Effect of kelp gull harassment on southern right whale calf survival: a long-term capture-recapture analysis.

Autor: Agrelo M; Laboratório de Mamíferos Aquáticos, Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.; Instituto de Conservación de Ballenas, O'Higgins 4380, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires 1429, Argentina., Marón CF; Instituto de Conservación de Ballenas, O'Higgins 4380, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires 1429, Argentina.; Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales (FCEFyN), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba 5000, Argentina., Daura-Jorge FG; Laboratório de Mamíferos Aquáticos, Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil., Rowntree VJ; Ocean Alliance, 32 Horton Street, Gloucester, MA 01930, USA.; School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA., Sironi M; Instituto de Conservación de Ballenas, O'Higgins 4380, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires 1429, Argentina.; Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales (FCEFyN), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba 5000, Argentina., Hammond PS; Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB, UK., Ingram SN; School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK., Vilches FO; Instituto de Conservación de Ballenas, O'Higgins 4380, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires 1429, Argentina.; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA., Seger J; School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA., Simões-Lopes PC; Laboratório de Mamíferos Aquáticos, Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Biology letters [Biol Lett] 2023 Jun; Vol. 19 (6), pp. 20230119. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Jun 07.
DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0119
Abstrakt: Kelp gulls ( Larus dominicanus ) commonly feed on the skin and blubber of surfacing southern right whales (SRW, Eubalaena australis ) in the near shore waters of Península Valdés (PV), Argentina. Mothers and especially calves respond to gull attacks by changing their swimming speeds, resting postures and overall behaviour. Gull-inflicted wounds per calf have increased markedly since the mid-1990s. Unusually high mortality of young calves occurred locally after 2003, and increasing evidence points to gull harassment as a factor contributing to the excess deaths. After leaving PV, calves undertake a long migration with their mothers to summer feeding areas; their health during this strenuous exertion is likely to affect their probabilities of first-year survival. To explore the effects of gull-inflicted wounds on calf survival, we analysed 44 capture-recapture observations between 1974 and 2017, for 597 whales photo-identified in their years of birth between 1974 and 2011. We found a marked decrease in first-year survival associated with an increase in wound severity over time. Our analysis supports recent studies indicating that gull harassment at PV may impact SRW population dynamics.
Databáze: MEDLINE
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