By Dr. Holly Fearnbach, Marine Mammal Research Director
Aerial images of an adult male Type B1 killer whale (top) and a humpback whale feeding on krill after arriving on its Antarctic feeding grounds (bottom). Aerial images were collected non-invasively from > 100ft above the whales using remotely-controlled hexacopter drone. Research conducted under NMFS Permit # 22306 and Antarctic Conservation Act Permit ACA 2017-029.
SR3’s Dr. Holly Fearnbach and Dr. John Durban, joined by their colleague Kiirsten Flynn, are off to a great start to this year’s installment of Antarctic research onboard the M/V National Geographic Endurance. The focus of this 15th year of research is to assess the health of whales in the rapidly warming waters around the Antarctic Peninsula. Since late November, the team has been able to collect photo-identification images of two groups of Type B2 killer whales and aerial photogrammetry and photo-identification images of two groups of Type B1 killer whales. Type B2 killer whales are the smallest type of killer whales around the Antarctic Peninsula, with the highest and most stable abundance. In contrast, Type B1 killer whales are larger in body size, but are the least abundant type with documented declines in abundance in recent years. The team has also collected aerial photogrammetry images of humpback whales which will be analyzed to estimate length and assess body condition. Data collected this year will be integrated into SR3’s long-term monitoring dataset to monitor changes in growth, body condition and abundance of these populations over time, and use data on the health of whales to infer the health of the ecosystem which supports them. This research is supported by the Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic Fund. More updates to come as this research continues…