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Half a century of sightings data of southern right whales in Mar del Plata (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 December 2019

Maria A. Mandiola Open the ORCID record for Maria A. Mandiola [Opens in a new window] ,
Gisela Giardino ,
Julián Bastida ,
Sergio Morón ,
Diego H. Rodríguez  and
Ricardo Bastida
Maria A. Mandiola*
Affiliation:
Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), FCEyN, UNMdP – CONICET, CC1260, 7600Mar del Plata, Argentina
Gisela Giardino
Affiliation:
Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), FCEyN, UNMdP – CONICET, CC1260, 7600Mar del Plata, Argentina
Julián Bastida
Affiliation:
Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero, Mar del Plata, Argentina
Sergio Morón
Affiliation:
Fundación Mundo Marino, San Clemente del Tuyú, Argentina
Diego H. Rodríguez
Affiliation:
Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), FCEyN, UNMdP – CONICET, CC1260, 7600Mar del Plata, Argentina
Ricardo Bastida
Affiliation:
Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), FCEyN, UNMdP – CONICET, CC1260, 7600Mar del Plata, Argentina
*
Author for correspondence: M. Agustina Mandiola, E-mail: agusmandiola@gmail.com
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Abstract

In South-western Atlantic waters, individuals of the southern right whale (SRW) Eubalaena australis spend part of the year (the austral winter and spring) in northern inshore waters where they breed and then migrate to southern feeding grounds during the summer. Mar del Plata (MDP) is located between two main reproductive areas (Península Valdés-Argentina and Santa Catarina-Brazil). The purpose of the present study is to report the presence of SRWs on their journey off the coast of MDP based on sighting records during the past half century. We carried out whale observations through systematic weekly coastal marine mammal surveys in different points of the MDP area from 1966 to 2016. The first SRW sighting was recorded in 1970; since then, sighting frequency has gradually increased, reaching a peak of 28 sightings (N = 63 whales) in 2016. These are unique long-term sighting records of SRWs in Argentina and the first on their journey off the shores of Buenos Aires province. We expect that these results will help local authorities to regulate tourism and other activities in the area and thereby contribute to the conservation of the species.

Keywords

BalaenidaeEubalaena australismigratory movementsSouth-west Atlantic
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 100 , Issue 1 , February 2020 , pp. 165 - 171
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2019

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