Thesis (M.Sc.(Zoology))--University of Pretoria, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Duke University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- McMaster University, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available via World Wide Web.

The general architecture of the skin of the southern right whale, Eubalaena australis, is comparable to that described for other cetacean species. As found in bowhead whales, Balaena mysticetus, of the same family, southern right whales possess an acanthotic epidermis and a notably thick hypodermis. Epidermal rods and extensive papillomatosis support these unique characteristics. A "fat-free" reticular dermis makes the integument of southern right whales more like that of odontocetes than that described for balaenopterids. Skin samples taken in South African and Antarctic waters showed evidence of superficial moultin'g throughout the austral winter and in mid-summer. Unidentified "microfIora" and fungal microbes were detected on the skin of whales sampled in both South African and Antarctic waters. The predominance of "microfIoral" aggregations on cows and calves in OctoberlNovember suggests that these micro-organisms are acquired in coastal waters. A Candida-like invasive fungal infestation of the skin of a stranded neonate was recorded for the first time in this species and may be related to the demise of this animal. The film-forming diatom, Bennettella [Cocconeis] ceticola, was not detected on any skin samples. This may imply that southern right whales exhibit high cellular proliferation rates, which prevent diatomaceous films from forming. Neonatal southern right whales undergo a spectacular form of ecdysis approximately 6-7 days after birth. Histologically, "rough-skinned" neonates possess a distinct "fault line" above the distal tips of the dermal papillae, that becomes characterised by intercellular oedema, which causes all the cell layers above the plane to separate from those below it. The fatty acid composition of the dermal and hypodermal layers provides indications of prey species consumed as well as reflecting physiological processes within the digestive system of the southern right whale. Total lipid values in the blubber of late season cows and calves are reported for the first time. A new hand¬held biopsy system for collecting deep-core integument samples from free-swimming balaenids is described. It is a practical and cheaper alternative to projectile systems and the head design allows for the collection of samples that can be used for multidisciplinary research on right whales (e.g. histology, toxicology and blubber composition studies). / Thesis (PhD (Zoology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Zoology and Entomology / unrestricted

Thesis (Ph.D.] -- McMaster University, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 142-155). Also available via World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2002. / "Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering."--Cover. "June 2002." Funding was provided by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Rinehart Coastal Research Center, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Sea Grant Program (NOAA NA86RG0075), and a Graduate Research Fellowship. Includes bibliographical references (p. 130-138).

Thesis (M.Sc.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

Distributional data from 32 years of aerial surveys of southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) along the south coast of South Africa were investigated using GIS, over a variety of spatial and temporal scales to test whether their discontinuous yet predictable distribution is related to environmental characteristics. Most whales were found in areas that provided reasonable protection from open ocean swell and seasonal winds as well as having sedimentary floors with gentle slopes, despite these characteristics being less common. Correlation type analyses with whale density only showed significance at the broadest scale. Cow-calf pairs were found significantly closer to shore and in shallower water than unaccompanied whales; they also segregated longshore in nursery areas. No relationship between reproductive success and distribution was found except a higher than expected incidence of neonatal strandings in areas dominated by unaccompanied whales. Habitat choice at this time of year was concluded to be related both to energy conservation for calves and lactating females and protection of neonates. / Dissertation (MSc (Zoology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Zoology and Entomology / unrestricted

Despite decades of protection, the endangered North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) has failed to recover, primarily due to interactions with fishing gear and ship strikes. Right whales range along the U.S. east coast, foraging year round in the Gulf of Maine while a subset of the population travels to the South Atlantic Bight each year to calve. The habitat requirements of the right whale are poorly understood. I investigated the relationship between the distribution of right whales and physical oceanographic conditions in an effort to create predictive models of essential right whale habitats. Additionally, the distribution of right and humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) relative to fixed fishing gear was examined to assess spatio-temporal overlap. Habitat preferences were assessed using aerial survey data of whale locations and a range of topological and satellite derived physical parameters including bathymetry, sediment type, sea surface temperature, thermal gradients and surface roughness. A suite of non-parametric quantitative techniques including Mantel tests, log likelihood functions, Generalized Additive Models, Spearman Rank Correlations and the Williamson's spatial overlap index were used to assess relationships between whales and habitat variables. Our findings indicate that suitable calving habitat along the east coast may extend much farther to the north than is currently recognized. Our model correctly identified several well documented current and historic calving grounds in the eastern Atlantic but failed to fully identify a heavily used calving area off Argentina, which is characterized by lower surface water temperatures than the other calving regions. In the Gulf of Maine, right whale distribution was correlated primarily with sea surface temperature, sediment type and bathymetry. Predictive models offered insights into right whale habitat preferences for foraging but failed to wholly capture the physical factors underlying right whale distribution. I found the relative density of right and humpback whales and fixed fishing gear in the Gulf of Maine to be negatively correlated in most seasons and areas. These findings demonstrate that the regular co-occurrence of high densities of whales and gear is not a prerequisite for entanglement. Prohibiting entangling lines in areas where whales are known to forage could substantively reduce entanglement. / Dissertation

<p>Locomotion in any environment requires the use of energy to overcome the physical</p><p>forces inherent in the environment. Most large marine vertebrates have evolved</p><p>streamlined fusiform body shapes to minimize the resistive force of drag when in</p><p>a neutral position, but nearly all behaviors result in some increase in that force.</p><p>Too much energy devoted to locomotion may reduce the available surplus necessary</p><p>for population-level factors such as reproduction. The population of North Atlantic</p><p>right whales has not recovered following legal protection due to decreased fecundity,</p><p>including an increase in the intercalf interval, an increase in the years to first calf and</p><p>an increase in the number of nulliparous females in the population. This reproductive</p><p>impairment appears to be related to deficiencies in storing enough energy to meet the</p><p>costs of reproduction. The goal of this study was to determine whether increases in</p><p>moving between prey patches at the cost of decreased foraging opportunities could</p><p>shift these whales into a situation of negative energy gain. The first step is to</p><p>understand the locomotor costs for this species for the key behaviors of traveling and</p><p>foraging.</p><p>This study investigated the cost of locomotion in right whales by recording the</p><p>submerged diving behaviors of free-ranging individuals in both their foraging habitat</p><p>in the Bay of Fundy and their calving grounds in the South Atlantic Bight with a</p><p>suction-cupped archival tag. The data from the tags were used to quantify the oc-</p><p>currence of different behaviors and their associated swimming behaviors and explore</p><p>three behavioral strategies that reduce locomotor costs. First, the influence that</p><p>changes in blubber thickness has on the buoyancy of these whales was investigated</p><p>by comparing the descent and ascent glide durations of individual whales with differ-</p><p>ent blubber thicknesses. Next, the depth of surface dives made by animals of different</p><p>sizes was related to the depth where additional wave drag is generated. Finally, the</p><p>use of intermittent locomotion during foraging was investigated to understand how</p><p>much energy is saved by using this gait. The final piece in this study was to deter-</p><p>mine the drag related to traveling and foraging behaviors from glides recorded by</p><p>the tags and from two different numerical simulations of flow around whales. One, a</p><p>custom developed algorithm for multiphase flow, was used to determine the relative</p><p>drag, while a second commercial package was used to determine the absolute mag-</p><p>nitude of the drag force on the simplest model, the traveling animal. The resulting</p><p>drag estimates were then used in a series of theoretical models that estimated the</p><p>energetic profit remaining after shifts in the occurrence of traveling and searching</p><p>behaviors.</p><p>The diving behavior of right whales can be classified into three stereotyped be-</p><p>haviors that are characterized by differences in the time spent in different parts of the</p><p>water column. The time budgets and swimming movements during these behaviors</p><p>matched those in other species, enabling the dive shapes to be classified as foraging,</p><p>searching and traveling behaviors. Right whales with thicker blubber layers were</p><p>found to perform longer ascent glides and shorter descent glides than those with</p><p>thinner blubber layers, consistent with the hypothesis that positive buoyancy does</p><p>influence their vertical diving behavior. During horizontal traveling, whales made</p><p>shallow dives to depths that were slightly deeper than those that would cause ad-</p><p>ditional costs due to wave drag. These dives appear to allow whales to both avoid</p><p>the costs of diving as well as the costs of swimming near the surface. Next, whales</p><p>were found to glide for 12% of the bottom phases of their foraging dives, and the</p><p>use of `stroke-glide' swimming did not prolong foraging duration from that used by</p><p>continuous swimmers. Drag coefficients estimated from these glides had an average</p><p>of 0.014 during foraging dives and 0.0052 during traveling, values which fall in the</p><p>range of those reported for other marine mammals. One numerical simulation deter-</p><p>mined drag forces to be comparable, while the other drastically underestimated the</p><p>drag of all behaviors. Finally, alterations to the behavioral budgets of these animals</p><p>demonstrated their cost of locomotion constitutes a small portion (8-12%) of the</p><p>total energy consumed and only extreme increases in traveling time could result in a</p><p>negative energy balance. In summary, these results show that locomotor costs are no</p><p>more expensive in this species than those of other cetaceans and that when removed</p><p>from all the other stressors on this population, these whales are not on an energetic</p><p>`knife edge'.</p> / Dissertation