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A blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) feeding ground in a southern Australian coastal upwelling zone

Version 2 2024-06-17, 03:58
Version 1 2014-10-27, 16:27
journal contribution
posted on 2024-06-17, 03:58 authored by P Gill
A localised aggregation of blue whales. which may be pygmy blue whales (B. m. brevicauda), occurs in southern Australian coastal waters (between I39°45'E-143°E) during summer and autumn (December-May), where they feed on coastal krill (Nyctiphanes australis). a species which often forms surface swarms. While the abundance of blue whales using this area is unknown, up to 32 blue whales have been sighted in individual aerial  surveys. Krill appear to aggregate in response to enhanced productivity  resulting from the summer-autumn wind-forced Bonney Coast upwelling along the continental shelf. During the upwelling's quiescent (winter-spring) period. blue whales appear to be absent from the region. Krill surface  swarms have been associated with 48% of 261 blue whale sightings since 1998, with direct evidence of feeding observed in 36% of all sightings. Mean blue whale group size was 1.55 (SD =0.839), with all size classes represented including calves. This seasonally predictable upwelling system is evidently a regular feeding ground for blue whales, and careful  management of human activities is required there.

History

Alternative title

A blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) feeding ground in a southern Australian coastal upwelling zone

Journal

Journal of cetacean research and management

Volume

4

Pagination

179-184

Location

Cambridge, England

ISSN

1561-0713

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2002, International Whaling Commission

Issue

2

Publisher

International Whaling Commission