Long-range Longitudinal Movements of Sperm Whales in the North Atlantic Ocean Revealed by Photo-identification
January 12, 2024
Photo-identification used to document long movements of sperm whales in the North Atlantic between the Western North Atlantic and the Azores.
In the North Atlantic, sperm whale photo-identification catalogues are maintained by researchers working within the Mediterranean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, Bahamas, Azores, Canary Islands, Madeira, Norway, and Iceland, and some comprehensive catalogue comparisons have already been made (Steiner et al., 2012; Carpinelli et al., 2014). Based on a partial comparison of whales identified in the Gulf of Mexico and Bahamas in the WNA and those identified in the Azores in the mid-Atlantic, we report new information on the movements of three sperm whales in the North Atlantic including the movement of two whales between the WNA and the Azores. These represent the longest known movements of sperm whales in the North Atlantic outside of “Discovery” type tag results (Mitchell, 1970; Mitchell, 1975).
Sperm whale fluke photos for photo-identification (photo-ID) (Arnbom, 1987) were collected in the Azores, Bahamas, and northern Gulf of Mexico during commercial whale watching trips and/or dedicated cetacean research surveys.
Mullin, K. D., L. Steiner, C. Dunn, D. Claridge, L Gonzalez García González, J. Gordon, T. Lewis. 2022. Long-Range Longitudinal Movements of Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in the North Atlantic Ocean Revealed by Photo-Identification. Aquatic Mammals, 48(1), 3-8