Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T15:10:45.307Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Stranding pattern of Bryde's whales along the south-eastern coast of Brazil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 August 2012

Jailson Fulgencio de Moura*
Affiliation:
Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública (ENSP), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ), Departamento de Endemias Samuel Pessoa (DENSP), Grupo de Estudos de Mamíferos Marinhos da Região dos Lagos (GEMM-Lagos), Rua Leopoldo Bulhões, 1480–6° andar, sala 620, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21041-210Brazil Programa de Pós Graduação em Saúde Pública e Meio Ambiente, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (ENSP/FIOCRUZ)
Salvatore Siciliano
Affiliation:
Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública (ENSP), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ), Departamento de Endemias Samuel Pessoa (DENSP), Grupo de Estudos de Mamíferos Marinhos da Região dos Lagos (GEMM-Lagos), Rua Leopoldo Bulhões, 1480–6° andar, sala 620, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21041-210Brazil
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: J.F. Moura, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública (ENSP), Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ), Departamento de Endemias Samuel Pessoa (DENSP), Grupo de Estudos de Mamíferos Marinhos da Região dos Lagos (GEMM-Lagos), Rua Leopoldo Bulhões, 1480–6° andar, sala 620, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21041-210Brazil email: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

In this study we present data on 46 strandings of Bryde's whales along the coast of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro States, south-eastern Brazil. The aim of this study was to evaluate the stranding pattern of Bryde's whales in south-eastern Brazil. The results show a relationship with annual increasing of strandings in a 20 year period of data collection (1990–2010). No significant seasonal trend was observed among four seasonal categories, but most whales stranded during winter (July–September). Males stranded more frequently than females. There was a significant trend in strandings of sexually mature whales (>11.12 m; 53.6%), but juveniles (≤8 m; 21.9%) were also relatively common. The present work confirms that Bryde's whales are common on the south-eastern Brazilian coast. Some discrepancy in published results from sightings and our results on strandings (e.g. seasonal pattern) was observed and may be related to environmental condition and the presence of inshore and offshore populations with differences in life history and behaviour. No whales showed signals of impact caused by human interactions, despite the potential threats in the study area. Future studies comparing morphology with genetics are suggested to be carried out to elucidate the taxonomic status of the Bryde's whales in Brazil.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Andriolo, A., Rocha, J.M., Zerbini, A.N., Simões-Lopes, P.C., Moreno, I.B., Lucena, A., Danilewicz, D. and Bassoi, M. (2010) Distribution and relative abundance of large whales in a former whaling ground off eastern South America. Zoologia 27, 741750.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Best, P.B. (1977) Two alopatric forms of Bryde's whales off South Africa. Reports of the International Whaling Commission 1, 1038.Google Scholar
Best, P.B. (2001) Distribution and population separation of Bryde's whale Balaenoptera edeni off southern Africa. Marine Ecology Progress Series 220, 277289.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carneiro, A.D.V.N. (2005) Ocorrência e uso de habitat de baleia-de-Bryde (Balaenoptera edeni Anderson, 1878) (Mammalia: cetacea, balaenopteridae) na região de ressurgência de Cabo Frio, RJ. Master's thesis. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Museu Nacional, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Google Scholar
CITES (2011) Appendices I, II and III–Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Available at: http://www.cites.org/eng/app/E-Apr27.pdf (accessed 18 December 2011).Google Scholar
CMS (2009) Appendices I and II of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). Available at: http://www.cms.int/documents/appendix/Appendices_COP9_E.pdf (accessed 18 December 2011).Google Scholar
Committee on Taxonomy (2011) List of marine mammal species and subspecies. Society for Marine Mammalogy. Available at: http://www.marinemammalscience.org (accessed 2 March 2012).Google Scholar
Costa, R.C., Fragozo, A., Melo, G.A.S. and Freire, F.A.M. (2003) An illustrated key for Dendrobranchiata shrimps from the northern coast of São Paulo State, Brazil. Biota Neotropica 3. Available at: http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v3n1/pt/abstract?identification-key+BN01503012003 (accessed 18 December 2011).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davis, R.W., Ortega-Ortiza, J.G., Ribic, C.A., Evans, W.E., Biggs, D.C., Ressler, P.H., Cady, R.B., Lebend, R.R., Mullin, K.D. and Würsig, B. (2002) Cetacean habitat in the northern oceanic Gulf of Mexico. Deep-Sea Research Part I 49, 121142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gallardo, V.A., Arcos, D., Salamanca, M. and Pastene, L. (1983) On the occurrence of Bryde's whales (Balaenoptera edeni, Anderson, 1978) in an upwelling area off central Chile. Reports of the International Whaling Commission 33, 481487.Google Scholar
Geise, L. and Borobia, M. (1988) Sobre a ocorrência de cetáceos no litoral do estado do Rio de Janeiro entre 1968 e 1984. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 4, 341346.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geraci, R. and Lounsbury, V.J. (2005) Marine mammals ashore: a field guide for strandings. 2nd edition. Baltimore, MD: National Aquarium and Baltimore Press.Google Scholar
Gonçalves, L.R. (2006) Ocorrência, distribuição e comportamento de baleias-de-Bryde (Balaenoptera edeni Anderson, 1879) (Cetacea: Mysticeti) em zona costeira e oceânica do sudeste do Brasil. Master's thesis. Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF), Minas Gerais, Brazil.Google Scholar
Jefferson, T.A., Weber, M.A. and Pitman, R.L. (2008) Marine mammals of the world, a comprehensive guide to their identification. 2nd edition. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Kato, H. and Perrin, W.F. (2009) Bryde's whales, Balaenoptera edeni/brydei. In Perrin, W.F., Würsig, B. and Thewissen, J.G.M. (eds) Encyclopedia of marine mammals. 2nd edition. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, pp. 158163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kawamura, A. (1977) On the food of Bryde's whales caught in the South Pacific and Indian Oceans. Scientific Reports of the Whales Research Institute 29, 4958.Google Scholar
Lima, A.F.B., Gonçalves, L.R. and Querioz, E.L. (2006) The historical record of a stranding of a Bryde's whale Balaenoptera edeni Anderson, 1879 (Mysticeti: Balaenopteridoe), in the Paraguaçu River, Todosos Santos Bay, Bahia, Brazil. Biokos 20, 7579.Google Scholar
Matsuura, Y. (1996) A probable cause of recruitment failure of the Brazilian sardine Sardinella aurita population during the 1974/75 spawning season. South African Journal of Marine Science 17, 2935.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Omura, H. (1962) Bryde's whale occurs on the coast of Brazil. Scientific Reports of the Whales Research Institute 16, 15.Google Scholar
Oshiro, L.M.Y. and Omori, M. (1996) Larval development of Acetes americanus (Decapoda: Sergestidae) at Paranaguá and Laranjeiras Bays, Brazil. Journal of Crustacean Biology 16, 709729.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reilly, S.B., Bannister, J.L., Best, P.B., Brown, M., Brownell, R.L. Jr, Butterworth, D.S., Clapham, P.J., Cooke, J., Donovan, G.P., Urbán, J. and Zerbini, A.N. (2008) Balaenoptera edeni. In International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)–Red List of Threatened Species, Version 2011.2. Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org (accessed 18 December 2011).Google Scholar
Santos, M.C.O., Siciliano, S., Vicente, A.F.C., Alvarenga, F.S., Zampirolli, E., Souza, S.P. and Maranho, A. (2010) Cetacean records along São Paulo state coast, southeastern Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Oceanography 58, 123142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sasaki, T., Nikaido, M., Wada, S., Yamada, T.K., Cao, Y., Hasegawa, M. and Okada, N. (2006) Balaenoptera omurai is a newly discovered baleen whale that represents an ancient evolutionary lineage. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 41, 4052.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Siciliano, S., Santos, M.C.O., Vicente, A.F.C., Alvarenga, F.S., Zampirolli, E., Brito, J.L. Jr, Azevedo, A.F. and Pizzorno, J.L.A. (2004) Strandings and feeding records of Bryde's whales (Balaenoptera edeni) in south-eastern Brazil. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 84, 857859.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steiner, L., Silva, M.A., Zereba, J. and Leal, M.J. (2008) Bryde's whales, Balaenoptera edeni, observed in the Azores: a new species record for the region. Marine Biodiversity Records 1, e66. doi: 10.1017/S1755267207007282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Valentin, J.L. (2001) The Cabo Frio Upwelling System, Brazil. In Seeliger, U. and Kjerfve, B. (eds) Coastal marine ecosystems of Latin America. Berlin: Springer, pp. 97105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wada, S. and Numachi, K. (1991) Allozyme analyses of genetic differentiation among the populations and species of the Balaenoptera . Reports of the International Whaling Commission 13, 125154.Google Scholar
Wada, S., Oishi, M. and Yamadat, K. (2003) A newly discovered species of living baleen whale. Nature 426, 278281.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williamson, G.R. (1975) Minke whales off Brazil. Scientific Reports of the Whales Research Institute 27, 3759.Google Scholar
Xiao, Y. and Greenwood, J.G. (1993) The biology of Acetes (Crustacea, Sergestidae). Oceanography and Marine Biology: an Annual Review 31, 259444.Google Scholar
Zerbini, A.N., Secchi, E.R., Siciliano, S. and Simões-Lopes, P.C. (1997) A review of the occurrence and distribution of whales of the Genus Balaenoptera along the Brazilian coast. Reports of the International Whaling Commission 47, 407417.Google Scholar