Source Themes

Features of Interest from a Multi-Season Satellite Survey of Baleen Whales on the West Antarctic Peninsula

The application of very high-resolution satellite imagery for the purpose of studying wildlife, particularly in remote regions, has gained significant traction in recent years. With this, there has been an exponential increase in the volume of …

Vulnerability of marine megafauna to global at-sea anthropogenic threats

Marine megafauna species are affected by a wide range of anthropogenic threats. To evaluate the risk of such threats, species’ vulnerability to each threat must first be determined. We build on the existing threats classification scheme and ranking …

Perceived and observed biases within scientific communities - a case study in movement ecology

Who conducts biological research, where they do it and how results are disseminated vary among geographies and identities. Identifying and documenting these forms of bias by research communities is a critical step towards addressing them. We …

Productive foraging grounds enhance maternal condition and offspring quality in a capital breeding species

Feeding ecology is an essential component of an organism's life, but foraging comes with risks and energetic costs. Species in which populations exhibit more than one feeding strategy, such as sea turtles, are good systems for investigating how …

Long-term survey of sea turtles (Caretta caretta) reveals correlations between parasite infection, feeding ecology, reproductive success and population dynamics

Long-term monitoring of host-parasite interactions is important for understanding the consequences of infection on host fitness and population dynamics. In an eight-year survey of the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) population nesting in Cabo …

Seasonal productivity drives aggregations of killer whales and other cetaceans over submarine canyons of the Bremer Sub-Basin, south-western Australia

Cetaceans are iconic predators that serve as important indicators of marine ecosystem health. The Bremer Sub-Basin, south-western Australia, supports a diverse cetacean community including the largest documented aggregation of killer whales (Orcinus …

Cetacean sightings within the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Here, we report cetacean sightings made within a major oceanic accumulation zone for plastics, often referred to as the ‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’ (GPGP). These cetacean records occurred in October 2016 and were made by sensors and trained …

Dolphins simplify their vocal calls in response to increased ambient noise

Ocean noise varies spatially and temporally and is driven by natural and anthropogenic processes. Increased ambient noise levels can cause signal masking and communication impairment, affecting fitness and recruitment success. However, the effects of …

Validating automated click detector dolphin detection rates and investigating factors affecting performance

Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) is a widely used technique for studying the distribution and habitat use of cetaceans. The C-POD, an acoustic sensor with an onboard automated click detector, has been deployed in diverse acoustic environments, but …

Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) Predation on Beaked Whales (Mesoplodon spp.) in the Bremer Sub-Basin, Western Australia

Observations of killer whales (Orcinus orca) feeding on the remains of beaked whales have been previously documented; however, to date, there has been no published account of killer whales actively preying upon beaked whales. This article describes …