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) during and after Lactation
by Tetsuya Endo, Osamu Kimura, Masaru Terasaki, Yoshihisa Kato, Yukiko Fujii and Koichi Haraguchi
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2024, 12(4), 623; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse12040623 - 6 Apr 2024
Viewed by 2028
Abstract
The changes in the stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N), oxygen (δ18O), and mercury (Hg) concentrations in muscle and liver tissues during and after lactation were studied in killer whales stranded along the coast of [...] Read more.
The changes in the stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N), oxygen (δ18O), and mercury (Hg) concentrations in muscle and liver tissues during and after lactation were studied in killer whales stranded along the coast of Hokkaido, in the northern area of Japan (n = 16). Calf muscles displayed δ13C- and δ15N-enriched peaks and a δ18O-depleted peak during lactation. The δ13C- and δ15N-enriched peaks appear to reflect the extensive nursing of 13C- and 15N-enriched milk and the onset of weaning, whereas the δ18O-depleted peak may be attributable to the extensive nursing of 18O-depleted milk and the onset of weaning. The δ13C and δ15N values tended to gradually increase after the weaning, whereas the δ18O values tended to decrease. The δ13C and δ15N levels in calves were similar between liver and muscle samples, whereas those in mature animals were higher in liver than in muscle samples. The isotopic turnover rates of C and N may be similar between the liver and muscle tissues in calves, which are rapidly growing animals. The Hg concentrations in muscle tissues were slightly higher in small calves than in large calves, probably due to the Hg transfer across placenta. The Hg concentrations in liver and muscle samples increased with increasing body length, and those in two liver samples from mature animals exceeded the high-risk threshold for marine mammal health effects (82 μg/wet g). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Population Dynamics, Movements, and Foraging Ecology of Polar Cetaceans)
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