Kim W. Urian, Susan G. Barco, Karen L. Clark, Alex M. Costidis, Paul Doshkov, Marina Piscitelli-Doshkov, Alexandra L. Epple, Tiffany F. Keenan, William A. McLellan, Wayne E. McFee, D. Ann Pabst, Keith A. Rittmaster, Todd R. Speakman, Victoria G. Thayer, Andrew J. Read
{"title":"Stock Identity of Stranded Tamanend's Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops erebennus) With Evidence of Fisheries Interaction in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, 1996–2019","authors":"Kim W. Urian, Susan G. Barco, Karen L. Clark, Alex M. Costidis, Paul Doshkov, Marina Piscitelli-Doshkov, Alexandra L. Epple, Tiffany F. Keenan, William A. McLellan, Wayne E. McFee, D. Ann Pabst, Keith A. Rittmaster, Todd R. Speakman, Victoria G. Thayer, Andrew J. Read","doi":"10.1111/mms.70147","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.70147","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The complex population structure of Tamanend's bottlenose dolphins (<i>Tursiops erebennus</i>) along the U.S. Mid-Atlantic coast complicates assessment of their bycatch. To improve our understanding of the stock identity of individual dolphins taken as bycatch in this region, we compared images of the dorsal fins of bottlenose dolphins that stranded with evidence of fishery interactions (FI+) to the Mid-Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin Catalog (MABDC). We obtained stranding data from NOAA Fisheries for 715 FI+ bottlenose dolphins from Virginia (VA), North Carolina (NC), and South Carolina (SC) from 1996 to 2019; approximately two thirds of these records included dorsal fin images. For records for which images were available, we applied restrictive criteria for image quality and dorsal fin distinctiveness and compared the remaining 145 distinctive FI+ individuals to the MABDC. We matched 18 dolphins to regional catalogs and assigned stock identity to 13 of the matches; two were from migratory coastal stocks and 11 were from small estuarine stocks in NC and SC. Our analysis demonstrates how the risk of bycatch varies across bottlenose dolphin stocks along the Mid-Atlantic coast, provides an important feedback information loop to stranding responders and researchers studying dolphins in the field, and informs conservation efforts to address bycatch of bottlenose dolphins in this region.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":18725,"journal":{"name":"Marine Mammal Science","volume":"42 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147299922","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frank E. Fish, Sophia P. Sebo, William T. Gough, Paolo S. Segre, Robert Immekus, Jean Potvin, Keith W. Moored, Jeremy A. Goldbogen
{"title":"Delta Wing-Shaped Upper Jaw as a Control Surface to Stabilize Rorqual Whales During Lunge-Feeding","authors":"Frank E. Fish, Sophia P. Sebo, William T. Gough, Paolo S. Segre, Robert Immekus, Jean Potvin, Keith W. Moored, Jeremy A. Goldbogen","doi":"10.1111/mms.70139","DOIUrl":"10.1111/mms.70139","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>During lunge feeding, rorquals depress their lower jaw to fill the buccal pouch, which can produce a downward pitch on the body from a drag force below the center of mass. It is hypothesized that without flippers the raised upper jaw could produce a counteracting lift to trim the body. Upper jaws of the blue whale and humpback whale have triangular shapes that resemble delta wings. Such wings generate lift without stalling at high angles of attack. To test whether the upper jaw is acting like a delta wing, planform shapes of jaws were tested with multiaxis force transducer in a flow tank at angles of attack. These 2-dimensional models performed like delta wings without stalling. A CFD model of an inflated buccal pouch indicated that pouch drag could be modeled as a flat plate. Comparison of flume and CFD data, on the other hand, showed pouch lift as more dependent on its degree of streamlining. Three-dimensional models of whale bodies with the lower jaw angled down at 90<sup>o</sup> and the upper jaw angled at 0<sup>o</sup>, 15<sup>o</sup>, and 30<sup>o</sup> were tested in a flow tank. Without the flippers, increasing the angle of the raised upper jaw acted as a delta wing that produces most of the lift needed to negate downward pitching due to the drag of the depressed lower jaw and inflated buccal pouch.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":18725,"journal":{"name":"Marine Mammal Science","volume":"42 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147299841","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jan Hofman, Sarah Crawford, Ana Fialho, Maria Casero, João Pontes, Ana Silva, Lídia Nicolau, Ana Marçalo
{"title":"Unveiling Patterns in Cetacean Strandings Along Southern Atlantic Iberia: Temporal and Spatial Trends, Seasonality, and Causes of Death","authors":"Jan Hofman, Sarah Crawford, Ana Fialho, Maria Casero, João Pontes, Ana Silva, Lídia Nicolau, Ana Marçalo","doi":"10.1111/mms.70145","DOIUrl":"10.1111/mms.70145","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We compiled 46 years of cetacean strandings in the Algarve, Portugal, describing temporal–spatial patterns, size–sex structure, and causes of death (COD). We analyzed national records and years with a dedicated regional stranding network (SN) to assess annual/seasonal trends, spatial hotspots, and compare biometrics and COD. In total, 1231 strandings were recorded; 73.2% were identified to 19 species. Five species comprised almost 68% of events: common dolphins 39.0%, striped dolphins 8.9%, minke whales 8.0%, bottlenose dolphins 8.0%, and harbor porpoises 4.3%. GAMs confirmed that recorded strandings rose over time and were higher during SN years (mean 63 yr.<sup>−1</sup>). Stranding hotspots occurred near Cape Santa Maria (Faro–Olhão), Lagos–Portimão, and Sagres; minke whales and harbor porpoises concentrated east of Cape Santa Maria. Seasonality was significant only for minke whales (spring peak). Size–sex patterns were largely similar, with exceptions for larger stranded striped dolphin females and minke strandings dominated by juveniles. COD assignment improved with monitoring and was assessed for 75.6% of the observed carcasses. Bycatch was the leading COD for common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, and minke whales. This study highlights the importance of a regional stranding network and a need for more ecological studies of cetaceans in the region.</p>","PeriodicalId":18725,"journal":{"name":"Marine Mammal Science","volume":"42 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/mms.70145","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146217305","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gabrielle F. Macklin, Hilary B. Moors-Murphy, Marty L. Leonard
{"title":"Increasing Efficiency of Detection and Validation of Baleen Whale Call Presence on Large Acoustic Datasets: A Case Study Using Sei Whale Downsweeps Recorded in Atlantic Canada","authors":"Gabrielle F. Macklin, Hilary B. Moors-Murphy, Marty L. Leonard","doi":"10.1111/mms.70136","DOIUrl":"10.1111/mms.70136","url":null,"abstract":"<p>As passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) datasets expand, studies increasingly use automated detectors to analyze baleen whale presence. However, detector errors like false positives (impacting precision, P; proportion of detected calls that are correct), and false negatives (impacting recall, R; proportion of available calls successfully detected) necessitate manual validation. Here, we demonstrate a tiered detection and validation approach to improve efficiency in sei whale (<i>Balaenoptera borealis</i>) call presence analysis that aims to maximize R while removing false positives. Using two detectors on eastern Canadian datasets, we tested multiple parameter settings, selecting one tier that captured only high-quality calls (High-P), one tier that captured most calls present but included more false positives (High-R), and one tier that balanced the P and R values (Mid). To assess daily call presence, validation proceeded sequentially across tiers from High-P to Mid to High-R. For each subsequent tier, detections were only reviewed from days in which sei whale calls had not yet been confirmed. For both detectors, using this tiered approach reduced the overall manual validation effort (number of detections reviewed) when compared to validating the highest recall original outputs alone. This efficient strategy maintains accuracy in PAM studies and could be used for other species.</p>","PeriodicalId":18725,"journal":{"name":"Marine Mammal Science","volume":"42 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/mms.70136","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146217122","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tanya M. Lubansky, Andrew F. Mashintonio, Julianne Taylor, Toby Stephenson, Lindsey S. Jones, Sean Todd
{"title":"Long-Term Opportunistic Sightings Reveal Shifting Optimal Habitat Locations for Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Gulf of Maine","authors":"Tanya M. Lubansky, Andrew F. Mashintonio, Julianne Taylor, Toby Stephenson, Lindsey S. Jones, Sean Todd","doi":"10.1111/mms.70134","DOIUrl":"10.1111/mms.70134","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Models of whale distributions often offer static snapshots that overlook the fluid nature of habitat use. In regions where systematic surveys are infrequent, long-term observations from tourism vessels provide valuable opportunistic data. In the northern Gulf of Maine, humpback whales (<i>Megaptera novaeangliae</i>) have anecdotally been observed shifting from traditional foraging grounds off Maine toward northeastern Canadian waters. Here, we analyzed one-day movements using an opportunistic dataset of photo-identified whales to track changes in optimal habitat over time. Movement data were partitioned into 23 overlapping 5-year windows and fit to models that included both static (bathymetry, distance to shore) and dynamic (tide, chlorophyll<i>-a</i>, temperature) environmental variables. Habitat suitability maps generated from model outputs revealed an eastern shift in distribution of optimal habitat over time. While relationships with static features and tide remained stable, associations with other dynamic features weakened and became more variable in recent years. However, these changing relationships tracked changes in environmental conditions (e.g., increasing temperature), suggesting individuals are not changing their inherent habitat preferences. Our findings highlight the value of long-term opportunistic datasets and the need for adaptive management in marine environments where changing conditions can lead to shifts in locations of optimal habitat for large marine mammals.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":18725,"journal":{"name":"Marine Mammal Science","volume":"42 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146224369","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Holly H. Edwards, Stacie M. Koslovsky, Thomas R. Reinert
{"title":"Measuring Availability Bias in Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) Aerial Surveys Using Controlled Experiments and a Life-Sized Manatee Replica","authors":"Holly H. Edwards, Stacie M. Koslovsky, Thomas R. Reinert","doi":"10.1111/mms.70141","DOIUrl":"10.1111/mms.70141","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18725,"journal":{"name":"Marine Mammal Science","volume":"42 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146224443","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sailing Across a Wounded Sea. By Giuseppe Notarbartolo Sciara, Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature, 2025. 258 pp. US$46.79 (hardcover and eBook). ISBN: 978-3-031-54596-2","authors":"Claudio Campagna","doi":"10.1111/mms.70146","DOIUrl":"10.1111/mms.70146","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18725,"journal":{"name":"Marine Mammal Science","volume":"42 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146217019","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Producing Local Common Bottlenose Dolphin Abundance Estimates to Fill Species Knowledge Gaps in the Eastern Mediterranean Surrounding Türkiye","authors":"Aylin Akkaya, Tim Awbery, Ceyda Ozdemir, Leyla Israpilova, Suzanne Kamsteeg, Atakan Dalkılıç","doi":"10.1111/mms.70140","DOIUrl":"10.1111/mms.70140","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The IUCN Red List status of the Mediterranean subpopulation of common bottlenose dolphins has recently been upgraded to Least Concern. Although large-scale surveys provide crucial information on the population status, local efforts often allow more robust estimation and the ability to monitor population trends. The current study used a standard line transect survey design during 21 surveys conducted between April 2018 and July 2025. The research boat covered 31,717 km with a survey coverage of 32,628 km<sup>2</sup> across a total of 214 days. Overall, 93 encounters of bottlenose dolphins were recorded, 45 of which occurred while the vessel was ‘on-effort’, with a mean group size of four. We found no significant differences in the number of sightings between season and year when accounting for days of survey effort. Encounters were most frequent in the easternmost region of Türkiye. The abundance estimate of bottlenose dolphins after 500 bootstraps in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea of Türkiye was 1642 ± 440 individuals (CV = 0.27, 95% CI [749–2447]), varying considerably from previous basin-wide estimates. The local population estimates produced by this study extend our understanding of the status of bottlenose dolphins in the Eastern Mediterranean and contribute to basin-wide estimates.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":18725,"journal":{"name":"Marine Mammal Science","volume":"42 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146217037","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Joshua D. Stewart, Robert L. Pitman, Pamela Martínez-Loustalot, Nicola Ransome, Taylor R. Azizeh, Hiram Rosales Nanduca, Iliana A. Fonseca-Ponce, Aldo A. Zavala-Jiménez, Jorge Urbán R.
{"title":"Shelf Life: Nearshore Movements, Dive Behavior, and Ecotype Status of Satellite-Tagged Killer Whales in Pacific Mexico","authors":"Joshua D. Stewart, Robert L. Pitman, Pamela Martínez-Loustalot, Nicola Ransome, Taylor R. Azizeh, Hiram Rosales Nanduca, Iliana A. Fonseca-Ponce, Aldo A. Zavala-Jiménez, Jorge Urbán R.","doi":"10.1111/mms.70133","DOIUrl":"10.1111/mms.70133","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Relatively little is known about the ranging patterns, diving behavior, or prey preferences of killer whales (<i>Orcinus orca</i>) in tropical latitudes. However, they are suspected to be prey-generalists rather than the prey-specialists that are typically found in high latitudes. In February 2025, we satellite-tagged three killer whales from a pod of seven in Bahía de Banderas, Mexico. The tags transmitted for 8–41 days. The tagged whales traveled a total of 4002 km along a narrow, 1000 km stretch of coastline. While tagged, they remained within 50 km of shore 92.5% of the time and in water < 500 m deep 69% of the time, but ranged up to 87 km offshore, to water deeper than 1000 m. Dives were slightly deeper during the day (mean dive depth 44 m) than at night (34.5 m), and they dived deeper (max 528 m) in deeper water. The group was observed attacking/consuming marine mammals, including a humpback whale (<i>Megaptera novaeangliae</i>) calf, a dwarf sperm whale (<i>Kogia sima</i>), common bottlenose (<i>Tursiops truncatus</i>) and spinner (<i>Stenella longirostris</i>) dolphins, and attacking/harassing two species of sea turtles. These data provide the first high-resolution records of movements and dive behavior of killer whales in the Eastern Tropical Pacific and support the existence of a unique ecotype in the region.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":18725,"journal":{"name":"Marine Mammal Science","volume":"42 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146216832","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rachel L. Lennon, Shannon Merkle, Jonas Teilmann, Lorenzo Scala, Chris Pierpoint, Victoria Hobson
{"title":"Seasonal and Diurnal Patterns of Harbor Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) Behavior and the Disruptive Effects of Vessel Presence in a High-Traffic Coastal Habitat","authors":"Rachel L. Lennon, Shannon Merkle, Jonas Teilmann, Lorenzo Scala, Chris Pierpoint, Victoria Hobson","doi":"10.1111/mms.70123","DOIUrl":"10.1111/mms.70123","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Chronic anthropogenic activity is an ongoing threat to the marine environment and presents unique challenges in shallow, coastal habitats where harbor porpoises reside. Harbor porpoises have high metabolic needs and are highly susceptible to negative environmental factors; however, no long-term studies have been conducted on wild populations to quantify the negative impacts of vessel presence on their behavior. To evaluate this impact on harbor porpoises in the Little Belt, Denmark, data from a static hydrophone array were used to distinguish porpoise click train events and quantify buzzes (vocalizations with an inter-click interval < 10 ms), used as an indication of foraging and social behavior, and Automated Identification System data were collected to identify vessels within a 3000 m radius of the study site. Using generalized additive models, we showed that harbor porpoises were most active during the night in summer months but most often overlapped with vessels during the day in the summer. Generalized linear models showed that harbor porpoise buzz rate was significantly reduced in the presence of vessels, particularly during daylight hours in the summer when vessel traffic peaked. These results suggest that porpoise foraging and socializing are negatively affected by vessel presence. Furthermore, high porpoise density, which is likely driven by prey availability as found in other studies, may prevent animals from moving to less trafficked areas. Mitigation measures to reduce impacts should be considered to help reduce the ongoing decline in the studied population.</p>","PeriodicalId":18725,"journal":{"name":"Marine Mammal Science","volume":"42 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/mms.70123","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146216777","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}