Antractic whale observation on a platform of opportunity abroad krill fishing vessel "Dalmor II", April - July 2011.

Karina Vishnyakova1, Oleksandr Lepyoshkin1, Oleksandr Neprokin1

1 UkrSCES, 89, Frantsuzskyi blvd., 65009, Odessa, Ukraine

Corresponding author(s): Karina Vishnyakova (karinavishnyakova@gmail.com), Oleksandr Lepyoshkin (cephei7@gmail.com), Oleksandr Neprokin (o.neprokin@gmail.com)

Received {date}; Revised {date}; Accepted {date}; Published {date}

Citation: Combination of authors, year of data paper publication (in parentheses), Title, Journal Name, Volume, Issue number (in parentheses), and doi of the data paper.

Resource Citation

Vishnyakova K (2016): Antractic whale observation on a platform of opportunity abroad krill fishing vessel "Dalmor II", April - July 2011.. v1.9. Ukrainian Scientific Centre of Ecology of the Sea (UkrSCES). Dataset/Occurrence. http://gp.sea.gov.ua:8082/ipt/resource?r=whale_observation_ccamlr_ukrsces&v=1.9

Abstract

Karina Vishnyakova, an international scientific observer, conducted cetacean observations from a platform of opportunity, abroad polish trawler Dalmor II that fished Antarctic krill, during a cruise from March to July 2011. Most of the fishing season the vessel was in the CCAMLR statistical area 48.2, to the north-east of the South Orkney Islands. Observations were conducted on the vessel deck or on the bridge.  The following data were recorded:  observation details, time, geographical coordinates, species and number of animals in a group (or minimum abundance estimate), distance from the vessel and behavioral specific details. Also the photo material was collected.  

Over the observation period 50 sightings of at least 280 individuals were recorded.  Vast majority of recorded sightings (90%) and individuals (at least 90%) were minke whales (Balaenoptera bonaerensis); humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) were recorded in 5 cases. The largest minke whale groups were recorded in first ten-day period of April. Whales in such groups demonstrated feeding behavior, actively fed on the high density krill aggregations. Probably such aggregations were later fished by vessels on those fishing grounds. Group size varied from 2-3 up to few tens individuals (in the mean 6 ± 9.23 (standard deviation), median 3 individuals). In first ten-day period of April average number of individuals in groups was 12 whales ( ± 15.75 (standard deviation), median 8 individuals).  Frequency of occurrence did not correlated with the time of day.  Distance to the animals also varied from few meters to 5-7 kilometers. However, direct interactions of whales with the vessel were never recorded.

By late April – early May, number of sightings sharply declined, they became sporadic.  During that period fast migrations of small whale groups were recorded. Also minke whales demonstrated «nervous» behavior, coming to the surface frequently and moving fast and jerky.

Humpback whales were recorded in groups of 2-3 individuals at late April near the South Orkney Islands and early May near the South Shetland Islands.

Keywords: Antarctic, whales observation, occurence, Humpback whale, Minke whale, Observation

General description

Additional information: marine, harvested by iOBIS

Data published through GBIF: http://gp.sea.gov.ua:8082/ipt/resource?r=whale_observation_ccamlr_ukrsces

Spatial coverage

General spatial coverage: Whale observation data was collected abroad polish trawler Dalmor II that fished Antarctic krill in the CCAMLR statistical area 48. Observation details, group size, behavioral specific details were fixed. Also photo material was collected. There were 50 sightings of at least 280 individuals from March to July 2011. Vast majority sightings (90%) were minke whales (Balaenoptera bonaerensis). Also humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) were recorded.
Coordinates: 62°4'48''S and 60°9'36''S Latitude; 59°16'12''W and 46°31'48''W Longitude 

Temporal coverage: April 1, 2011 - June 22, 2011

Methods

Method step description: https://www.ccamlr.org/en/wg-fsa-11/11
Study extent description: statistical subarea 48.2, 48.1; 
01.04.2011 - 25.04.2011 - 48.2, 04.05.2011 - 14.05.2011 - 48.1, 20.05.2011 - 22.06.2011 - 48.2
Sampling description: visual observations on a platform of opportunity

Datasets

Dataset description
Object name: Darwin Core Archive Antractic whale observation on a platform of opportunity abroad krill fishing vessel "Dalmor II", April - July 2011.
Character encoding: UTF-8
Format name: Darwin Core Archive format
Format version: 1.0
Distribution: http://gp.sea.gov.ua:8082/ipt/archive.do?r=whale_observation_ccamlr_ukrsces
Publication date of data: 2016-06-06
Language: English
Licences of use: To the extent possible under law, the publisher has waived all rights to these data and has dedicated them to the <a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode">Public Domain (CC0 1.0)</a>. Users may copy, modify, distribute and use the work, including for commercial purposes, without restriction.

Metadata language: English
Date of metadata creation: 2016-04-25
Hierarchy level: Dataset