Antarctic minke whales have been killed by whaling in the Southern Ocean under the justification of “scientific research”. However, SR3 has been involved in a new paper showing that non-lethal methods can be used to assess their demography and population health. SR3’s Dr. Holly Fearnbach and Dr. John Durban collaborated with colleagues from 12 international organizations on a manuscript titled “Demography of an ice-obligate mysticete in a region of rapid environmental change” recently published in Royal Society Open Science. SR3 contributed drone-derived aerial images that were measured to provide the first estimates of length of age structure of free-ranging Antarctic minke whales around the Antarctic Peninsula. Genetic and hormone analyses were also used to identify unique individuals and provide information on sex ratio and reproductive status. Together, these data provide important new information on the demography of Antarctic minke whales, an ice-dependent species that is being impacted by the rapid warming of the marine ecosystem around the Antarctic Peninsula.
High-resolution aerial images of Antarctic minke whales collected non-invasively using a remotely operated drone in the Antarctic Peninsula. Images were collected from an altitude > 100 ft under NMFS Research Permit # 19091 with support from the Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic Fund.