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Strandings of Beaked Whales (Ziphiidae) in Galicia (NW Spain) between 1990 and 2013

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2015

Pablo Covelo ,
Jose A. Martínez-Cedeira ,
Ángela Llavona ,
Juan I. Díaz  and
Alfredo López
Pablo Covelo*
Affiliation:
Coordinadora para o Estudo dos Mamíferos Mariños (CEMMA), Camiño do Ceán 2, 36350 Nigrán, Spain
Jose A. Martínez-Cedeira
Affiliation:
Coordinadora para o Estudo dos Mamíferos Mariños (CEMMA), Camiño do Ceán 2, 36350 Nigrán, Spain
Ángela Llavona
Affiliation:
Coordinadora para o Estudo dos Mamíferos Mariños (CEMMA), Camiño do Ceán 2, 36350 Nigrán, Spain Department Biologia and CESAM, Campus Universitario de Santiago, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Zoology Building AB24 2TZ, Aberdeen, UK
Juan I. Díaz
Affiliation:
Coordinadora para o Estudo dos Mamíferos Mariños (CEMMA), Camiño do Ceán 2, 36350 Nigrán, Spain Sociedade Galega de Historia Natural, Sección de Mamíferos Mariños, Praza de Canido s/n, 15401 Ferrol, Spain
Alfredo López
Affiliation:
Coordinadora para o Estudo dos Mamíferos Mariños (CEMMA), Camiño do Ceán 2, 36350 Nigrán, Spain Department Biologia and CESAM, Campus Universitario de Santiago, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal
*
Correspondence should be addressed to:P. Covelo, Coordinadora para o Estudo dos Mamíferos Mariños (CEMMA), Camiño do Ceán 2, 36350 Nigrán, Spain email: cemmaorganizacion@gmail.com
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Abstract

In the coast of Galicia an average of 200 stranded cetaceans are reported annually. From 1990 to 2013, 21 individuals of four species of the family Ziphiidae were found: 15 Cuvier's beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris), two Sowerby's beaked whales (Mesoplodon bidens), one True's beaked whale (Mesoplodon mirus) and one Blainville's beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris), as well as two unidentified ones. These were the first records in Galicia for True's beaked whale and Blainville's beaked whale. The study of the distribution of oceanic species considering only stranded animals has limitations, but is a good approach to this not well-known cetacean family. Due to the small number of individuals of the different species, statistical analyses for geographic or seasonal patterns were only carried out for the Cuvier's beaked whales. Between the periods of 1990–2002 and 2003–2013 significant differences were found for geographic and seasonal occurrence patterns. Over the last decade strandings were located only in the north area of the region, mainly during the spring season, while in the previous decade they were located along the three considered areas and only in autumn and winter.

Keywords

Beaked whaleZiphiidaeMesoplodonZiphiusIberian Peninsuladistributioncetaceanstrandings
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 96 , Issue 4: Marine Mammals , June 2016 , pp. 925 - 931
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2015 

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