doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2005.0313.
Periodic variability in cetacean strandings: links to large-scale climate events
Affiliations
- PMID:17148151
- PMCID: PMC1626231
- DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2005.0313
Item in Clipboard
Periodic variability in cetacean strandings: links to large-scale climate events
K Evans et al. Biol Lett..
Display options
Format
Display options
Format
Abstract
Cetacean strandings elicit much community and scientific interest, but few quantitative analyses have successfully identified environmental correlates to these phenomena. Data spanning 1920-2002, involving a total of 639 stranding events and 39 taxa groups from southeast Australia, were found to demonstrate a clear 11-13- year periodicity in the number of events through time. These data positively correlated with the regional persistence of both zonal (westerly) and meridional (southerly) winds, reflecting general long-term and large-scale shifts in sea-level pressure gradients. Periods of persistent zonal and meridional winds result in colder and presumably nutrient-rich waters being driven closer to southern Australia, resulting in increased biological activity in the water column during the spring months. These observations suggest that large-scale climatic events provide a powerful distal influence on the propensity for whales to strand in this region. These patterns provide a powerful quantitative framework for testing hypotheses regarding environmental links to strandings and provide managers with a potential predictive tool to prepare for years of peak stranding activity.
Figures
Frequency of stranding events (a) for Tasmania (1920–2002) and (b) Victoria (1920–1980) in relation to FFT coefficients at 11.9 years (Tasmania) and 11.6 years (Victoria) and results of lag analysis demonstrating positive correlations at lags of (c) 11 and 12 years (Tasmania) and (d) 12 years (Victoria). Asterisks represent significant correlations at the 95% level.
Relationship between stranding events and (a) an annual index of zonal (westerly) wind strength (R2=0.2;y=1.5x−1.2); (b) an annual index of meridional (southerly) wind strength (R2=0.3;y=6.0x−2.1); (c) mean summer sea-surface temperatures collected from Maria Island, Tasmania (R2=0.2;y=58.4−3.3x).
Similar articles
- Cetacean biodiversity, spatial and temporal trends based on stranding records (1920-2016), Victoria, Australia.Foord CS, Rowe KMC, Robb K.Foord CS, et al.PLoS One. 2019 Oct 10;14(10):e0223712. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0223712. eCollection 2019.PLoS One. 2019.PMID:31600321Free PMC article.
- Climate-driven environmental changes around 8,200 years ago favoured increases in cetacean strandings and Mediterranean hunter-gatherers exploited them.Mannino MA, Talamo S, Tagliacozzo A, Fiore I, Nehlich O, Piperno M, Tusa S, Collina C, Di Salvo R, Schimmenti V, Richards MP.Mannino MA, et al.Sci Rep. 2015 Nov 17;5:16288. doi: 10.1038/srep16288.Sci Rep. 2015.PMID:26573384Free PMC article.
- Domoic Acid Poisoning as a Possible Cause of Seasonal Cetacean Mass Stranding Events in Tasmania, Australia.Bengtson Nash SM, Baddock MC, Takahashi E, Dawson A, Cropp R.Bengtson Nash SM, et al.Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 2017 Jan;98(1):8-13. doi: 10.1007/s00128-016-1906-4. Epub 2016 Aug 16.Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 2017.PMID:27530123
- Effects of Southern Hemisphere Wind Changes on the Meridional Overturning Circulation in Ocean Models.Gent PR.Gent PR.Ann Rev Mar Sci. 2016;8:79-94. doi: 10.1146/annurev-marine-122414-033929. Epub 2015 Jul 8.Ann Rev Mar Sci. 2016.PMID:26163010Review.
- Review of the Effects of Offshore Seismic Surveys in Cetaceans: Are Mass Strandings a Possibility?Castellote M, Llorens C.Castellote M, et al.Adv Exp Med Biol. 2016;875:133-43. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-2981-8_16.Adv Exp Med Biol. 2016.PMID:26610953Review.
Cited by
- Marine mammal strandings and environmental changes: a 15-year study in the St. Lawrence ecosystem.Truchon MH, Measures L, L'Hérault V, Brêthes JC, Galbraith PS, Harvey M, Lessard S, Starr M, Lecomte N.Truchon MH, et al.PLoS One. 2013;8(3):e59311. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0059311. Epub 2013 Mar 27.PLoS One. 2013.PMID:23544059Free PMC article.
- Using remote sensing to detect whale strandings in remote areas: The case of sei whales mass mortality in Chilean Patagonia.Fretwell PT, Jackson JA, Ulloa Encina MJ, Häussermann V, Perez Alvarez MJ, Olavarría C, Gutstein CS.Fretwell PT, et al.PLoS One. 2019 Oct 17;14(10):e0222498. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0222498. eCollection 2019.PLoS One. 2019.PMID:31622348Free PMC article.
- Inter-individual differences in contamination profiles as tracer of social group association in stranded sperm whales.Schnitzler JG, Pinzone M, Autenrieth M, van Neer A, IJsseldijk LL, Barber JL, Deaville R, Jepson P, Brownlow A, Schaffeld T, Thomé JP, Tiedemann R, Das K, Siebert U.Schnitzler JG, et al.Sci Rep. 2018 Jul 19;8(1):10958. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-29186-z.Sci Rep. 2018.PMID:30026609Free PMC article.
- Stranding survey as a framework to investigate rare cetacean records of the north and north-eastern Brazilian coasts.Costa AF, Siciliano S, Emin-Lima R, Martins BML, Sousa MEM, Giarrizzo T, Júnior JSES.Costa AF, et al.Zookeys. 2017 Aug 9;(688):111-134. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.688.12636. eCollection 2017.Zookeys. 2017.PMID:29118593Free PMC article.
- Bacteriological and histopathological findings in cetaceans that stranded in the Philippines from 2017 to 2018.Obusan MCM, Caras JAA, Lumang LSL, Calderon EJS, Villanueva RMD, Salibay CC, Siringan MAT, Rivera WL, Masangkay JS, Aragones LV.Obusan MCM, et al.PLoS One. 2021 Nov 11;16(11):e0243691. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243691. eCollection 2021.PLoS One. 2021.PMID:34762695Free PMC article.
References
- Brabyn M.W, McLean I.G. Oceanography and coastal topography of herd-stranding sites for whales in New Zealand. J. Mamm. 1992;73:469–476.
- Cockcroft V.G, Ross G.J.B. Occurrence of organochlorines in stranded cetaceans and seals from the east coast of southern Africa. Mar. Mamm. Tech. Rep. 1991;3:271–276.
- Cordes D.O. The causes of whale strandings. NZ Vet. J. 1982;30:21–24. - PubMed
- Das S.C. Statistical analysis of Australian pressure data. Aust. J. Phys. 1956;9:394–399.
- Duhamel P, Vetterli M. Fast Fourier transforms: a tutorial review and a state of the art. Signal Process. 1990;19:259–299.
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources