ESR Endangered Species Research Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials ESR 10:203-213 (2009) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00229 Movements of satellite-tagged Blainville’s beaked whales off the island of Hawai‘i Gregory S. Schorr1,*, Robin W. Baird1, M. Bradley Hanson2, Daniel L. Webster1, Daniel J. McSweeney3, Russel D. Andrews4,5 1Cascadia Research Collective, 218 1⁄2 W. 4th Avenue, Olympia, Washington 98501, USA 2NOAA, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, 2725 Montlake Blvd E., Seattle, Washington 98112, USA 3Wild Whale Research Foundation, Box 139, Holualoa, Hawai‘i 96725, USA 4School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska 99709, USA 5Alaska SeaLife Center, 301 Railway Ave., Seward, Alaska 99664, USA *Email: gschorr@cascadiaresearch.org ABSTRACT: Studies of movement patterns and habitat use in cetaceans are often constrained by factors such as ship time, logistics, and the ability to follow individuals over time. Obtaining this information on beaked whales is especially difficult, yet the information is critical to their management and conservation, particularly in light of their susceptibility to naval sonar. To better understand the movements of beaked whales around Hawai‘i, Argos-linked satellite tags were remotely applied to the dorsal fins of 8 Blainville’s beaked whales Mesoplodon densirostris in 2006 and 2008, representing the first time that beaked whales have been tracked by satellite. Transmissions from the tags were received for 15 to 71 d (mean = 48 d). All 8 individuals were tagged west of the island of Hawai‘i, and moved out of the small-boat survey area, also making forays into naval training areas. Despite cumulative straight-line distances moved of up to 2383 km, maximum displacement from tagging location for any individual was only 139 km. Individuals utilized slope waters (mean depth = 1156 m) and remained relatively close to the island (mean distance = 16.9 km). No movements to the east side of the island were documented, despite the availability of similar deep-water habitat. Overall movement patterns suggest that the population is island associated and that individuals exhibit strong site fidelity, both of which increase the susceptibility of this small population to local perturbations. KEY WORDS: Beaked whale · Mesoplodon densirostris · Argos · Satellite tracking · Mid-frequency active sonar · Site fidelity Full text in pdf format Supplementary material PreviousNextCite this article as: Schorr GS, Baird RW, Hanson MB, Webster DL, McSweeney DJ, Andrews RD (2009) Movements of satellite-tagged Blainville’s beaked whales off the island of Hawai‘i. Endang Species Res 10:203-213. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00229Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in ESR Vol. 10. Online publication date: November 06, 2009 Print ISSN: 1863-5407; Online ISSN: 1613-4796 Copyright © 2009 Inter-Research.