Distribution of Arnoux's beaked whales (Berardius arnuxii)
Feij, B.; Kühn, S.; Meijboom, A.; van Franeker, J.A.; Bornemann, H.; Kelly, N.; Schaafsma, F.L. (2024). Distribution of Arnoux's beaked whales (Berardius arnuxii). Mar. Mamm. Sci. early view: e13158. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mms.13158
In: Marine Mammal Science. Society for Marine Mammalogy: Lawrence. ISSN 0824-0469; e-ISSN 1748-7692, more
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| Author keywords |
Antarctica; Arnoux's beaked whale; Berardius arnuxii; continental shelf; marine mammal survey; sea-ice; Southern Ocean; SOWER-IWC; Ziphiidae |
| Authors | | Top |
- Feij, B.
- Kühn, S.
- Meijboom, A., more
- van Franeker, J.A.
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- Bornemann, H.
- Kelly, N.
- Schaafsma, F.L.
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| Abstract |
Arnoux's beaked whales (Berardius arnuxii) are generally considered to be uncommon to rare, and likely to prefer deep oceanic waters of the Southern Hemisphere. During many top-predator surveys in the Southern Ocean since 1988 we did not sight the species. However, in April 2022 we encountered three groups in the marginal sea-ice zone of the Weddell Sea. This study provides detailed descriptions of the sighted animals and their environment and report on unpublished sightings of this species from 1986 to 1998. A search of published information on the distribution of the species revealed 108 documented sightings with a total of 1,125 individuals. In combination these sources of information for the Southern Ocean, suggest a frequent occurrence in ice-covered waters, often close to the continental coast and edges of fast ice and ice-shelves. North of 60°S, in the temperate regions of the Southern Hemisphere, the species was also regularly sighted near continents, even far inshore, in fjords surrounded by land. |
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