Historical trends in the incidence of strandings of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) on North Sea coasts: An association with positive temperature anomalies |
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| Institution: | 1. School of Biological Sciences [Zoology], University of Aberdeen, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen, AB24 2TZ, UK;2. Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfico de Vigo, P.O. Box 1552, 36200 Vigo, Spain;3. National Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands;4. Faculty of Ecology, Kazan State University, 18 Kremlevskaja Street, Kazan, Russia;5. Highland Statistics, 6 Laverock Road, Newburgh, Aberdeenshire, AB41 6FN, UK;1. University of the Azores, Azores, Portugal;1. Cetacean Ecology and Acoustics Laboratory, School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, QLD 4343, Australia;2. Wildlife Endocrinology Lab, School of Agriculture and Food Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, QLD 4343, Australia;3. School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, QLD 4343, Australia;4. Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia;1. Cornell University, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Ithaca, NY, USA;2. Conservation Biology Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, WA, USA;3. Environmental Research Division, NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Monterey, CA, USA;4. Climate Impact Lab, Energy Policy Institute of Chicago, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA;5. Center for Ecosystem Sentinels, Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA |
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| Abstract: | Information on the migration patterns of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in the North Atlantic is preserved in historical strandings records, particularly for the North Sea, where sperm whale strandings have been documented since the 16th century, reflecting general public interest in large whales ashore. Most strandings in this area occur during or following the southward migration from the feeding grounds, when some animals enter the North Sea (in which they are thought to have difficulty navigating) instead of following their usual route through deep water to the west of the British Isles. There was much speculation about the causes of the high incidence of strandings on North Sea coasts in the 1990s, among which a recently published analysis of long-term trends in strandings indicated an effect of sunspot cycle length. We show that long-term interannual variation in the incidence of sperm whale strandings on North Sea coasts is related to positive temperature anomalies: the incidence of strandings was higher in warmer periods. The effect of temperature anomalies explains between 8 and 9% of variation in the strandings series. Inclusion of sunspot cycle length as an additional predictor did not significantly improve this model. It is suggested that this link with positive temperature anomalies may reflect changes in the distribution of the sperm whales’ main squid prey. |
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