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Abstract
The South Pacific Whale Research Consortium met for its fifth annual
meeting in Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia, with support from
the Australian Ministry of Environment and Heritage and Southern Cross
University. Research groups active in French Polynesia, the Cook Islands,
Tonga, Fiji, Samoa, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, New Zealand, Norfolk Island
and eastern Australia were represented and presented updates on work
on humpback whales and other cetacean species. Regional catalogues
of humpback whale fluke photographs (representing more than 1,200
individuals from Oceania alone) were compared to describe regional
return and interchange. A limited degree of migratory interchange
has been established between adjacent wintering grounds of Oceania
(the presumed wintering grounds of IWC management Area V and Area
VI humpbacks) but not between regions separated by intervening regions
(e.g, limited interchange between Tonga and Cook Islands but not between
Tonga and French Polynesia). Non-systematic vessel surveys and unpublished
capture-recapture estimates based on photo-identification indicate
that the density of whales remains low throughout the wintering grounds
of Oceania. Systematic shore-based surveys of Fiji show very low density
in an area of former abundance. Analysis of mitochondrial (mt) DNA
diversity based on nearly 1,000 genetic samples shows significant
differentiation among surveyed wintering grounds of New Caledonia,
Tonga, Cook Islands and French Polynesia, as well as for Western Australia
(Group IV) and the Pacific coast of Colombia (Group I). Consortium
members initiated a checklist of 24 cetacean species documented by
members in one or more island groups in the region by sightings, photographs
or genetic samples.
Attendees:
Megan Anderson, Olive Andrews, Scott Baker, Denise Boyd, Dan Burns,
Daniele Cagnazzi, Rochelle Constantine, Mike Donoghue, Trish Franklin,
Wally Franklin, Christine Fury, Nick Gales, Claire Garrigue, Peter
Harrison, Nan Hauser, Eric Kniest, Greg Luker, Mick McIntyre, Mike
Noad, Adrian Oosterman, Marc Oremus, Dave Paton, Stephen Powell, Kirsty
Russell, Josh Smith, Debbie Steel, Simon Walsh, Merv Whicker.
Apologies:
Doug Cato, Phil Clapham, Robyn McCulloch, Carlos Olavarria, Michael
Poole, Simon Childerhouse & Nadine Gibbs
INTRODUCTION
The Fifth Annual
Meeting of the South Pacific Whale Research Consortium was held at
the Byron Bay Beach Resort, NSW, 2-6 April 2004. Opening the meeting,
Baker welcomed participants and thanked the Department of Environment
and Heritage for providing funding to allow the meeting to be held
in Australia, Southern Cross University for hosting the meeting and
Paton for making the necessary arrangements to hold the meeting in
such conducive surroundings.
Baker noted that
the primary purpose of the annual meeting of the SPWRC was to update
progress on research into humpback whales and other cetaceans in the
South Pacific, particularly effort, sample collection, genetics, and
acoustics.
REGIONAL UPDATES
Cook
Islands – (reported by Hauser)
The Cook Islands
consist of 15 islands covering 93 square miles of land located in
two million square kilometres of ocean. This was the sixth season
of humpback whale research in the Cook Islands. In six years of research,
no resights have been made within the CI catalogue even though matches
have been made to French Polynesia, Niue and Tonga. The 2003 season
was conducted between July and October. A total of 571 hours was spent
in the field resulting in a total of 221 whale sightings, including
a total of 23 mother-calf pairs. This was considerably more than previous
years. Long periods of song were recorded, for a total of 4.5 hours.
Sixty-eight samples of sloughed skin and three sperm samples were
collected. Sperm whales were observed on 4 occasions, dolphins and
beaked whales were seen sporadically.
Upcoming Projects:
Two projects are planned in 2004 for the humpback and beaked whales
in Rarotonga. A collaborative effort with National Geographic will
attempt to attach a critter-cam to a humpback whale using a suction-cup
attachment. An ultrasound 116 recorder system with a 500 kHz acoustic
tag will be deployed on beaked whales in the Bahamas and later used
in the Cook Islands. This project is funded by the US Navy and is
in collaboration with Mark McDonald (Scripps) and John Hildebrand
(Scripps). Richard Sears (Mingan Island Cetacean Study) and Nick Gales
(Australian Antarctic Division) will work with Nan Hauser to attach
three satellite tags to humpback whales in the Cook Islands.
The regulations
regarding the protection of whales in Cook Island waters have been
submitted to government to be passed as law. There are currently no
issues associated with whale-watching as whales are readily observed
from shore. The Whale Education Centre is operating and very popular
with children on the island. The Whale Research Center website has
been updated and has links to Consortium research data.
Tonga
– (reported by Russell)
Research in Tonga
has been conducted since 1991, with the past five years seeing a greater
field effort, primarily between mid-August to mid-September. The 2004
season involved field work in both Vava’u and Eu’a (east
of Tongatapu).
Vava’u:
Data were collected in the Vava’u chain of islands between 27
Aug – 22 September, using a chartered 12- metre sailing yacht,
with a total of 217 hours spent on the water. During that time, 73
hours were spent with whales, resulting in 81 encounters with a cumulative
total of 195 whales. Seventy-five whales were individually photo-identified
from photographs of their flukes and 10 were resighted from previous
years, resulting in a contribution of 65 new individuals to the Vava’u
catalogue that now has a total of 484 individual whales.
Skin samples were
collected, primarily using a Paxarms biopsy system but sloughed skin
was also collected where possible and a total of 91 skin samples were
collected. A total of 1.41 hours of acoustic recordings were collected
Eu’a: A
second season of data was collected between 20-24 September using
a commercial whale-watch vessel as the research platform. The total
catalogue size from Eu’a is 39 whales. Amongst the 65 new whales
from Vava’u, 10 whales matched to previous seasons’ photographs.
Two whales were matched to more than one year. One within-season match
was made between Eu’a and Vava’u (almost 400km apart).
Samoa
– (reported by Paton and Walsh)
The 2003 survey
followed the preliminary research undertaken in 2001, when surveys
were conducted in areas to the northwest of Savai’i, and to
the south-east of Upolu. Data were collected between 4-10 August and
15-27 September 2003, using a variety of research vessels. A total
of 62 hours were spent surveying for whales and 7 hrs 18 mins were
spent interacting with cetaceans. Five humpback whales were encountered
(compared to 2001 when there were three encounters with humpback whales)
and five other species of cetacean (bottlenose, rough-toothed and
long-beaked spinner dolphins, short-finned pilot whales and an unidentified
species of beaked whale) were also sighted.
The hydrophone
was deployed on 18 separate occasions and humpback whales were heard
during six deployments with up to three animals heard at a time. Acoustic
recordings of rough-toothed dolphins were also collected. Skin samples
were collected using the Paxarms biopsy system and three spinner dolphins,
five rough-toothed dolphins, one bottlenose dolphin and three short-finned
pilot whales were sampled.
During the field
season further meetings were held with government officials to discuss
the research objectives and legislation currently under development.
New
Caledonia – (reported by Garrigue)
The 2003 research
season in New Caledonia was conducted between 20 July and 12 September.
Boat-based research was conducted on 42 days during the research period
resulting in a total of 327 hrs of observations. During this time,
83 pods of whales were sighted with a cumulative total of 116 individuals.
Forty-seven individuals were photo-identified from fluke photographs,
23 of these individuals had been photographed on previous seasons
and 24 were new to the New Caledonia catalogue. The total catalogue
size for New Caledonia stands at 284 individuals. The pods encountered
included 22 single whales, 10 singers, 13 mother-calf pairs and 10
pods where reproductive behaviour was observed. Land-based research
from an elevated lookout point was conducted on 42 days resulting
in a total of 228 hours in the field. A total of 60 pods of whales
were sighted with a cumulative total of 93 individuals.
Skin samples were
primarily collected using a biopsy crossbow system although sloughed
skin was also collected. A total of 98 humpback whales, two spinner
dolphins, one bottlenose dolphin, one minke whale and two dugongs
were biopsied. These samples will be analysed at the University of
Auckland. Acoustic recordings were made during 186 deployments of
the hydrophone. Song was heard on 108 deployments and eleven long
song recordings were collected. These data will be analysed by Noad.
In August 2003, New Caledonian EEZ waters were declared a whale sanctuary.
The government does not have legislative jurisdiction in the waters
of the three provinces so the sanctuary does not apply in coastal
waters and up to 12 NM from the edge of the coral reef. Currently
the three provinces have different legislation to protect marine mammals
in their waters with Province Nord having full protection since 2001;
Province des Iles currently has no legislation and Province Sud establishing
legislation in 2004.
Vanuatu
– (reported by Garrigue & Russell)
The first systematic
surveys of marine mammals in Vanuatu waters were conducted in the
austral winter 2003. Historically, whaling ships were present between
1800 -1830 and a whaling station was operational in Aneityum in the
1840’s. Discovery tags were deployed in this area in the 1950’s
(reported by Dawbin). Anecdotal information on the distribution and
presence of marine mammals was collected from discussions with local
people. Six species of cetaceans were identified either during the
survey or from opportunistic records of sightings and literature searches
(sperm whales, humpback whales, spinner dolphins, short-finned pilot
whales and pan-tropical spotted dolphins).
For the 2003 season,
visual and acoustic surveys were conducted from a sailing vessel at
the southern islands of Tanna and Aneityum from 14 – 28 August
2003. There were 11 encounters with humpback whales during the survey,
one mother-calf pair in Aneituym, one solitary whale near Tanna, five
singers were heard close to Tanna and four pods of two whales near
Tanna. Six fluke identification photographs were taken and compared
to the existing Oceania catalogues. One matched to New Caledonia (sighted
on three previous years in New Caledonia) and two matched to Tonga
(Table 1).
Three skin samples
were collected from humpback whales, two from sloughed skin and one
from a biopsy sample collected using the Paxarms biopsy rifle. In
addition three samples of bone from currently unidentified large cetaceans
and one sample of dugong bone were collected. The hydrophone was deployed
on 30 occasions and song was heard during 15 deployments. Four song
sessions of 45 mins or more were recorded and eight recordings of
five minutes duration were made. Song was mainly heard around Tanna,
the area where the majority of whales were sighted.
Legislation was
drafted in Vanuatu last year to protect marine mammals.
French
Polynesia – (reported by Poole & Oremus)
At Moorea, the
first humpback whale sighting was recorded on 19 July, and the last
whale was recorded on 2 November 2003. Although surveys were continued
until 01 December, the researchers had no further sightings of humpback
whales.
Boat surveys were
conducted on dedicated vessels and on platforms of opportunity (whale
watching vessels). On some days at Moorea, both a dedicated vessel
and a platform of opportunity were used, and both vessels may have
seen the same whales. But in general the two boats operated in different
parts of the island. In addition to his dolphin and whale surveys
at Moorea, Oremus also conducted boat surveys at several other islands
during the season. These islands included Tahiti, Mataiva, Tikehau,
Rangiroa, Bora Bora, Maupiti, Tahaa and Raiatea. Effort varied at
each island. No whales were observed other than at Tahiti and Moorea.
Boat surveys were
conducted on 78 days from 19 July through 01 December. Whales were
observed on 60 (77%) of the 78 survey days. A total of 230 whales
were observed, of which 27 (12%) were calves. A total of 53 new whales
were photo-identified at Moorea, and an additional 16 new whales at
Rurutu, for a total of 69 new whales. Four whales, two at Moorea and
two at Rurutu had been sighted in previous years. The French Polynesia
catalogue contains 319 individual whales (of which approximately 20
are represented by low quality photos) with very few being sighted
within season and between years. It is suggested that this is due
to either a large population size or dispersal among the many islands
in French Polynesian waters, and that the whales may travel more within
and between seasons, and are more dispersed within a season, than
they are in other areas with fewer islands.
A total of 62
skin samples of humpback whales were obtained during the 2003 season;
two-thirds were collected using the Paxarms biopsy system and one-third
were sloughed skin
The 2003 research
showed very few mother-calf pairs in Rurutu. In past years, Rurutu
has been known for its high percentage of calves, and for long residency
of females with calves. It has been proposed that Rurutu may be a
nursery ground for humpbacks; that is, that females give birth at
or near Rurutu, and then spend long periods of time there as their
calves are nursed. Local television showed footage of humpback whales
at the Marquesas, 1400 kms north of Moorea, which is the first photographic
proof of their presence in that archipelago. A copy of the footage
and associated data has been requested. This is the first photographic
proof of their presence in the Marquesas and Poole believes that only
a very few whales visit this archipelago.
Fiji
– (reported by Paton & Gibbs)
The second year
of research in Fiji was conducted in Lomaiviti Island group, following
the preliminary survey completed in 2002. Historically, Fiji once
had an abundance of humpback whales, as reported by Dawbin who collected
data throughout the South Pacific in the 1950’s and 1960’s.
A greater knowledge of the Fijian humpback whale population has come
through recent access to Dawbin’s data collected during his
Discovery Tag work in Fiji from 1956-58 and coordinated land-based
surveys primarily from the Lomavaiti group (by Paton et al.). Dawbin’s
research was primarily land-based with Levuka being the main town
from where surveys were conducted. The work was non-systematic so
the data are not robust, but his records report the highest sighting
rate of whales in Lomavaiti group. Dawbin’s surveys were conducted
between May and October, with peak sightings in July and August. He
reported maximum weekly counts of 238 humpback whales and a total
of 1648 whales were sighted during his three-year survey period.
The 2003 survey
comprised 257 hrs of primarily land-based observations conducted between
late August and early September. The main focus was to replicate Dawbin’s
surveys as closely as possible, so as to be able to compare data.
Unfortunately the survey location Dawbin utilised at Levuka was overgrown
with trees so another location was picked with similar viewpoint and
height. There was only one confirmed humpback whale sighting during
the 2003 survey period but there were other unconfirmed whale sightings.
Other species observed include sperm whales, short-finned pilot whales,
spinner dolphins, and pan-tropical spotted dolphin (a new record for
this species in Fiji, confirmed by genetic analysis).
Time was also
spent talking to local groups about the work, notably at the Fiji
marine biodiversity workshop held in December 2003, which was hosted
by WWF and was well attended by 100+ representatives from throughout
Fiji. Paton attended the workshop and received many reports about
sightings of whales with several reports of marine mammals received
from dive operators in the area. Some interest was expressed in marine
mammal based tourism.
Members discussed
whether the Fijian population of humpback whales could essentially
be considered extinct because recovery appears to be very slow. It
was suggested that the New Zealand population may have gone to Fiji
as well as New Caledonia because the recovery has been so slow in
both Fiji and New Zealand. Of the 200+ Discovery tags deployed by
Dawbin in Fiji, six were recovered, two from Soviet whalers in Antarctica,
two from East Australia, one from New Zealand and one location was
of uncertain accuracy (see Discovery Tag Data).
Norfolk
Island – (reported by Oosterman & Whicker)
The whaling station
on Norfolk Island began operations in 1949, and finished in 1962 when
whaling collapsed with a catch of only four whales. Whaling was conducted
primarily June – October with the peak in catches in October.
Approximately
sixty hours of land-based observations were conducted over six days
between 13-19 July 2003. Surveys were conducted from a variety of
locations around Norfolk Island and comprised the first survey in
this area. Humpback whales were sighted on two occasions, both sightings
comprised a mother-calf pair and may have been the same individuals
although this can not be confirmed as no identification photographs
were taken. One group of bottlenose dolphins was also observed. Information
on anecdotal sighting of cetaceans was obtained from community representatives
including marine commercial operators and the National Parks & Wildlife Service. Sightings reported include a number of records of
humpback, sperm and sei whales between April and September 2003.
New
Zealand – (reported by Constantine)
The New Zealand
catalogue comprises 13 individual fluke photographs collected since1994.
Two new whales were added to the catalogue, one from 2002 and one
from 2003. Skin samples were taken from a whale off Taranaki using
a Paxarms biopsy system and a sample was taken from a dead whale near
Kaikoura. The total number of samples from humpback whales in New
Zealand waters is now three and these have been analysed at the University
of Auckland.
In 2003 a humpback
whale was entangled in a crayfish pot line off Kaikoura and whilst
attempting to release the whale, a local fisherman was killed when
the whale tail-slapped on him. Consequently, there has been discussion
about the issue of entanglement of whales in cray-pot lines off Kaikoura
and safety issues associated with disentangling whales. The New Zealand
Department of Conservation is now consulting with experts to develop
a safer disentanglement system. In January 2004, a humpback whale
was found dead on the coast near Kaikoura. This whale had a large,
fresh wound across its back consistent with entanglement in rope or
line but whether the cause of death was related to this injury was
not ascertained.
Baker commented
that the SPWRC would like to voice their concern over the number of
entanglements reported for humpback whales off the Kaikoura coastline.
DATA ANALYSIS
UPDATES
Matching
of photo-identification catalogues
The fluke catalogues
compiled by members in the various island groups of the South Pacific
now included images of more than 1,200 individual humpback whales
from 9 regions. Comparisons of the 2003 season catalogue resulted
in several new matches, including connection between Vanuatu, New
Caledonia and Tonga (see Table 1).
Population differentiation
by mtDNA – (reported by Hauser with apologies from Olavarria)
In the ongoing assessment of Southern Hemisphere humpback whales (Megaptera
novaeangliae), the IWC Scientific Committee has divided the South
Pacific population into three main stocks (E, F and G) based on the
distribution of breeding grounds. Recent analyses of photo-identification
data by the Consoritum have shown a limited degree of demographic
interchange between adjacent breeding grounds of the western stocks
and important segregation from the G stock (Colombia, Eastern Pacific).
An analysis of population differntiation uing mitochondrial DNA sequences
(n = 946, 447 bp) now shows significant differences among five regional
breeding grounds in the South Pacific: New Caledonia (Eii1 sub-stock),
Tonga (Eii2 sub-stock), Cook Islands (F stock), French Polynesia (F
stock) and the Pacific coast of Colombia (G stock). An analysis of
molecular variance (AMOVA, FST and FST) showed significant differentiation
at both the haplotype and nucleotide level between all the breeding
grounds considered in this study, with the exception of Tonga and
the Cook Islands at the nucleotide level (FST). This confirms the
current stock hypotheses, but also suggests that the F stock should
be partitioned into two separated stocks, Fi - Cook Islands and Fii
- French Polynesia. These analyses also indicate that New Caledonia
and Tonga should be considered as two distinct stocks (Eii1 and Eii2),
although recent photo-identification comparison show some interchange
between these two regions. The genetic distinctiveness of French Polynesia
is of particular interest given the absence of historical information
on the breeding ground and probable impact of Soviet illegal whaling
in the presumed feeding ground on Antarctic Area VI.
Discovery
Tag Data for Southern Hemisphere – (reported by Paton)
Paton, working
in collaboration with Clapham, has begun examining the logbooks completed
by Dawbin during his Discovery tag research. This has shown locations
for the placement of over 1200 Discovery tags. Additional Discovery
tag data has been obtained from the IWC with over 30,000 records (including
Dawbin’s 1200) are contained in the IWC database for the Southern
Hemisphere. This data was compiled as part of the International Marking
Scheme and is the largest Discovery tagging program in the Southern
Hemisphere (another scheme was run independently by the Soviet Union).
Paton is currently compiling Soviet records relating to Discovery
tagging in the Southern Hemisphere (including both the Soviet-run
Discovery tagging program and returns of tags from the International
Marking Scheme). These data will be reviewed to assess the validity
of this data and the value of including it in the analysis. The IWC
database will be cross-checked with Soviet data to update the IWC
records where appropriate.
A total of 33,385
cetaceans were tagged in the Southern Hemisphere between 1932 and
1984 under the International Marking Scheme. A total of 5164 tag attempts
were made on humpback whales, including tags that were fired and missed.
185 (3.6%) of tags were recovered from humpback whales in the Southern
Hemisphere (excluding Soviet data). The low return rate may indicate
under-reporting of tag returns, tag loss, tagging-related mortality
or large population size. Tagging of humpback whales continued after
the moratorium on hunting this species was in place, so recovery of
these tags is not likely.
The locations
of tags deployed in the South Pacific (excluding the Southern Ocean)
are as follows: Australia 1172, New Caledonia 44, Vanuatu 24, Norfolk
Island 135, Fiji 229, Tonga 106, Niue 1, French Polynesia 2, New Zealand
732
Paton aims to
map the historical distribution of humpback whales throughout the
area, and is analysing tag recoveries for a better assessment of Southern
Hemisphere humpback stock structure and an indication of the timing
of tagging for whales in this area. Although he may not use all the
Soviet data (some of which is of dubious quality), Paton will attempt
to recover data from the IMS tags to get a more complete dataset.
Microsatellite
genotyping and standardisation – (reported by Steel, Anderson
and Garrigue)
More than 1,000
skin samples (primarily biopsy samples) of humpback whales are available
for microstallite genotyping from the primary regions of Oceania and
another 1,000 (primarily sloughed skin) are available from coast of
east Australia. In anticipation of a collaborative comparison of these
genotypes, funding was provided by the Department of the Environment
and Heritage (Australia) in 2003 to undertake preliminary standardisation
of genotyping between the University of Auckland and Southern Cross
University genetic groups. The project was undertaken in 2003 and
involved:
20 humpback whale tissue samples (10 from the UoA collection and 10
from the SCU collection) and 7 standard humpback whale samples were
each genotyped at 17 loci , EV14*, EV21*, EV37*, EV94*, EV96, EV104*,
GATA417*, EV1, 464/465, TAA31, GATA28, GATA53, GT211, GT23, GT575,
GT509, GT310 (an asterisk marks loci amplified twice, once using the
original published primer sets and a second time using a redesigned
primer set), at both laboratories (UoA & SCU);
Differences between genotyping systems and primer sets were determined;
A double blind test was undertaken using 20 previously unidentified
humpback whale samples (10 from UoA and 10 from SCU). These samples
were exchanged between the two laboratories and genotyped at the 17
loci stated above;
Raw data from the blind tests were converted by each laboratory group
to account for system differences and primer differences, using the
known differences that were determined in the first stage of the project;
Accuracy of the converted data was assessed for the 6 loci that had
both an original and a redesigned primer set;
100% accuracy was achieved at 3 of the 6 loci (EV14, EV94 and GATA417);
The preliminary
results indicate that standardisation between laboratories is possible
despite differences in genotyping platforms (ABI377 slab gel and ABI310,
3100 or 3700 capillary systems), tissue quality and DNA extraction
methods and differences in size range due to primer design. However,
such a comparison requires close coordination and exchange of samples
for development of allelic ladders as well as absolute sizing.
Species
identification and diversity of cetaceans in regions of the South
Pacific
Donoghue reported
on the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) Workshop
on the Convention on Migratory Species and Marine Mammal Conservation
in the South Pacific, held in March 2004, which was also attended
by Hauser, Poole and Powell. Participants at the workshop had requested
the Consortium to develop a checklist of cetacean species recently
reported from the region, with levels of evidence for their identification
and distribution. Members of the Consortium produced a table listing
cetacean species that members have reported and three categories of
data (photographic, acoustic and genetic) for which information is
held. This is summarised in Table 2.
CLOSING REMARKS
Baker thanked
participants for their efforts and the organizers and sponsors of
the meeting. He noted that from fairly simple beginnings, the Consortium
was steadily expanding in its scope. The collaboration with Southern
Cross University is proving to be particularly successful, thanks
to the commitment brought by the staff and students connected with
the Consortium.
Baker
also raised the idea of convening a conference on humpback and other
whales in the region, to continue the tradition of such meetings (e.g.
Humpback 2000) that had been organised by the late Dr Robert Patterson.
This suggestion was broadly welcomed and Baker and Paton undertook
to explore the proposal further.
 Table
1: Results of comparisons of
photo-identification catalogues among areas, with sample sizes of
identified individuals used (n) and years of effort. “New”
means new matches from 2003 photo i.d. data. “Total” means
total matches for all years. Photos taken in 2000 and 2001 were not
compared to collections from Colombia or Ecuador; however, a previous
partial comparison of Oceania flukes to these collections revealed
no matches.
Table
2:
Checklist of marine mammal species identified by sighting reports,
photographs or genetic samples from regions of the South Pacific,
by members of the South Pacific Whales Research Consortium.
ADDRESS
Nan
Hauser, The Secretariat
South Pacific Whale Research Consortium
P.O. Box 3069, Avarua, Rarotonga, Cook Islands
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