1 Move over Simone Biles,because grey whales might just be the next Olympic champions.This conclusion can be drawn from a new study that filmed these amazing animals doing underwater headstands(头倒立)and other moves....1 Move over Simone Biles,because grey whales might just be the next Olympic champions.This conclusion can be drawn from a new study that filmed these amazing animals doing underwater headstands(头倒立)and other moves.2 As part of a seven-year project,scientists used drones(无人驾驶飞机)to observe a group of 200 grey whales off the coasts of Oregon,Washington,northern California and southern Canada.The new study findings,published in Animal Behaviour,revealed that grey whales do headstands by pressing their mouths against the ocean floor while searching for something to eat.Scientists also noticed that when doing headstands,grey whales move like human synchronized swimmers.展开更多
Neurodegeneration involves a wide range of neuropathological alterations affecting the integrity,physiology,and architecture of neural cells.Many studies have demonstrated neurodegeneration in different animals.In the...Neurodegeneration involves a wide range of neuropathological alterations affecting the integrity,physiology,and architecture of neural cells.Many studies have demonstrated neurodegeneration in different animals.In the case of Alzheimer's disease(AD),spontaneous animal models should display two neurohistopathological hallmarks:the deposition ofβ-amyloid and the arrangement of neurofibrillary tangles.However,no natural animal models that fulfill these conditions have been reported and most research into AD has been performed using transgenic rodents.Recent studies have also demonstrated that toothed whales-homeothermic,long-lived,top predatory marine mammals-show neuropathological signs of AD-like pathology.The neuropathological hallmarks in these cetaceans could help to better understand their endangered health as well as neurodegenerative diseases in humans.This systematic review analyzes all the literature published to date on this trending topic and the proposed causes for neurodegeneration in these iconic marine mammals are approached in the context of One Health/Planetary Health and translational medicine.展开更多
Although four species of odontocete and four species of baleen whale have been recorded in Prydz Bay,their vocalizations have been rarely investigated.Underwater vocalizations were recorded during March 2017 in Prydz ...Although four species of odontocete and four species of baleen whale have been recorded in Prydz Bay,their vocalizations have been rarely investigated.Underwater vocalizations were recorded during March 2017 in Prydz Bay,Antarctica.Bio-duck sounds,downsweeps,inverted“u”shape signals,whistles,pulsed sounds,and broadband clicks were recorded.Bio-duck sounds and downsweeps were associated with Antarctic minke whales(Balaenoptera bonaerensis)based on visual observations.Similarities between inverted“u”shape signals,biphonic calls,and clicks with vocalizations previously described for killer whales(Orcinus orca)lead us believe the presence of Antarctic killer whales.According to sound structures,signal characteristics,and recording location,Antarctic type C killer whales were the most probable candidates to produce these detected calls.These represent the fi rst detection of inverted“u”shape signals in Antarctic waters,and the fi rst report of Antarctic killer whale in Prydz Bay based on passive acoustic monitoring.The co-existence of Antarctic minke and killer whales may imply that minke whales can detect diff erences between the sounds of mammal-eating and fi sh-eating killer whales.Our descriptions of these underwater vocalizations contribute to the limited body of information regarding the distribution and acoustic behavior of cetaceans in Prydz Bay.展开更多
This study examines whether a group of captive false killer whales(P seudorca crassidens) showed variations in the vocal rate around feeding times. The high level of motivation to express appetitive behaviors in capti...This study examines whether a group of captive false killer whales(P seudorca crassidens) showed variations in the vocal rate around feeding times. The high level of motivation to express appetitive behaviors in captive animals may lead them to respond with changes of the behavioral activities during the time prior to food deliveries which are referred to as food anticipatory activity. False killer whales at Qingdao Polar Ocean World(Qingdao, China) showed signifi cant variations of the rates of both the total sounds and sound classes(whistles, clicks, and burst pulses) around feedings. Precisely, from the Transition interval that recorded the lowest vocalization rate(3.40 s/m/d), the whales increased their acoustic emissions upon trainers' arrival(13.08 s/m/d). The high rate was maintained or intensifi ed throughout the food delivery(25.12 s/m/d), and then reduced immediately after the animals were fed(9.91 s/m/d). These changes in the false killer whales sound production rates around feeding times supports the hypothesis of the presence of a food anticipatory vocal activity. Although sound rates may not give detailed information regarding referential aspects of the animal communication it might still shed light about the arousal levels of the individuals during different social or environmental conditions. Further experiments should be performed to assess if variations of the time of feeding routines may affect the vocal activity of cetaceans in captivity as well as their welfare.展开更多
The Hawaiian Islands, and particularly the Maui 4-island region, are a critical breeding and calving habitat for humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) belonging to the Hawaii distinct population segment. Our aims w...The Hawaiian Islands, and particularly the Maui 4-island region, are a critical breeding and calving habitat for humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) belonging to the Hawaii distinct population segment. Our aims were to test the use of platforms-of-opportunity to determine trends in mother-calf pod use of the region and to present opportunistic platforms as an alternative method of long-term, cross-seasonal monitoring. Data were collected from whale watching vessels over a 4-year period and analyzed using occupancy models to determine the probability of habitat use of pods with calves and pods without calves within the study area. Detection probability was influenced by survey effort and month for all pod types with detection of adult only pods further influenced by year. Pods with a calf showed a preference for shallow (<100 meters) low latitude waters (<20.7°N), while pods without a calf preferred deeper waters (>75 meters). Results presented here align with previous work, both in Hawaii and in other breeding grounds, which show a distinct segregation of mothers with a calf from other age-classes of humpback whales. The need for long-term continuous monitoring of cetacean populations is crucial to ensure species conservation. Data collected aboard platforms-of-opportunity, as presented here, provide important insight on humpback whale spatial and temporal distribution, which are essential for species protection and management.展开更多
We investigated the role of hydrological features, such as water masses, fronts, eddies, and sea ice, in affecting the distribution of upper trophic level species in the Scotia Sea region during autumn. On board RV Po...We investigated the role of hydrological features, such as water masses, fronts, eddies, and sea ice, in affecting the distribution of upper trophic level species in the Scotia Sea region during autumn. On board RV Polarstern, we performed 365 30-min strip transects recording seabirds and marine mammals along the North Scotia Ridge and the South Sandwich Trench in March--April 2013. Among the 7 identified cetacean species recorded, the humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae was the most abundant baleen whale （40 individuals）, and noteworthy were sightings of six southern right whales Eubalaena australis. Pinnipeds （3 species, 1650 individuals） were dominated by Antarctic fur seal Arctocephalus gazella （99%）, and seabirds （36 species, 18900 individuals） by Antarctic prion Pachyptila desolata （-50%）. The distribution of these top predators was highly patchy with the majority of observations concentrated in a few counts. This heterogeneity is likely a result of prey availability, and we discuss how hydrological features may have caused the patchiness.展开更多
In the frame of our long-term study of cetacean abundance and distribution in polar marine ecosystems begun in 1979, a drastic increase in the bowbead Balaena mysticetus North Atlantic ＂stock＂ was observed from 2005...In the frame of our long-term study of cetacean abundance and distribution in polar marine ecosystems begun in 1979, a drastic increase in the bowbead Balaena mysticetus North Atlantic ＂stock＂ was observed from 2005 on, by a factor 30 and more： from 0.0002 per count between 1979 and 2003 （one individual, n=5430 cotmts） to 0.06 per count from 2005 to 2014 （34 individuals, n=6000 counts）; the most significant part of the increase occurred from 2007 on. Other large whale species （Mysticeti） showed a similar pattern, mainly blue Balaenoptera musculus, humpback Megaptera novaeangliae and fin whales Balaenoptera physalus. This large and abrupt increase cannot logically be due to population growth, nor to survival of a hidden ＂relic＂ population, nor to a changing geographical distribution within the European Arctic, taking into account the importance of the coverage during this study. Our interpretation is that individuals passed through the Northwest and/or Northeast Passages from the larger Pacific stock into the almost depleted North Atlantic populations coinciding with a period of very low ice coverage -- at the time the lowest ever recorded. In contrast, no clear evolution was detected neither for sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus nor for Minke whale Balaenoptera acusrostrata.展开更多
Identifying home ranges—those areas traversed by individuals in their normal foraging,mating,and parenting activities—is an important aspect of cetacean study.Understanding these ranges facilitates identification of...Identifying home ranges—those areas traversed by individuals in their normal foraging,mating,and parenting activities—is an important aspect of cetacean study.Understanding these ranges facilitates identification of resource use and conservation.Fin and humpback whales occur in Antarctica during the austral summer,but information regarding their home ranges is limited.Using opportunistically collected whale sighting data from eight consecutive summer seasons spanning 2010–2017,we approximate the home ranges of humpback and fin whales around Drake Passage(DRA),West of Antarctic Peninsula(WAP),South Shetland Islands(SSI),an area northwest of the Weddell Sea(WED),and around the South Orkney Islands(SOI).Approximate home ranges are identified using Kernel Density Estimation(KDE).Most fin whales occurred north and northwest of the SOI,which suggests that waters near these islands support concentrations of this species.Most humpback whales were observed around the SSI,but unlike fin whales,their distributions were highly variable in other areas.KDE suggests spatial segregation in areas where both species exist such as SOI,SSI,and WPA.Partial redundancy analysis(pRDA)suggests that the distributions of these species are more affected by spatial variables(latitude,longitude)than by local scale variables such as sea surface temperature and depth.This study presents a visual approximation of the home ranges of fin and humpback whales,and identifies variation in the effects of space and environmental variables on the distributions of these whales at different spatial scales.展开更多
The coast of Japan is a migratory corridor for the western stock of the gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus), which was once considered as extinct and remains endangered. According to the historical records, from 1955 ...The coast of Japan is a migratory corridor for the western stock of the gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus), which was once considered as extinct and remains endangered. According to the historical records, from 1955 to 2014, only 21 gray whales occurrence has been recorded in 59 years. However, from 2015 to 2016, intensive occurrence including the seven sightings and the two strandings were noted. In this paper, we found that those sightings were re-sightings of the same individual, which was initially sighted off Sakhalin during August, 2014. On 4 March, 2016, a young female gray whale (8.9 m in body length) was stranded at Wadaura beach, Chiba prefecture. We also conducted research on this animal including taking pictures and external measurements. In addition, we flensed this animal to observe the internal organs and collect a skeletal specimen. The reason for the death of this animal remains unclear;however, from its external characteristics, we identified that this animal was not an identical one, sighted off Sakhalin and the coast of Japan from 2014 to 2016. On 5 April, 2016, another young female gray whale (7 m in body length) was stranded at Arai beach, Shizuoka prefecture. We concluded that from 2015 to 2016, at least three distinct gray whales have migrated along the coast of Japan.展开更多
Developmental changes in the body proportions of western North Pacific Bryde’s whales (Balaenoptera edeni) were investigated by examining the proportion of each body part to the total body length. The head and chest ...Developmental changes in the body proportions of western North Pacific Bryde’s whales (Balaenoptera edeni) were investigated by examining the proportion of each body part to the total body length. The head and chest region increased to a certain body length;subsequently, the length of head region stabilized, and that of the chest region decreased. The length of the abdominal region remained constant to a certain body length and subsequently showed a marked increase, and that of the tail region decreased consistently. The length of dorsal fin and flukes decreased consistently, whereas that of the flippers remained constant to a certain body length and subsequently decreased. The relative growth pattern determined by an allometric analysis was positive for the head region but negative for the lower body part, flippers, flukes, and dorsal fin. Both sexes demonstrated the same growth pattern, but the coefficients differed. This is the first study to investigate developmental changes in the body proportions of Bryde’s whales using more than 700 specimens covering a wide body length range. We believe that the results of this study will contribute to various research fields, including taxonomy, phylogeny, and feeding ecology of this species.展开更多
Little is known about the morphology of the pelvic girdle of modern cetaceans, although many species have a vestigial pelvis (pelvic bone) and part of the hind limb bones inside the body. Previous studies have focused...Little is known about the morphology of the pelvic girdle of modern cetaceans, although many species have a vestigial pelvis (pelvic bone) and part of the hind limb bones inside the body. Previous studies have focused almost exclusively on hard tissues as well, despite the fact that the bones are comprised of cartilaginous tissue, especially in the case of femur. In the present study, we characterized the pelvic bones and searched for vestigial femurs among 43 North Pacific common minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), all of which were sexually mature individuals. The shape of the pelvic bones clearly differs depending on sex. Specifically, the pelvic bones of females were flat, but those of adult males consist of two types: one with a twisted caudal portion (Twisted type) and the other with a thickened caudal portion (Hypertrophied type). Those pelvic bone features in male are found only among North Pacific common minke whales. 98% of the individuals in this study had vestigial femur. The presence rate of vestigial femur may differ by subspecies. The shape of the pelvic and hind limb bones of modern cetaceans may vary between species and probably by region, at least at the Ocean basin scale.展开更多
Spatiotemporal information is crucial for cetacean research and conservation,particularly for wide-ranging and migratory species.Sperm whales(Physeter macrocephalus)are distributed worldwide in deep oceans;however,lit...Spatiotemporal information is crucial for cetacean research and conservation,particularly for wide-ranging and migratory species.Sperm whales(Physeter macrocephalus)are distributed worldwide in deep oceans;however,little is known about the species in the western margin of the Pacific Ocean.Here,we examined the available information related to the occurrence,distribution,and potential habitats of sperm whales in the waters off China.Historical whaling information(18th–20th century)indicates that sperm whales have been captured in the East China Sea(ECS)and South China Sea(SCS).Furthermore,sporadic strandings have been recorded since the 1910s,and more frequently from 1990 onwards.Since 1990,accidental sightings have been documented in the eastern ECS,northeastern and southern SCS,and their adjacent waters.More recently(2019–2022),field encounters have been reported in dedicated ship-based investigations in the Xisha and Nansha waters,providing robust evidence of the regular existence and potential residency of sperm whales in the northwestern and central areas of the SCS.Female nursery groups suggest that the Xisha waters might be an important nursing ground for sperm whales.Satellite tracking data from four adults showed that sperm whales in the SCS might display both fine-scale and long-distance movements.Taken together,it appears that sperm whales are currently active in the waters off China,and that deep waters(depth>200 m)in the ECS and SCS may provide the species with critical habitats.This review provides crucial baseline information on sperm whales in the waters off China,which may help to facilitate future research efforts and conservation initiatives for the species at national and cross-regional scales.More field investigations and other monitoring approaches including acoustic monitoring,biologging,photo-identification,and genetics are required to reveal the distribution,movement,and habitat use patterns of sperm whales in these waters.展开更多
还记得本刊3月号“大脚板”栏目中的那篇Journeyto a New Home 吗?现在,可爱的 Little Grey 和 Little White——那对白鲸小姐妹,己经启程去往她们的新家----遥远的Iceland(冰岛)了。在这段时间里,很多小渎者将直己的心情写信告诉了大嘴...还记得本刊3月号“大脚板”栏目中的那篇Journeyto a New Home 吗?现在,可爱的 Little Grey 和 Little White——那对白鲸小姐妹,己经启程去往她们的新家----遥远的Iceland(冰岛)了。在这段时间里,很多小渎者将直己的心情写信告诉了大嘴M豆。他们那种不舍但为之高兴的复杂心情,是不是和你们一样呢?展开更多
Citizen science is a popular method for the long-term monitoring of the distribution of wild animals.The application of these methods in different species and environments still poses challenges,especially for aquatic...Citizen science is a popular method for the long-term monitoring of the distribution of wild animals.The application of these methods in different species and environments still poses challenges,especially for aquatic animals.In this study,we investigated the distribution of the Bryde’s whale(Balaenoptera edeni)in the Beibu Gulf of China by using scientific boat-based surveys and citizen science approaches using 2 different methods of data collection.First,we built our mobile app(Whale Guard)and installed it on fishermen’s phones.Second,we used a popular instant messaging app(WeChat)to create an online fisherman community.We found that the mobile phone app collected far fewer reports(5 reports)than the online community group(42 reports,P<0.01).By using a variety of incentives,we maintained the fisherman’s community’s activity without significant user loss(P<0.01).We also found that the locations collected by social media applications in this study were consistent with observations from scientific boat-based transect surveys.The sightings distribution of Bryde’s whales differed from those in previous surveys in that they were present across larger areas.Social media apps reported that 69%of reports was confirmed by more than one person,whereas Whale Guard reports were much lower(0,P<0.001).Community-based citizen science can greatly contribute to the long-term monitoring of Bryde’s whales,and it has successfully overcome the challenges of data accessibility,accuracy,and fragmentation.Our study shows how to appropriately use citizen science in different community groups and community-based approaches make them useful for large baleen whale surveys.展开更多
Information on the gut microbiome composition of different mammals could provide novel insights into the evolution of mammals and succession of microbial communities in different hosts.However,there is limited informa...Information on the gut microbiome composition of different mammals could provide novel insights into the evolution of mammals and succession of microbial communities in different hosts.However,there is limited information on the gut microbiome composition of marine mammals,especially cetaceans because of sampling constraints.In this study,we investigated the diversity and composition of microbial communities in the stomach,midgut,and hindgut of 2 stranded short-finned pilot whales(Globicephala macrorhynchus)and hindgut of a stranded pygmy sperm whale(Kogia breviceps)by using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing technology.On the basis of the 50 most abundant operational taxonomic units,principal coordinate analysis,and non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis,we confirmed that the gut microbial communities of the 3 whales were different.Our results revealed that the gut microbiome of 1 stranded short-finned pilot whale GM16 was dominated by Firmicutes(mainly Clostridium)and Fusobacteria;whereas that of the other pilot whale GM19 was composed of Gammaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes(mainly Vibrio and Bacteroides,respectively),probably caused by intestinal disease and antibiotic treatment.The gut microbiome of the pygmy sperm whale was dominated by Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes.Moreover,different gastrointestinal tract regions harbored different microbial community structures.To our knowledge,this is the first report of the gut microbiome of short-finned pilot whales,and our findings will expand our current knowledge on microbial diversity and composition in the gastrointestinal tract of cetaceans.展开更多
Halogenated natural products(HNPs)are considered to be emerging contaminants whose environmental distribution and fate are only incompletely known.Therefore,several persistent and bioaccumulative HNP groups,together w...Halogenated natural products(HNPs)are considered to be emerging contaminants whose environmental distribution and fate are only incompletely known.Therefore,several persistent and bioaccumulative HNP groups,together with manmade polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs)and polybrominated diphenyl ethers(PBDEs),were quantified in the blubber of nine sperm whales(Physeter macrocephalus)stranded on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in Italy.The naturally occurring polybrominated hexahydroxanthene derivatives(PBHDs;sum of TetraBHD and TriBHD)were the most prominent substance class with up to 77,000 ng/g blubber.The mean PBHD content(35,800 ng/g blubber)even exceeded the one of PCBs(28,400 ng/g blubber),although the region is known to be highly contaminated with manmade contaminants.Based on mean values,Q1∼PBDEs>MeO-BDEs∼2,2′-diMeO-BB 80 and several other HNPs followed with decreasing amounts.All blubber samples contained an abundant compound whose molecular formula(C_(16)H_(19)Br_(3)O_(2))was verified using high-resolution mass spectrometry.The only plausible matching isomer was(2S,4′S,9R,9′S)-2,7-dibromo-4′-bromomethyl-1,1-dimethyl-2,3,4,4′,9,9′-9,9′-hexahydro-1H-xanthen-9-ol(OH-TriBHD),a hydroxylated secondary metabolite previously detected together with TriBHD and TetraBHD in a sponge known to be a natural producer of PBHDs.The estimated mean amount of the presumed OH-TriBHD was 3000 ng/g blubber,which is unexpectedly high for hydroxylated compounds in the lipids of marine mammals.展开更多
Load forecasting is of great significance to the development of new power systems.With the advancement of smart grids,the integration and distribution of distributed renewable energy sources and power electronics devi...Load forecasting is of great significance to the development of new power systems.With the advancement of smart grids,the integration and distribution of distributed renewable energy sources and power electronics devices have made power load data increasingly complex and volatile.This places higher demands on the prediction and analysis of power loads.In order to improve the prediction accuracy of short-term power load,a CNN-BiLSTMTPA short-term power prediction model based on the Improved Whale Optimization Algorithm(IWOA)with mixed strategies was proposed.Firstly,the model combined the Convolutional Neural Network(CNN)with the Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory Network(BiLSTM)to fully extract the spatio-temporal characteristics of the load data itself.Then,the Temporal Pattern Attention(TPA)mechanism was introduced into the CNN-BiLSTM model to automatically assign corresponding weights to the hidden states of the BiLSTM.This allowed the model to differentiate the importance of load sequences at different time intervals.At the same time,in order to solve the problem of the difficulties of selecting the parameters of the temporal model,and the poor global search ability of the whale algorithm,which is easy to fall into the local optimization,the whale algorithm(IWOA)was optimized by using the hybrid strategy of Tent chaos mapping and Levy flight strategy,so as to better search the parameters of the model.In this experiment,the real load data of a region in Zhejiang was taken as an example to analyze,and the prediction accuracy(R2)of the proposed method reached 98.83%.Compared with the prediction models such as BP,WOA-CNN-BiLSTM,SSA-CNN-BiLSTM,CNN-BiGRU-Attention,etc.,the experimental results showed that the model proposed in this study has a higher prediction accuracy.展开更多
Find It What do boat captai ns try to do?W hale and dolphin watching is a popular thing to do off the coast of Hualien.*It is an amazing adventure!Imagine this:You are on a boat.Then a big whale jumps out of the water.
Cetaceans include the largest animals ever to have lived onearth and are uniparous(producing a single calf at each birth)across the infraorder.However,instances of multiple fetuseshave been observed naturally among un...Cetaceans include the largest animals ever to have lived onearth and are uniparous(producing a single calf at each birth)across the infraorder.However,instances of multiple fetuseshave been observed naturally among uniparous mammals,including cetaceans.Despite this,there is no known documented case of twins in cetaceans successfully carried to termin the wild(Perrin and Donovan 1984),and if such casesexist,they would be diffcult to detect.展开更多
文摘1 Move over Simone Biles,because grey whales might just be the next Olympic champions.This conclusion can be drawn from a new study that filmed these amazing animals doing underwater headstands(头倒立)and other moves.2 As part of a seven-year project,scientists used drones(无人驾驶飞机)to observe a group of 200 grey whales off the coasts of Oregon,Washington,northern California and southern Canada.The new study findings,published in Animal Behaviour,revealed that grey whales do headstands by pressing their mouths against the ocean floor while searching for something to eat.Scientists also noticed that when doing headstands,grey whales move like human synchronized swimmers.
文摘Neurodegeneration involves a wide range of neuropathological alterations affecting the integrity,physiology,and architecture of neural cells.Many studies have demonstrated neurodegeneration in different animals.In the case of Alzheimer's disease(AD),spontaneous animal models should display two neurohistopathological hallmarks:the deposition ofβ-amyloid and the arrangement of neurofibrillary tangles.However,no natural animal models that fulfill these conditions have been reported and most research into AD has been performed using transgenic rodents.Recent studies have also demonstrated that toothed whales-homeothermic,long-lived,top predatory marine mammals-show neuropathological signs of AD-like pathology.The neuropathological hallmarks in these cetaceans could help to better understand their endangered health as well as neurodegenerative diseases in humans.This systematic review analyzes all the literature published to date on this trending topic and the proposed causes for neurodegeneration in these iconic marine mammals are approached in the context of One Health/Planetary Health and translational medicine.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41906170)the Indian Ocean Ninety-east Ridge Ecosystem and Marine Environment Monitoring and Protection(No.DY135-E2-4)+1 种基金the Cooperation of Top Predators Observation in the Southern Ocean(No.QT4519003)the China-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation Fund。
文摘Although four species of odontocete and four species of baleen whale have been recorded in Prydz Bay,their vocalizations have been rarely investigated.Underwater vocalizations were recorded during March 2017 in Prydz Bay,Antarctica.Bio-duck sounds,downsweeps,inverted“u”shape signals,whistles,pulsed sounds,and broadband clicks were recorded.Bio-duck sounds and downsweeps were associated with Antarctic minke whales(Balaenoptera bonaerensis)based on visual observations.Similarities between inverted“u”shape signals,biphonic calls,and clicks with vocalizations previously described for killer whales(Orcinus orca)lead us believe the presence of Antarctic killer whales.According to sound structures,signal characteristics,and recording location,Antarctic type C killer whales were the most probable candidates to produce these detected calls.These represent the fi rst detection of inverted“u”shape signals in Antarctic waters,and the fi rst report of Antarctic killer whale in Prydz Bay based on passive acoustic monitoring.The co-existence of Antarctic minke and killer whales may imply that minke whales can detect diff erences between the sounds of mammal-eating and fi sh-eating killer whales.Our descriptions of these underwater vocalizations contribute to the limited body of information regarding the distribution and acoustic behavior of cetaceans in Prydz Bay.
基金Supported by grants from the Institute of Hydrobiology,Chinese Academy of Sciences
文摘This study examines whether a group of captive false killer whales(P seudorca crassidens) showed variations in the vocal rate around feeding times. The high level of motivation to express appetitive behaviors in captive animals may lead them to respond with changes of the behavioral activities during the time prior to food deliveries which are referred to as food anticipatory activity. False killer whales at Qingdao Polar Ocean World(Qingdao, China) showed signifi cant variations of the rates of both the total sounds and sound classes(whistles, clicks, and burst pulses) around feedings. Precisely, from the Transition interval that recorded the lowest vocalization rate(3.40 s/m/d), the whales increased their acoustic emissions upon trainers' arrival(13.08 s/m/d). The high rate was maintained or intensifi ed throughout the food delivery(25.12 s/m/d), and then reduced immediately after the animals were fed(9.91 s/m/d). These changes in the false killer whales sound production rates around feeding times supports the hypothesis of the presence of a food anticipatory vocal activity. Although sound rates may not give detailed information regarding referential aspects of the animal communication it might still shed light about the arousal levels of the individuals during different social or environmental conditions. Further experiments should be performed to assess if variations of the time of feeding routines may affect the vocal activity of cetaceans in captivity as well as their welfare.
文摘The Hawaiian Islands, and particularly the Maui 4-island region, are a critical breeding and calving habitat for humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) belonging to the Hawaii distinct population segment. Our aims were to test the use of platforms-of-opportunity to determine trends in mother-calf pod use of the region and to present opportunistic platforms as an alternative method of long-term, cross-seasonal monitoring. Data were collected from whale watching vessels over a 4-year period and analyzed using occupancy models to determine the probability of habitat use of pods with calves and pods without calves within the study area. Detection probability was influenced by survey effort and month for all pod types with detection of adult only pods further influenced by year. Pods with a calf showed a preference for shallow (<100 meters) low latitude waters (<20.7°N), while pods without a calf preferred deeper waters (>75 meters). Results presented here align with previous work, both in Hawaii and in other breeding grounds, which show a distinct segregation of mothers with a calf from other age-classes of humpback whales. The need for long-term continuous monitoring of cetacean populations is crucial to ensure species conservation. Data collected aboard platforms-of-opportunity, as presented here, provide important insight on humpback whale spatial and temporal distribution, which are essential for species protection and management.
文摘We investigated the role of hydrological features, such as water masses, fronts, eddies, and sea ice, in affecting the distribution of upper trophic level species in the Scotia Sea region during autumn. On board RV Polarstern, we performed 365 30-min strip transects recording seabirds and marine mammals along the North Scotia Ridge and the South Sandwich Trench in March--April 2013. Among the 7 identified cetacean species recorded, the humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae was the most abundant baleen whale （40 individuals）, and noteworthy were sightings of six southern right whales Eubalaena australis. Pinnipeds （3 species, 1650 individuals） were dominated by Antarctic fur seal Arctocephalus gazella （99%）, and seabirds （36 species, 18900 individuals） by Antarctic prion Pachyptila desolata （-50%）. The distribution of these top predators was highly patchy with the majority of observations concentrated in a few counts. This heterogeneity is likely a result of prey availability, and we discuss how hydrological features may have caused the patchiness.
文摘In the frame of our long-term study of cetacean abundance and distribution in polar marine ecosystems begun in 1979, a drastic increase in the bowbead Balaena mysticetus North Atlantic ＂stock＂ was observed from 2005 on, by a factor 30 and more： from 0.0002 per count between 1979 and 2003 （one individual, n=5430 cotmts） to 0.06 per count from 2005 to 2014 （34 individuals, n=6000 counts）; the most significant part of the increase occurred from 2007 on. Other large whale species （Mysticeti） showed a similar pattern, mainly blue Balaenoptera musculus, humpback Megaptera novaeangliae and fin whales Balaenoptera physalus. This large and abrupt increase cannot logically be due to population growth, nor to survival of a hidden ＂relic＂ population, nor to a changing geographical distribution within the European Arctic, taking into account the importance of the coverage during this study. Our interpretation is that individuals passed through the Northwest and/or Northeast Passages from the larger Pacific stock into the almost depleted North Atlantic populations coinciding with a period of very low ice coverage -- at the time the lowest ever recorded. In contrast, no clear evolution was detected neither for sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus nor for Minke whale Balaenoptera acusrostrata.
基金This work was conducted with logistical and financial support of the Instituto Antártico Argentino.
文摘Identifying home ranges—those areas traversed by individuals in their normal foraging,mating,and parenting activities—is an important aspect of cetacean study.Understanding these ranges facilitates identification of resource use and conservation.Fin and humpback whales occur in Antarctica during the austral summer,but information regarding their home ranges is limited.Using opportunistically collected whale sighting data from eight consecutive summer seasons spanning 2010–2017,we approximate the home ranges of humpback and fin whales around Drake Passage(DRA),West of Antarctic Peninsula(WAP),South Shetland Islands(SSI),an area northwest of the Weddell Sea(WED),and around the South Orkney Islands(SOI).Approximate home ranges are identified using Kernel Density Estimation(KDE).Most fin whales occurred north and northwest of the SOI,which suggests that waters near these islands support concentrations of this species.Most humpback whales were observed around the SSI,but unlike fin whales,their distributions were highly variable in other areas.KDE suggests spatial segregation in areas where both species exist such as SOI,SSI,and WPA.Partial redundancy analysis(pRDA)suggests that the distributions of these species are more affected by spatial variables(latitude,longitude)than by local scale variables such as sea surface temperature and depth.This study presents a visual approximation of the home ranges of fin and humpback whales,and identifies variation in the effects of space and environmental variables on the distributions of these whales at different spatial scales.
文摘The coast of Japan is a migratory corridor for the western stock of the gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus), which was once considered as extinct and remains endangered. According to the historical records, from 1955 to 2014, only 21 gray whales occurrence has been recorded in 59 years. However, from 2015 to 2016, intensive occurrence including the seven sightings and the two strandings were noted. In this paper, we found that those sightings were re-sightings of the same individual, which was initially sighted off Sakhalin during August, 2014. On 4 March, 2016, a young female gray whale (8.9 m in body length) was stranded at Wadaura beach, Chiba prefecture. We also conducted research on this animal including taking pictures and external measurements. In addition, we flensed this animal to observe the internal organs and collect a skeletal specimen. The reason for the death of this animal remains unclear;however, from its external characteristics, we identified that this animal was not an identical one, sighted off Sakhalin and the coast of Japan from 2014 to 2016. On 5 April, 2016, another young female gray whale (7 m in body length) was stranded at Arai beach, Shizuoka prefecture. We concluded that from 2015 to 2016, at least three distinct gray whales have migrated along the coast of Japan.
文摘Developmental changes in the body proportions of western North Pacific Bryde’s whales (Balaenoptera edeni) were investigated by examining the proportion of each body part to the total body length. The head and chest region increased to a certain body length;subsequently, the length of head region stabilized, and that of the chest region decreased. The length of the abdominal region remained constant to a certain body length and subsequently showed a marked increase, and that of the tail region decreased consistently. The length of dorsal fin and flukes decreased consistently, whereas that of the flippers remained constant to a certain body length and subsequently decreased. The relative growth pattern determined by an allometric analysis was positive for the head region but negative for the lower body part, flippers, flukes, and dorsal fin. Both sexes demonstrated the same growth pattern, but the coefficients differed. This is the first study to investigate developmental changes in the body proportions of Bryde’s whales using more than 700 specimens covering a wide body length range. We believe that the results of this study will contribute to various research fields, including taxonomy, phylogeny, and feeding ecology of this species.
文摘Little is known about the morphology of the pelvic girdle of modern cetaceans, although many species have a vestigial pelvis (pelvic bone) and part of the hind limb bones inside the body. Previous studies have focused almost exclusively on hard tissues as well, despite the fact that the bones are comprised of cartilaginous tissue, especially in the case of femur. In the present study, we characterized the pelvic bones and searched for vestigial femurs among 43 North Pacific common minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), all of which were sexually mature individuals. The shape of the pelvic bones clearly differs depending on sex. Specifically, the pelvic bones of females were flat, but those of adult males consist of two types: one with a twisted caudal portion (Twisted type) and the other with a thickened caudal portion (Hypertrophied type). Those pelvic bone features in male are found only among North Pacific common minke whales. 98% of the individuals in this study had vestigial femur. The presence rate of vestigial femur may differ by subspecies. The shape of the pelvic and hind limb bones of modern cetaceans may vary between species and probably by region, at least at the Ocean basin scale.
基金This research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.42225604 and 41422604)the“One Belt and One Road”Science and Technology Cooperation Special Program of the International Partnership Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(Grant No.183446KYSB20200016)+2 种基金the Key Deployment Project of the Center for Ocean Mega-Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(Grant No.COMS 2020Q15)the Zhilan Foundation(Grant No.2022010291B)the Small Grant in Aid of Research from the Society for Marine Mammalogy.
文摘Spatiotemporal information is crucial for cetacean research and conservation,particularly for wide-ranging and migratory species.Sperm whales(Physeter macrocephalus)are distributed worldwide in deep oceans;however,little is known about the species in the western margin of the Pacific Ocean.Here,we examined the available information related to the occurrence,distribution,and potential habitats of sperm whales in the waters off China.Historical whaling information(18th–20th century)indicates that sperm whales have been captured in the East China Sea(ECS)and South China Sea(SCS).Furthermore,sporadic strandings have been recorded since the 1910s,and more frequently from 1990 onwards.Since 1990,accidental sightings have been documented in the eastern ECS,northeastern and southern SCS,and their adjacent waters.More recently(2019–2022),field encounters have been reported in dedicated ship-based investigations in the Xisha and Nansha waters,providing robust evidence of the regular existence and potential residency of sperm whales in the northwestern and central areas of the SCS.Female nursery groups suggest that the Xisha waters might be an important nursing ground for sperm whales.Satellite tracking data from four adults showed that sperm whales in the SCS might display both fine-scale and long-distance movements.Taken together,it appears that sperm whales are currently active in the waters off China,and that deep waters(depth>200 m)in the ECS and SCS may provide the species with critical habitats.This review provides crucial baseline information on sperm whales in the waters off China,which may help to facilitate future research efforts and conservation initiatives for the species at national and cross-regional scales.More field investigations and other monitoring approaches including acoustic monitoring,biologging,photo-identification,and genetics are required to reveal the distribution,movement,and habitat use patterns of sperm whales in these waters.
文摘还记得本刊3月号“大脚板”栏目中的那篇Journeyto a New Home 吗?现在,可爱的 Little Grey 和 Little White——那对白鲸小姐妹,己经启程去往她们的新家----遥远的Iceland(冰岛)了。在这段时间里,很多小渎者将直己的心情写信告诉了大嘴M豆。他们那种不舍但为之高兴的复杂心情,是不是和你们一样呢?
基金supported by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.31430080)Ocean Park Conservation Foundation,Hong Kong(MM03_1920).
文摘Citizen science is a popular method for the long-term monitoring of the distribution of wild animals.The application of these methods in different species and environments still poses challenges,especially for aquatic animals.In this study,we investigated the distribution of the Bryde’s whale(Balaenoptera edeni)in the Beibu Gulf of China by using scientific boat-based surveys and citizen science approaches using 2 different methods of data collection.First,we built our mobile app(Whale Guard)and installed it on fishermen’s phones.Second,we used a popular instant messaging app(WeChat)to create an online fisherman community.We found that the mobile phone app collected far fewer reports(5 reports)than the online community group(42 reports,P<0.01).By using a variety of incentives,we maintained the fisherman’s community’s activity without significant user loss(P<0.01).We also found that the locations collected by social media applications in this study were consistent with observations from scientific boat-based transect surveys.The sightings distribution of Bryde’s whales differed from those in previous surveys in that they were present across larger areas.Social media apps reported that 69%of reports was confirmed by more than one person,whereas Whale Guard reports were much lower(0,P<0.001).Community-based citizen science can greatly contribute to the long-term monitoring of Bryde’s whales,and it has successfully overcome the challenges of data accessibility,accuracy,and fragmentation.Our study shows how to appropriately use citizen science in different community groups and community-based approaches make them useful for large baleen whale surveys.
基金This study was supported by grants from the National Key R&D Program of China(Grant numbers 2017YFC0306702 and 2016YFC0300803)National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.41506139)Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences.This study was performed under Ethical Statement number IDSSE-SYLL-MMMBL-01.
文摘Information on the gut microbiome composition of different mammals could provide novel insights into the evolution of mammals and succession of microbial communities in different hosts.However,there is limited information on the gut microbiome composition of marine mammals,especially cetaceans because of sampling constraints.In this study,we investigated the diversity and composition of microbial communities in the stomach,midgut,and hindgut of 2 stranded short-finned pilot whales(Globicephala macrorhynchus)and hindgut of a stranded pygmy sperm whale(Kogia breviceps)by using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing technology.On the basis of the 50 most abundant operational taxonomic units,principal coordinate analysis,and non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis,we confirmed that the gut microbial communities of the 3 whales were different.Our results revealed that the gut microbiome of 1 stranded short-finned pilot whale GM16 was dominated by Firmicutes(mainly Clostridium)and Fusobacteria;whereas that of the other pilot whale GM19 was composed of Gammaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes(mainly Vibrio and Bacteroides,respectively),probably caused by intestinal disease and antibiotic treatment.The gut microbiome of the pygmy sperm whale was dominated by Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes.Moreover,different gastrointestinal tract regions harbored different microbial community structures.To our knowledge,this is the first report of the gut microbiome of short-finned pilot whales,and our findings will expand our current knowledge on microbial diversity and composition in the gastrointestinal tract of cetaceans.
文摘Halogenated natural products(HNPs)are considered to be emerging contaminants whose environmental distribution and fate are only incompletely known.Therefore,several persistent and bioaccumulative HNP groups,together with manmade polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs)and polybrominated diphenyl ethers(PBDEs),were quantified in the blubber of nine sperm whales(Physeter macrocephalus)stranded on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in Italy.The naturally occurring polybrominated hexahydroxanthene derivatives(PBHDs;sum of TetraBHD and TriBHD)were the most prominent substance class with up to 77,000 ng/g blubber.The mean PBHD content(35,800 ng/g blubber)even exceeded the one of PCBs(28,400 ng/g blubber),although the region is known to be highly contaminated with manmade contaminants.Based on mean values,Q1∼PBDEs>MeO-BDEs∼2,2′-diMeO-BB 80 and several other HNPs followed with decreasing amounts.All blubber samples contained an abundant compound whose molecular formula(C_(16)H_(19)Br_(3)O_(2))was verified using high-resolution mass spectrometry.The only plausible matching isomer was(2S,4′S,9R,9′S)-2,7-dibromo-4′-bromomethyl-1,1-dimethyl-2,3,4,4′,9,9′-9,9′-hexahydro-1H-xanthen-9-ol(OH-TriBHD),a hydroxylated secondary metabolite previously detected together with TriBHD and TetraBHD in a sponge known to be a natural producer of PBHDs.The estimated mean amount of the presumed OH-TriBHD was 3000 ng/g blubber,which is unexpectedly high for hydroxylated compounds in the lipids of marine mammals.
文摘Load forecasting is of great significance to the development of new power systems.With the advancement of smart grids,the integration and distribution of distributed renewable energy sources and power electronics devices have made power load data increasingly complex and volatile.This places higher demands on the prediction and analysis of power loads.In order to improve the prediction accuracy of short-term power load,a CNN-BiLSTMTPA short-term power prediction model based on the Improved Whale Optimization Algorithm(IWOA)with mixed strategies was proposed.Firstly,the model combined the Convolutional Neural Network(CNN)with the Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory Network(BiLSTM)to fully extract the spatio-temporal characteristics of the load data itself.Then,the Temporal Pattern Attention(TPA)mechanism was introduced into the CNN-BiLSTM model to automatically assign corresponding weights to the hidden states of the BiLSTM.This allowed the model to differentiate the importance of load sequences at different time intervals.At the same time,in order to solve the problem of the difficulties of selecting the parameters of the temporal model,and the poor global search ability of the whale algorithm,which is easy to fall into the local optimization,the whale algorithm(IWOA)was optimized by using the hybrid strategy of Tent chaos mapping and Levy flight strategy,so as to better search the parameters of the model.In this experiment,the real load data of a region in Zhejiang was taken as an example to analyze,and the prediction accuracy(R2)of the proposed method reached 98.83%.Compared with the prediction models such as BP,WOA-CNN-BiLSTM,SSA-CNN-BiLSTM,CNN-BiGRU-Attention,etc.,the experimental results showed that the model proposed in this study has a higher prediction accuracy.
文摘Find It What do boat captai ns try to do?W hale and dolphin watching is a popular thing to do off the coast of Hualien.*It is an amazing adventure!Imagine this:You are on a boat.Then a big whale jumps out of the water.
文摘Cetaceans include the largest animals ever to have lived onearth and are uniparous(producing a single calf at each birth)across the infraorder.However,instances of multiple fetuseshave been observed naturally among uniparous mammals,including cetaceans.Despite this,there is no known documented case of twins in cetaceans successfully carried to termin the wild(Perrin and Donovan 1984),and if such casesexist,they would be diffcult to detect.
