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Health of North Atlantic right whales Eubalaena glacialis over three decades: From individual health to demographic and population health trends

Publication ,  Journal Article
Rolland, RM; Schick, RS; Pettis, HM; Knowlton, AR; Hamilton, PK; Clark, JS; Kraus, SD
Published in: Marine Ecology Progress Series
January 1, 2016

Marine mammals are faced with increasing challenges from environmental fluctuation, climate change, and disturbances from human activities. Anthropogenic mortalities have been well documented, but it is difficult to assess the sub-lethal effects of disturbance on the fitness of marine wildlife, and to distinguish these impacts from natural variations in health and reproduction. Here, we used photographic data on body and skin condition, blowhole cyamids, and rake marks, to evaluate the health of North Atlantic right whales Eubalaena glacialis from 1980 to 2008. We applied a hierarchical Bayesian model to these data to estimate the underlying continuous health status of individuals, demographic groups, and the population to characterize health patterns and temporal trends. Visual health scores (scaled from 0 to 100) from 48560 sighting events were used to estimate the health of 622 identified right whales on a monthly basis. Health in most whales fluctuated between 70 and 90, and health scores of <60 were observed in whales in poor condition. Health varied by sex, age-class and reproductive state, with the greatest annual variability occurring in actively reproducing females. Calving females had significantly higher health scores than non-calving females, and a steep deterioration in population health coincided with a dramatic decline in calving from 1998 to 2000. Health in all demographic groups and the population declined over the 3 decades of observations. Given the inevitable data gaps that occur in most marine wildlife research, modeling advances such as the one presented here offer a promising approach to assess the complex interactions between biology, ecology, and sublethal anthropogenic disturbance on marine mammals.

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Published In

Marine Ecology Progress Series

DOI

ISSN

0171-8630

Publication Date

January 1, 2016

Volume

542

Start / End Page

265 / 282

Related Subject Headings

  • Marine Biology & Hydrobiology
  • 4102 Ecological applications
  • 3109 Zoology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0608 Zoology
  • 0602 Ecology
  • 0405 Oceanography
 

Citation

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Rolland, R. M., Schick, R. S., Pettis, H. M., Knowlton, A. R., Hamilton, P. K., Clark, J. S., & Kraus, S. D. (2016). Health of North Atlantic right whales Eubalaena glacialis over three decades: From individual health to demographic and population health trends. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 542, 265–282. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11547
Rolland, R. M., R. S. Schick, H. M. Pettis, A. R. Knowlton, P. K. Hamilton, J. S. Clark, and S. D. Kraus. “Health of North Atlantic right whales Eubalaena glacialis over three decades: From individual health to demographic and population health trends.” Marine Ecology Progress Series 542 (January 1, 2016): 265–82. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11547.
Rolland RM, Schick RS, Pettis HM, Knowlton AR, Hamilton PK, Clark JS, et al. Health of North Atlantic right whales Eubalaena glacialis over three decades: From individual health to demographic and population health trends. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 2016 Jan 1;542:265–82.
Rolland, R. M., et al. “Health of North Atlantic right whales Eubalaena glacialis over three decades: From individual health to demographic and population health trends.” Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 542, Jan. 2016, pp. 265–82. Scopus, doi:10.3354/meps11547.
Rolland RM, Schick RS, Pettis HM, Knowlton AR, Hamilton PK, Clark JS, Kraus SD. Health of North Atlantic right whales Eubalaena glacialis over three decades: From individual health to demographic and population health trends. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 2016 Jan 1;542:265–282.
Journal cover image

Published In

Marine Ecology Progress Series

DOI

ISSN

0171-8630

Publication Date

January 1, 2016

Volume

542

Start / End Page

265 / 282

Related Subject Headings

  • Marine Biology & Hydrobiology
  • 4102 Ecological applications
  • 3109 Zoology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0608 Zoology
  • 0602 Ecology
  • 0405 Oceanography