Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) migration in Australian waters using passive acoustic monitoring
© 2019, The Author(s). The fin whale is a globally endangered species and is listed as threatened in Australia, however no peer-reviewed studies are available to indicate the migratory movements of the species in Australian waters. This study uses passive acoustic monitoring as a tool to identify th...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
2019
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/76284 |
| _version_ | 1848763663429664768 |
|---|---|
| author | Aulich, Meghan McCauley, Robert Saunders, Ben Parsons, Miles |
| author_facet | Aulich, Meghan McCauley, Robert Saunders, Ben Parsons, Miles |
| author_sort | Aulich, Meghan |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | © 2019, The Author(s). The fin whale is a globally endangered species and is listed as threatened in Australia, however no peer-reviewed studies are available to indicate the migratory movements of the species in Australian waters. This study uses passive acoustic monitoring as a tool to identify the migratory movements of fin whales in Australian waters. Sampling was conducted from eight locations around Australia between 2009 and 2017, providing a total of 37 annual migratory records. Taken together, our observations provide evidence of fin whale migration through Australian waters, with earliest arrival of the animals recorded on the Western Australian coast, at Cape Leeuwin in April. The whales travel through Cape Leeuwin, migrating northward along the Western Australian coast to the Perth Canyon (May to October), which likely acts as a way-station for feeding. Some whales continue migrating as far north as Dampier (19°S). On Australia’s east coast, at Tuncurry, fin whale seasonal presence each year occurred later, from June to late September/October. A total of only 8,024 fin whale pulses were recorded on the east coast, compared to 177,328 pulses recorded at the Perth Canyon. We suggest these differences, as well as the spatial separation between coasts, provide preliminary evidence that the fin whales present on the east and west coasts constitute separate sub-populations. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:07:02Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-76284 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:07:02Z |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| publisher | NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-762842019-09-17T05:54:24Z Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) migration in Australian waters using passive acoustic monitoring Aulich, Meghan McCauley, Robert Saunders, Ben Parsons, Miles Science & Technology Multidisciplinary Sciences Science & Technology - Other Topics WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN SEA NORTHEASTERN CHUKCHI SEA BLUE CALLS VOCALIZATIONS ANTARCTICA CALIFORNIA UNDERWATER DISTANCE HABITAT © 2019, The Author(s). The fin whale is a globally endangered species and is listed as threatened in Australia, however no peer-reviewed studies are available to indicate the migratory movements of the species in Australian waters. This study uses passive acoustic monitoring as a tool to identify the migratory movements of fin whales in Australian waters. Sampling was conducted from eight locations around Australia between 2009 and 2017, providing a total of 37 annual migratory records. Taken together, our observations provide evidence of fin whale migration through Australian waters, with earliest arrival of the animals recorded on the Western Australian coast, at Cape Leeuwin in April. The whales travel through Cape Leeuwin, migrating northward along the Western Australian coast to the Perth Canyon (May to October), which likely acts as a way-station for feeding. Some whales continue migrating as far north as Dampier (19°S). On Australia’s east coast, at Tuncurry, fin whale seasonal presence each year occurred later, from June to late September/October. A total of only 8,024 fin whale pulses were recorded on the east coast, compared to 177,328 pulses recorded at the Perth Canyon. We suggest these differences, as well as the spatial separation between coasts, provide preliminary evidence that the fin whales present on the east and west coasts constitute separate sub-populations. 2019 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/76284 10.1038/s41598-019-45321-w English http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Science & Technology Multidisciplinary Sciences Science & Technology - Other Topics WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN SEA NORTHEASTERN CHUKCHI SEA BLUE CALLS VOCALIZATIONS ANTARCTICA CALIFORNIA UNDERWATER DISTANCE HABITAT Aulich, Meghan McCauley, Robert Saunders, Ben Parsons, Miles Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) migration in Australian waters using passive acoustic monitoring |
| title | Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) migration in Australian waters using passive acoustic monitoring |
| title_full | Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) migration in Australian waters using passive acoustic monitoring |
| title_fullStr | Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) migration in Australian waters using passive acoustic monitoring |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) migration in Australian waters using passive acoustic monitoring |
| title_short | Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) migration in Australian waters using passive acoustic monitoring |
| title_sort | fin whale (balaenoptera physalus) migration in australian waters using passive acoustic monitoring |
| topic | Science & Technology Multidisciplinary Sciences Science & Technology - Other Topics WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN SEA NORTHEASTERN CHUKCHI SEA BLUE CALLS VOCALIZATIONS ANTARCTICA CALIFORNIA UNDERWATER DISTANCE HABITAT |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/76284 |