On the 7th of June we spotted 4 blue whales in our study area! One was clearly feeding and so we made sure to sample that specific spot to see what the whale was targetting. Our trawl picked up a different krill species from the one most common in summer.
The theory is no whales outside the summer months in feeding grounds, i.e. December-April in Chilean Patagonia. However, worldwide this is now being questioned. It may be that a fraction of a population (but we don't know how important a fraction) stays in feeding grounds year-round, which would make sense especially for non-reproductive individuals. In effect, local fishermen in this area have provided anecdotal evidence over the years of whale sightings in winter. But this info has yet to be quantified and presented in the literature, or to decision makers.
We will know more once we look at the acoustic data up until June, and the data from this winter campaign.
All this info is key from a conservation management and eco-tourism perspective
Exciting news!
 |
The dappled back of a blue whale on the 7th of June.
Credit: Oliver Alarcon |
No comments:
Post a Comment