Baleias jubarte usam a costa leste do Brasil como área de reprodução e cria. As águas ao redor do Arquipélago dos Abrolhos são importantes devido a grande concentração de grupos com filhotes. Um estudo de 7 anos (entre 1998 e 2004) foi realizado, a partir de um ponto fixo de observação em terra, a fim de se investigar padrões temporais na estruturação de grupos e no comportamento de baleias jubarte. Dependendo das condições climáticas e de visibilidades eram realizadas varreduras com duração de 1 hora e na seqüência, observações de grupo ou indivíduo focal. Concomitante com o aumento da população brasileira de baleia jubarte, o número de avistagens de baleias adultas ao redor do Arquipélago aumentou, especialmente de 2002 a 2004, porém avistagens de filhotes somente aumentaram durante a temporada 2004. De uma forma gradual baleias chegam, se concentram e partem de Abrolhos, refletindo a migração segregada e as alterações de status sociais dos indivíduos. A medida que a temporada progride, ocorre uma mudança na freqüência das diferentes categorias de grupo de baleia jubarte, de grupos sem filhotes para grupos com filhotes, assim como os comportamentos, os quais, dentro de cada categoria de grupo, parecem estar adequado ao estágio de desenvolvimento do filhote (para aqueles grupos com filhote) e refletem o que parece estar relacionado a busca por oportunidades de acasalamentos e interações sociais. Ao longo das 7 temporadas estudadas, não houve mudanças na estruturação de grupos de baleias jubarte, nem houve alterações comportamentais marcantes. Porém, verificou-se que na presença de barcos num raio de 100-300 metros, fêmeas (mães) permanecem menos tempo em repouso e filhotes ficam menos tempo em comportamento de provável amamentação. Existe a preocupação de que repetidas mudanças comportamentais decorrentes de fatores antrópicos possam levar a população a risco, já que em espécies como baleias, as alterações a nível populacional podem levar muitos anos para ser detectadas. Logo é sugerido que estudos seguindo a mesma metodologia sejam continuados para que comparações sejam possíveis. Um estudo de longo-prazo permitiria uma investigação continua dos padrões (ou alterações deles) com que as baleias jubarte utilizam a área e como vêm respondendo as pressões antrópicas. / Humpback whales use the east coast of Brazil as a breeding and calving area. The waters surrounding Abrolhos Archipelago are important because of the high concentration of humpback whale groups with calves. A seven-year study (1998 - 2004) was conducted, from a land base station, to investigate temporal patterns of group structure and behavior of humpback whales. Depending on weather and sightability conditions, one-hour-scans were done followed by observations of animal or group focal follows. Concomitant with the observation of an increasing Brazilian humpback whale population, the number of adult whales sighted around the Archipelago increased, especially from 2002 to 2004. However, sightings of calves only increased during 2004 season. The humpback whales gradually arrive, concentrate and leave the region, reflecting segregated migration and individual social changes. As the season progresses, the frequency of different groups categories changes, from groups without calf to groups with calf, as well as the behaviors, which, within each group category, seems to be appropriate to calf development stages (for groups with calf) and reflect what seems to be related to the search for mating opportunities and other social interactions. During those 7 seasons, there were no changes in humpback whale group structure, nor were there strong behavioral changes. However, it was observed that, in the presence of vessels around 100 to 300 meters, mothers spent less time resting and calves spent less time in activities probably related to suckling. There is a concern that behavioral changes caused by anthropogenic factors may put the population at risk and changes at population level may take several years to be detected. So, it is suggested that studies following the same methodology continues, allowing further future comparisons. A long-term study would permit continued investigation of humpback whale use patterns (or theirs alterations) showing their responses to anthropogenic pressures.

This study aims to describe the faunal composition and community structure of the world\'s deepest whale fall and the first found in the South Atlantic Ocean. This discovery adds very important data on the poorly known whale-fall biogeography and provides new insights on the ecological role of the \"bone-eating\" worm Osedax (Polychaeta: Siboglinidae) on associated biota. The whale fall was serendipitously found in April 24th, 2013 at the base of São Paulo Ridge at 4204 m depth in the SW Atlantic Ocean using the HOV Shinkai 6500 during the Brazil-Japan joint Iatá-Piúna Oceanographic Expedition on board RV Yokosuka (Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, JAMSTEC). Detailed video surveys of the carcass were made using high-definition video cameras. Vertebrae, surrounding sediments and fauna were also collected using the submersible manipulators and a slurp gun. The partial skeleton belonged to an Antarctic Minke whale, Balaenoptera bonaerensis, and was composed of nine caudal vertebrae, whose degradation state suggests it was on the bottom for at least 5 years. Most of the 41 invertebrate species found are new to science, with ca. 12% of the genera shared with NE Pacific whale falls, vent and seep ecosystems. This similarity strongly supports the hypothesis that whale falls act as \"stepping-stones\" for the dispersion of chemosynthetic fauna and that some whale-fall specialists are widespread worldwide at genus level. Detailed investigation of inner bone assemblages indicates that Osedax degradation deeply affects their diversity and structure. Bones colonized by Osedax support distinct, significantly more diverse and abundant assemblages. This renders Osedax the status of ecosystem engineer, creating new microhabitats and enhancing biodiversity in deep-sea whale-fall communities. / O presente estudo descreve a composição faunística e a estrutura da comunidade de carcaça de baleia mais profunda do mundo e a primeira a ser encontrada no Oceano Atlântico Sul. A descoberta adiciona dados importantes à quase desconhecida biogeografia destas comunidades, assim como aumenta o conhecimento sobre o papel ecológico dos vermes-zumbis do gênero Osedax (Polychaeta: Siboglinidae), especialistas no consumo e degradação de ossos. A carcaça foi fortuitamente descoberta em 24 de Abril de 2013, na base da Dorsal de São Paulo a 4204 m de profundidade (Atlântico Sudoeste), utilizando-se o submersível de pesquisa tripulado Shinkai 6500 (Agência Japonesa para o Estudo das Ciências do Mar e da Terra e Tecnologia, JAMSTEC na sigla em inglês). Os mergulhos fizeram parte da Expedição Oceanográfica Iatá-Piúna, fruto de um acordo bilateral de cooperação científica em Ciências do Mar entre Brasil e Japão. Durante dois mergulhos foram feitos vídeos detalhados da carcaça através de uma câmera de alta definição. Também foram coletadas vértebras, sedimentos e fauna por meio dos braços manipuladores e de um sugador. O esqueleto parcial pertencia a uma baleia Minke Antártica, Balaenoptera bonaerensis, e era composto por nove vértebras, cujo estado de degradação sugere que a baleia estava no assoalho marinho por pelo menos 5 anos. A maioria das 41 espécies de invertebrados encontradas são novas para a ciência e cerca de 12% dos gêneros são compartilhados com ambientes redutores do Pacífico Nordeste, como carcaças, fontes hidrotermais e exsudações frias. Tal semelhança corrobora fortemente a hipótese de que carcaças de baleia atuam como \"pedras de dispersão\" para a fauna de ambientes quimiossintetizantes e que alguns organismos especialistas de carcaças de baleia possuem distribuição mundial em nível genérico. A investigação detalhada da endofauna dos ossos indicou que a degradação promovida por Osedax afeta profundamente sua diversidade e estrutura. Ossos colonizados por Osedax sustentam assembleias de organismos significativamente mais diversas e abundantes. Isso faz com que Osedax seja considerado um engenheiro ecossistêmico, pois cria novos microhábitats promovendo o aumento da biodiversidade em comunidades de carcaças de baleia no mar profundo.

Submitted by (edna.saturno@ufrpe.br) on 2017-02-08T15:28:37Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Bruno Cesar Luz Macena Rocha.pdf: 2783358 bytes, checksum: 0c7cc3375d48be56cad1fcf79ba55824 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-08T15:28:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Bruno Cesar Luz Macena Rocha.pdf: 2783358 bytes, checksum: 0c7cc3375d48be56cad1fcf79ba55824 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-06-17 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / In Saint Peter and Saint Paul archipelago (SPSPA), located at mid-Atlantic ridge, near to Equator line, population aspects of whale sharks was analized through in situ observation on distribution, seasonality, different behavior, and photo-identification. The movements of whale sharks was tracked using two models of satellite tag: SAT (Satellite Argos-linked transmitter) and PSAT (Pop up satellite archival transmitting tag) in one male (TB-01; 4.8 m) and one female (TB-02; 8.5 m),respectively. Whale shark occur in SPSP adjacencies yearround,although, are more abundant in the first semester, mainly, in February, March, and June. The annual record mean was 10.8 year-1 between 2000 and 2009. The size ranges from 1.8 to 14.0 m with mean± s.d. equal to 7.4± 2.4 m and the majority (62.9%) of whale sharks smaller than 9.0 m, under the estimated size at first maturation. Data received from Argos Satellite system indicate that the whale shark swam away from archipelago heading west. Both sharks spent the major of the time at surface, and the TB-02 dove into bathypelagic zone, attaining the maximum depth of 1,976 m. This was the first initiative to understand behavioral and population dynamics aspects of the whale sharks as well as the movement in Brazil and Equatorial Atlantic from SPSPA and will continue in the hope of building better conservation strategies. / No Arquipélago de São Pedro e São Paulo (ASPSP), localizado na dorsal meso-Atlântica, próximo à linha do Equador, foram analisados aspectos da população do tubarão baleia por meio de observação in situ. Informações sobre a distribuição e sazonalidade de ocorrência, diferentes comportamentos foram coletados e, quando possível, os espécimes foram fotografados para posterior individualização. Para elucidação do deslocamento do tubarão-baleia, a partir do ASPSP, foram utilizados dois modelos de transmissores via satélite, o SAT (Satellite Argos-linked tag) e o PSAT (Pop up satellite archival transmitting tag) em um macho (TB-01) e uma fêmea (TB-02) de 4,8 e 8,5 m, respectivamente. Os tubarões-baleia visitam o arquipélago durante o ano inteiro, entretanto, o primeiro semestre possui uma frequência mais elevada, principalmente nos meses de fevereiro, março e junho. A média anual de registros foi 10,8 ano-1 entre 2000 e 2009. Os comprimentos variaram entre 1,8 e 14,0 m com média± d.p. igual a 7,4± 2,4 m, com a maior parte (62,9%) dos tubarõesbaleia com comprimento abaixo do tamanho estimado para primeira maturação. Os dados dos transmissores recebidos pelo Sistema Argos de satélites indicaram que os tubarões se afastaram do ASPSP, logo após a marcação, em direção oeste. Ambos os tubarões permaneceram a maior parte do tempo na superfície e o TB-02 realizou mergulhos batipelágicos alcançando a profundidade máxima de 1.976 m. Esta foi a primeira iniciativa para se compreender aspectos populacionais e comportamentais, bem como da movimentação de tubarões-baleia no Brasil e no Atlântico Equatorial a partir do ASPSP e terá continuidade na expectativa de construir de estratégias espaciais de conservação.

The Littoral Acoustic Demonstration Center has collected passive acoustic monitoring data in the northern Gulf of Mexico since 2001. Recordings were made in 2007 near the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that provide a baseline for an extensive study of regional marine mammal populations in response to the disaster. Animal density estimates can be derived from detections of echolocation signals in the acoustic data. Beaked whales are of particular interest as they remain one of the least understood groups of marine mammals, and relatively few abundance estimates exist. Efficient methods for classifying detected echolocation transients are essential for mining long-term passive acoustic data. In this study, three data clustering routines using k-means, self-organizing maps, and spectral clustering were tested with various features of detected echolocation transients. Several methods effectively isolated the echolocation signals of regional beaked whales at the species level. Feedforward neural network classifiers were also evaluated, and performed with high accuracy under various noise conditions. The waveform fractal dimension was tested as a feature for marine biosonar classification and improved the accuracy of the classifiers. [This research was made possible by a grant from The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative. Data are publicly available through the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information & Data Cooperative (GRIIDC) at https://data.gulfresearchinitiative.org.] [DOIs: 10.7266/N7W094CG, 10.7266/N7QF8R9K]

When Marineland of the Pacific opened in 1954 on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in greater Los Angeles, it was the second oceanarium in the world and the first on the West Coast. An initial investment of $3 million by Oceanarium Inc., owners of the popular Marine Studios park located near St. Augustine, Florida, ensured that Marineland was built with the same state of the art facilities needed to produce an authentic representation of the ocean floor on land. Building on Marine Studios' success exhibiting bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), Marineland's central draw was its performing cetaceans. During the park's early years, its collectors pioneered the capture of Pacific dolphin species, such as the Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) and the Pacific white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens), the short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus), and were the first to capture a live killer whale (Orcinus orca) in 1961. By exposing audiences to previously unknown species through circus-like performances, Marineland played a central role in changing public perceptions of small cetaceans in the post-World War II era. However, with few prior studies to consult, Marineland curators experimented with their own methods of capture, husbandry, and veterinary care that often resulted in the harm or death of cetaceans under their care. Caretakers contended with animal aggression and sexual behavior, the refusal of animals to perform in show routines, and high mortality. Despite the difficulties posed by exhibiting cetaceans, advertisements, press interviews, and films advanced a contrary narrative that animals under Marineland's care enjoyed the conditions of captivity and performing for an audience. This thesis explores the tension between entertainment and animal care that defined the early years of cetacean captivity in North America.

Vertebrate evolution has resulted in a diversity of feeding mechanisms. Cetaceans are secondarily derived tetrapods that have returned to a marine habitat. As a result, they display feeding modes that have converged with more basal aquatic vertebrates, but display a diversity of new solutions and adaptations. To begin to explore the diversity of feeding adaptations among odontocetes, kinematics of feeding modes and feeding adaptations for belugas (Delphinapterus leucas), Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens), and long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) were characterized. In addition, direct measurements of intraoral pressure were collected to determine maximum suction performance. Characters from these analyses were combined with data for other odontocetes, and were mapped onto a phylogeny of Odontoceti to begin to explore where changes in feeding modes took place. Feeding modes were diverse in belugas, Pacific white-sided dolphins, and pilot whales and included suction, ram, and a combination of both. In general, four phases were observed: (I) preparatory, (II) jaw opening, (III) gular depression, and (IV) jaw closing. Suction was a large component of the prey capture method in belugas and subambient pressures in excess of 100 kPa were generated. Belugas were also capable of lateral lip gape occlusion and anterior lip pursing to form a small anterior aperture. Pacific whitesided dolphins relied on ram to capture prey. However, some degree of pursing and resultant subambient pressure was observed that was likely used to compensate for high ram speeds or for prey manipulation and transport to the esophagus. Pilot whales were more similar to belugas in kinematics, but maintained high approach velocities and did not generate significant suction pressures; suction and ram were used in combination. Belugas and pilot whales appeared to employ hyolingual depression as a primary suction generation mechanism, whereas Pacific white-sided dolphins relied on fast jaw opening. Ancestral state reconstructions indicated that suction feeding capability evolved independently at least six times within Odontoceti. These results indicate the diversity of feeding behaviors in odontocetes and provide directives for future studies on the diversity of feeding in secondarily aquatic mammals.

Dolphins, whales, and sharks are some of the world’s most iconic animals. Yet, many people will only ever see these animals via the media. The media, then, hold significant power in creating, modifying, or reaffirming the imaginaries around various species which, in turn, influences how much concern is given to matters related to their welfare and conservation. Given the environmental and ecological concerns presently facing the ocean, protecting, conserving, and preserving the marine ecosystem is vital, and time is of the essence. Through the work of activists, three specific marine wildlife issues have received a lot of publicity across various forms of mainstream media: the killing of dolphins in Taiji, Japan for their meat; Antarctic whaling; and the practice of shark-finning. Three activist films, namely The Cove (2009), Whale Wars (2008-), and Sharkwater (2006), are centred on these issues, and filmmakers attempt to compel viewers to support the activists’ protectionist cause. In order for this goal to have a chance of coming to fruition, rhetorical arguments must be carefully crafted. Yet, the study of rhetoric in animal-focused activist films is still an understudied research area. This thesis contributes to this area of research by using the aforementioned films as case studies by applying Aristotle’s rhetorical proofs of ethos, pathos, and logos to analyse the rhetorical arguments. Ethos is demonstrable when the activists construct themselves as credible, moral heroes and the animals as possessors of positive traits worth protecting, and the hunters as immoral villains. The graphic imagery of animal death appeals to pathos to stir strong bodily and emotional responses such as sadness, and disgust in order to mobilize audience support for cause. Lastly, these films appeal to logos through the use of culturally authoritative discourses such as those of biology, western conventional medicine, and the legal system. This thesis essentially argues that these texts work rhetorically and discursively to persuade audiences to feel a connection with and sympathy towards the animals; to be supportive of the activists; and to prompt antipathy towards the hunters and industry spokespeople.

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and other odontocete cetaceans rely on sound for communication, navigation, and foraging. Therefore, hearing is one of their primary sensory modalities. Both natural and anthropogenic noise in the marine environment could mask the ability of free-ranging dolphins to detect sounds, and chronic noise exposure could cause permanent hearing losses. In addition, several mass strandings of odontocete cetaceans, especially beaked whales, have been correlated with military exercises involving mid-frequency sonar, highlighting unknowns regarding hearing sensitivity in these animals.Auditory evoked potential (AEP) methods are attractive over traditional behavioral methods for measuring the hearing of marine mammals because they allow rapid assessments of hearing sensitivity and can be used on untrained animals. The goals of this study were to 1.) investigate the differences among underwater AEP, in-air AEP, and underwater behavioral heari ng measurements using two captive bottlenose dolphins, 2.) investigate the hearing abilities of a population of free-ranging bottlenose dolphins in Sarasota Bay, Florida, using AEP techniques, and 3.) report the hearing abilities of a stranded juvenile beaked whale (Mesoplodon europaeus) measured using AEP techniques.For the two captive dolphins, there was generally good agreement among the hearing thresholds determined by the three test methods at frequencies above 20 kHz. At 10 and 20 kHz, in-air AEP audiograms were substantially higher (about 15 dB) than underwater behavioral and underwater AEP audiograms.For the free-ranging dolphins of Sarasota Bay, Florida, there was considerable individual variation, up to 80 dB between individuals, in hearing abilities. There was no relationship between age, gender, or PCB load and hearing sensitivities. Hearing measured in a 52-year-old captive-born bottlenose dolphin showed similar hearing thresholds to the Sarasota dolphins up to 80 kHz, but exhibited a 50 dB drop in sensitivity at 120 kHz.Finally, the beaked whale was most sensitive to high frequency signals between 40 and 80 kHz, but produced smaller evoked potentials to 5 kHz, the lowest frequency tested. The beaked whale hearing range and sensitivity were similar to other odontocetes that have been measured.

In conservation ecology, abundance estimates are an important factor from which management decisions are based. Methods to estimate abundance of cetaceans from visual detections are largely developed, whereas parallel methods based on passive acoustic detections are still in their infancy. To estimate the abundance of cetacean species using acoustic detection data, it is first necessary to correctly identify the species that are detected. The current automatic PAMGUARD Whistle Classifier used to automatically identify whistle detection of cetacean species is modified with the objective to facilitate the use of these detections to estimate cetacean abundance. Given the variability of cetacean sounds within and between species, developing an automated species classifier with a 100% correct classification probability for any species is unfeasible. However, through the examples of two case studies it is shown that large and high quality datasets with which to develop these automatic classifiers increase the probability of creating reliable classifiers with low and precise misclassification probability. Given that misclassification is unavoidable, it is necessary to consider the effect of misclassified detections on the number of observed acoustic calls detected and thus on abundance estimates, and to develop robust methods to cope with these misclassifications. Through both heuristic and Bayesian approaches it is demonstrated that if misclassification probabilities are known or estimated precisely, it is possible to estimate the true number of detected calls accurately and precisely. However, misclassification and uncertainty increase the variance of the estimates. If the true numbers of detections from different species are similar, then a small amount of misclassification between species and a small amount of uncertainty in the probabilities of misclassification does not have a detrimental effect on the overall variance and bias of the estimate. However, if there is a difference in the encounter rate between species calls associated with a large amount of uncertainty in the probabilities of misclassification, then the variance of the estimates becomes larger and the bias increases; this in return increases the variance and the bias of the final abundance estimate. This study despite not bringing perfect results highlights for the first time the importance of dealing with the problem of species misclassification for cetacean if acoustic detections are to be used to estimate abundance of cetaceans.

This thesis is offered as a contribution to studies of social and cultural change in the Icelandic fisheries and fishing communities. Such changes may be seen as a result of the interplay of internal dynamics with both national and global forces and processes, not least with regard to the impacts of fisheries governance. These changes occur also in an international context of new environmental ideologies and perceptions of marine mammals, with consequences for social dynamics of local resource-use. Here it is argued that the conflicts over the harvesting or conservation of cetaceans can productively be understood from a cultural perspective. The thesis discusses the elevation of whales as symbols of particular value, and the metaphorical and cognitive aspects of, in particular, anthropomorphism, the projection of human motives and values onto animal behaviour, as a significant and effective part of conservation rhetoric and ideology. Specifically, the thesis deals with issues concerning whaling and whale watching along with issues and debates concerning these alternative forms of exploiting marine mammals. It also discusses central questions regarding fisheries governance and rights to fishing with reference to social and economic viability in Icelandic fishing communities. The unifying themes of this thesis are: how marine-mammal issues and controversies and social impacts of fisheries governance form part of globalization processes; how environmental and economic paradigms influence change, particularly in terms of marine-mammal conservation campaigns and market liberalist resource policy; and how these external ideological forces call for responses at local and national levels. The adaptive actions of the human agents and communities involved are described as creative, cumulative and complex. The thesis also highlights the central transformative role of the new regime of private property rights introduced into Icelandic fisheries governance in the 1980s.