SR3 collaborated with colleagues from 12 institutes in five countries in a recently published a manuscript titled “Population comparison of right whale body condition reveals poor state of the North Atlantic right whale” in Marine Ecology Progress Series (https://www.int-res.com/articles/feature/m640p001.pdf). The international research team used drones to collect high-resolution aerial images that were analyzed to provide quantitative measures of size and body condition of right whales from North America, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand. The study revealed that individual North Atlantic right whales were generally in leaner body condition compared to individual whales from three populations of Southern right whales. The North Atlantic right whale population is endangered and declining, with 410 individuals remaining, and the leading causes of mortality are vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing gear. These anthropogenic impacts, coupled with changes in environmental conditions impacting prey availability, are thought to be the primary cause of the documented poor body condition and low reproductive output, further contributing to the continued decline of the population. “Drones have enabled us to non-invasively and inexpensively measure the whales in several sites around the world – essentially giving them a health check without them even knowing we were there” said coauthor Holly Fearnbach, SR3’s marine mammal research director.
Healthy southern right whales from three populations (left three photographs) next to a much leaner North Atlantic right whale (right) in visibly poorer body condition. Photos: Fredrik Christiansen (left & center-left), Stephen M. Dawson (center-right), John W. Durban and Holly Fearnbach (right)