Project

4101

Chief Investigator

DOUBLE, Dr Michael (Mike) - Australian Antarctic Division

Title

Antarctic baleen whale habitat utilisation and linkages to environmental characteristics

Project aims

Antarctic baleen whales were hunted to near extinction in the 20th Century. As populations recover and analytical approaches improve, there is an opportunity to describe the feeding grounds of Antarctic baleen whales and their behaviour used to exploit prey. This project will examine existing, large, under-utilised data sources, including whaling records and sighting surveys, together with new, satellite-derived whale movement data to define whale foraging characteristics and predict possible effects of changes in competition for prey, climate, ocean acidification and fishing.

Project gallery


Project Summary of the Season 2012/13

This project uses existing, large, under-utilised data sources, including whaling records and circumpolar sighting surveys, together with new, satellite-derived whale movement data to define whale distribution, abundance and foraging characteristics and predict possible effects of changes in competition for prey, climate, ocean acidification and fishing. This season archival and satellite tags were deployed on humpback whales and for the first time implantable satellite tags were deployed on Antarctic minke and blue whales. These tags will provide novel data on the movement and forging behaviour of these whales. In addition the project has produced papers that describe the abundance of minke whales within and beyond Antarctica's sea ice; the abundance and distribution of blue whales around Antarctica; and the behaviour of 20th century whaling fleets in Antarctic waters. Further papers will be presented at the next meeting of the International Whaling Commission in June 2013.

Project Summary of the Season 2013/14

The project continued to collect novel movement data on minke whales and humpback whales off the Antarctic Peninsula and the Ross Sea. These data not only include location but also information on the diving behaviour of each animal. These data will describe how the different species of whale in Antarctica exploit a common food source - krill - and perhaps attempt to minimize competition by feeding at different times, in different places and using different hunting methods. This information will contribute to estimating the krill consumption by Antarctic whales and also identify their key habitats and distribution.

Project Summary of the Season 2014/15

The project continued to collect movement data on humpback whales off the Antarctic Peninsula. These data will describe the fine scale movements of humpback whales around the Peninsula and will enable examination of how minke and humpback whales in Antarctica exploit a common food source - krill. This information will ultimately contribute to the estimation of krill consumption by Antarctic whales in addition to identification of humpback and minke whale key habitat and distribution. Biopsy sampling and photo identification of humpback whales was also carried out throughout a joint Australian-New Zealand (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, NIWA) Antarctic voyage to examine large scale movements and summer diet of humpback whales around the Balleny Islands (in collaboration with scientists from NIWA).

Project Summary of the Season 2015/16

This project continues to collect novel movement data via satellite tags deployed on whales through AAD staff participation in Southern Ocean Research Partnership (IWC-SORP) projects and also in collaboration with Australian researchers. Data currently being generated by satellite tags deployed on humpback and minke whales in the West Antarctic Peninsula will be used to compare and contrast the movements and foraging behaviour of these two whale species that co-exist in the region throughout the austral summer. Data generated by satellite tags deployed on humpback whales off Western Australia has been used to determine the timing of migration, distance of migration from shore and the depth range through which these whales move as they migrate northward to enable the rock lobster fishery to make changes to fishery seasonality and gear thereby decreasing humpback whale entanglement incidents. Recent modelling indicates that the changes to fishery practices already enforced as a result of movement data collected by this project in 2014 has resulted in a substantial decrease in the number of entanglements caused by the fishery. Satellite tags deployed on Oceania population humpback whales are continuing to generate extensive tracks, revealing previously unknown detail on migratory routes and will be used to investigate the variation observed in the recovery of whale stocks in the Oceania region.

Project Summary of the Season 2016/17

This project continues to collect novel movement data via a variety of different satellite tags deployed on whales both through AAD staff participation in Southern Ocean Research Partnership (IWC-SORP) projects and through collaboration with Australian researchers. Telemetry data from humpback and Antarctic minke whales in the waters off the West Antarctic Peninsula continue to be used to compare and contrast the movements and foraging behaviour of these two whale species throughout the austral summer and, for humpback whales, as they commence their northward migration to winter breeding grounds.
Of significance, satellite tags deployed on humpback whales off both Western Australia and South Australia have provided movement data for both tropical calving and Antarctic feeding grounds for Western Australia humpback whales. These data and the outputs of associated modelling work, have been employed by managers of the rock lobster fishery to make changes to fishery seasonality and gear, thereby decreasing humpback whale entanglement.
Satellite tags deployed on the Oceania population of humpback whales continue to reveal previously unknown detail on migratory routes and data are being employed to assess the recovery of whale stocks in the region.
Ongoing analyses of acoustic data stemming from the 2015 New Zealand-Australia Antarctic Ecosystems Voyage, alongside active acoustic data from prey fields, continues to provide information about the habitat and prey requirements of endangered blue whales.
International Whaling Commission (IWC) IDCR/SOWER sighting data (circumpolar sighting data from 1979-2010) is being used to derive regional abundances of Antarctic blue, Antarctic minke and humpback whales, and circumpolar abundances for fin whales.
Individual based energetics modelling is informing the IWC's Revised Management Procedure by assessing how population yield relates to the life history characteristics of whales and their prey environment on the feeding grounds.

Project Summary of the Season 2017/18

This project continues to collect and analyse novel movement data via a variety of different satellite tags deployed on whales both through AAD staff participation in Southern Ocean Research Partnership (IWC-SORP) projects and through collaboration with Australian researchers. Telemetry data from humpback and Antarctic minke whales in the waters off the West Antarctic Peninsula continue to be used to compare and contrast the movements and foraging behaviour of these two whale species, develop Individual based energetics modelling and examine overlap of whale movement with the krill fishery.
Satellite tags deployed on the Oceania population of humpback whales continue to reveal previously unknown detail on migratory routes and data are being employed to assess the recovery of whale stocks in the region.
Movement analyses have assisted in describing the temporal and spatial characteristics of migration by 30 East Australia humpback whales satellite tagged over three consecutive austral summers. Statistical modelling enabled characterisation of Antarctic feeding grounds and identification of supplemental foraging within temperate, migratory corridors. Antarctic foraging habitat is associated with the marginal ice zone, with key predictors of inferred foraging behaviour including distance from the ice edge, ice melt rate and variability in ice concentration two months prior to arrival.
Analysis of data collected during the New Zealand-Australia Antarctic Ecosystems Voyage (2015) voyage suggest that Antarctic blue whales are more likely to be present within the vicinity of krill swarms detected at night, with higher internal density, greater vertical height, and found shallower in the water column. The nature of krill aggregations preferred by Antarctic blue whales is an important consideration, not only for the management of this endangered species in a challenging environment, but also for the management of Antarctic krill fisheries.

Final Summary of Project Achievements

Antarctic baleen whales were hunted to near extinction in the 20th century. As populations continue to recover, there exists an opportunity to describe the feeding grounds of Antarctic baleen whales and their behaviour used to exploit prey. This project applied improved analytical approaches on pre-existing cetacean sightings and whaling records as well as contemporary satellite telemetry data to describe whale abundance, distribution and movement patterns for Antarctic blue, fin, humpback and minke whales. We identified Antarctic foraging grounds and characterised the environmental predictors of foraging highlighting the important role of the marginal ice zone and the role of oceanographic features in creating predictable, persistent and productive foraging grounds. We demonstrated persistent space use and discussed the implications of foraging site fidelity in the face of a changing climate and ocean acidification. We described the prey field characteristics associated with Antarctic blue whale presence highlighting the need to understand which krill swarms are favoured by which whales in order to inform the development of ecosystem management tools for whales and the expanding krill fishery. The research associated with this project resulted in 31 peer reviewed papers and 77 reports delivered predominantly into the International Whaling Commission and the Commission (IWC) for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).

Category 1: Peer-reviewed literature

de la Mare W.K. (2014) Estimating relative abundance of whales from historical Antarctic whaling records, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 71. 106-119; [Ref: 15167]

Constantine R., Steel D., Allen J., Anderson M., Andrews O., Baker C.S., Beeman P., Burns D., Charrassin J-B. , Childerhouse S., Double M., Ensor P., Franklin T., Franklin W., Gales N., Garrigue C., Gibbs N., Harrison P., Hauser N., Hutsel A., Jenner C., Jenner M.-N. , Kaufman G., Macie A., Mattila D., Olavarría C., Oosterman A., Paton D., Poole M., Robbins J., Schmitt N., Stevick P., Tagarino A., Thompson K., Ward J. (2014) Remote Antarctic feeding ground important for east Australian humpback whales, Marine Biology 161(5). 1087-1093; [Ref: 15341]

Risch D., Gales N.J., Gedamke J., Kindermann L., Nowacek D.P., Read A.J., Siebert U., Van Opzeeland I.C., Van Parijs S.M., Friedlaender A. (2014) Mysterious bio-duck sound attributed to the Antarctic minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis), Biology Letters 10(4). 10pp; [Ref: 15342]

Friedlaender A., Tyson R.B., Stimpert A.K., Read A.J., Nowacek D.P. (2013) Extreme diel variation in the feeding behavior of humpback whales along the western Antarctic Peninsula during autumn, Marine Ecology Progress Series 494. 281-289; [Ref: 15343]

Williams R., Kelly N., Boebel O., Friedlaender A., Herr H., Kock K-H. , Lehnert L.S., Maksym T., Roberts J., Scheidat M., Siebert U., Brierley A.S. (2014) Counting whales in a challenging, changing environment, Scientific Reports 4. 4170 (6pp); [Ref: 15344]

Friedlaender A., Goldbogen J.A., Nowacek D.P., Read A.J., Johnston D.W., Gales N. (2014) Feeding rates and under-ice foraging strategies of the smallest lunge filter feeder, the Antarctic minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis), Journal of Experimental Biology 217. 2851-2854; [Ref: 15647]

Van Opzeeland I.C., Samaran F., Stafford K., Findlay K., Gedamke J., Harris D., Miller B. (2013) Towards collective circum-Antarctic passive acoustic monitoring: The Southern Ocean Hydrophone Network (SOHN), Polarforschung 83(2). 47-61; [Ref: 15648]

Miller B.S., Calderan S., Gillespie D., Weatherup G., Leaper R., Collins K., Double M.C. (2017) Software for real-time localization of baleen whale calls using directional sonobuoys: A case study on Antarctic blue whales, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 139(3). EL83-EL89; [Ref: 15900]

Aulich M.G., McCauley R.D., Miller B.S., Samaran F., Saunders B.J., Erbe C. (2022) Seasonal Distribution of the Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus) in Antarctic and Australian Waters Based on Passive Acoustics, Frontiers in Marine Science 9. 864153; [Ref: 16470]

Miller B.S., Calderan S., Leaper R., Miller E.J., Bell E., Double M.C. (2021) Source level of Antarctic blue and fin whale sounds recorded on sonobuoys deployed in deep-ocean off Antarctica, Frontiers in Marine Science .; [Ref: 16535]

Vives C.R., Schallenberg C., Strutton P.G., Westwood K.J. (2022) Iron and light limitation of phytoplankton growth off East Antarctica, Journal of Marine Systems 234. 103774; [Ref: 16547]

Smith A.J.R., Ratnarajah L., Holmes T.M., Wuttig K., Townsend A.T., Westwood K., Cox M., Bell E., Nicol S., Lannuzel D. (2021) Circumpolar Deep Water and Shelf Sediments Support Late Summer Microbial Iron Remineralization, Global Biochemical Cycles 35(11). p.e2020GB006921; [Ref: 16549]

Modest M., Irivine L., Andrews-Goff V., Gough W., Johnston D. (2021) First description of migratory behavior of humpback whales from an Antarctic feeding ground to a tropical calving ground, Animal Biotelemetry .; [Ref: 16556]

Thums M., Ferreira L.C., Jenner C., Jenner M., Harris D., Davenport A., Andrews-Goff V., Double M., Moller L., Attard C.R.M., Bilgmann K., Thomson P.G., McCauley R. (2022) Pygmy blue whale movement, distribution and important areas in the Eastern Indian Ocean, Global Ecology and Conservation 35. e02054; [Ref: 16558]

Goetz K.T., Childerhouse S.J., Paton D., Ogle M., van der Linde K., Double M.C., Andrews-Goff V. (2021) First satellite-tracked movements of pygmy blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) in New Zealand waters, Marine Mammal Science .; [Ref: 16559]

Reisinger R.R., Friedlaender A.S., Zerbini A.N., Palacios D.M., Andrews-Goff V., Double M.C. (2021) Combining regional habitat selection models for large-scale prediction: circumpolar habitat selection of Southern Ocean humpback whales, Remote Sensing .; [Ref: 16560]

Thums M., Ferreira L.C., Jenner C., Jenner M., Harris D., Andrews-Goff V., Double M.C. (2021) Understanding pygmy blue whale movement and distribution off north Western Australia, Journal of the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) .; [Ref: 16561]

Smith A.J.R., Nelson T., Ratnarajah L., Genovese C., Westwood K., Holmes T.M., Corkill M., Townsend A.T., Bell E., Wuttig K., Lannuzel D. (2022) Identifying potential sources of iron-binding ligands in coastal Antarctic environments and the wider Southern Ocean, Frontiers of Marine Science 9. 948772; [Ref: 16599]

Andrews-Goff V., Bell E.M., Miller B.S., Wotherspoon S.J., Double M.C. (2022) Satellite tag derived data from two Antarctic blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus intermedia) tagged in the east Antarctic sector of the Southern Ocean, Biodiversity Data Journal 10. e94228; [Ref: 16653]

Carroll E.L., Riekkola L., Andrews-Goff V., Baker C.S., Constantine R., Cole R., Goetz K., Harcourt R., Lundquist D., Meyer C., Ogle M., O’Rorke R., Patenaude N., Russ R., Stuck E., van der Reis A.L., Zerbini A.N., Childerhouse S. (2022) New Zealand southern right whale (Eubalaena australis; Tohora no Aotearoa) behavioural phenology, demographic composition, and habitat use in Port Ross, Auckland Islands over three decades: 1998–2021, Polar Biology 45. 1441–1458; [Ref: 16690]

Miller B.S. (2021) An open access dataset for developing automated detectors of Antarctic baleen whale sounds and performance evaluation of two commonly used detectors, Scientific Reports (Nature) .; [Ref: 16777]

Ferreira L.C., Thums M., Whiting S., Meekan M., Andrews-Goff V., Attard C.R.M., Bilgmann K., Davenport A., Double M., Falchi F., Guinea M., Hickey S.M., Jenner C., M. , Loewenthal G., McFarlane G., Möller L.M., Norman B., Peel L., Pendoley K., Radford B., Reynolds S., Rossendell J., Tucker A., Waayers D., Whittock P., Wilson P., Fossette S. (2023) Exposure of marine megafauna to cumulative anthropogenic threats in north-west Australia, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 11. 1229803; [Ref: 17029]

Andrews-Goff V., Gales N., Childerhouse S.J., Laverick S.M., Polanowski A.M., Double M.C. (2023) Australia's east coast humpback whales: Satellite tag-derived movements on breeding grounds, feeding grounds and along the northern and southern migration, Biodiversity Data Journal 11. e114729; [Ref: 17030]

Category 2: International meeting papers

Double M.C, Bell E., Miller B., Kelly N., Kawaguchi S., Lawrence J., Leaper R., Olson P., Westwood K. (2021) The availability of Antarctic krill to large predators and their role in biogeochemical recycling in the Southern Ocean, International Whaling Commission - SORP, virtual meeting .; [Ref: 16440]

Olson P.A., Boyde C., Miller E., Irvine L., Kavanagh A., Donnelly D., Reyes M., Smith J., Leaper R., Calderan S., Miller B., Double M., Westwood K., Bell E. (2021) Photo-identification of Antarctic blue whales during the ENRICH Voyage 2019, International Whaling Commission - SORP, virtual meeting .; [Ref: 16441]

Double M., Westwood K., Bell E., Kelly N., Miller B., de la Mare W., Andrews-Goff V., Cox M, Kawaguchi S. (2018) The availability of Antarctic krill to large predators and their role in biogeochemical recycling in the Southern Ocean, International Whaling Commission .; [Ref: 16443]