[MARMAM] Right whale - Uruguay

[Ecovoluntarios]

Dear Colleagues,

This is to announce a new paper in the book Libro de la Costa 
(R MENAFRA, L RODRÍGUEZ-GALLEGO, F SCARABINO & D CONDE (eds) 2006
Bases para la conservación y el manejo de la costa uruguaya
VIDA SILVESTRE (Sociedad Uruguaya para la Conservación de la Naturaleza)   

Ballena franca Eubalaena australis en la costa atlántica
uruguaya
MARIANA PIEDRA, PAULA COSTA & PAULA FRANCO-FRAGUAS
francaaustral at fcien.edu.uy

ABSTRACT
The right whale (Eubalaena australis) was on the verge
of extinction, between the XVIII and XIX centuries,
due to the whaling industry. Research done in
Argentina and Brazil suggest that this species is
recovering in the Southwest Atlantic. During summer,
it is found in feeding grounds in high latitudes, and
in winter it migrates to medium (40ºS) and low
latitudes (20ºS) for mating and calving. Each animal
presents a callosity pattern on its head, allowing for
individual identification. The first systematic study
to evaluate the presence of right whales along the
Uruguayan coast was performed during 2001-2003.
Aerial monthly surveys were done from July to
November, covering 220 km of coastline. Simultaneous
observations were also done twice a month from nine
fixed points located along the coast. The period with
higher whale concentrations were August and October.
Great variability was observed in whale distribution
within and between survey seasons, suggesting that
there is no preference for a certain area of the coast. It
is necessary to continue with the research in order to
evaluate if the Uruguayan coast could be an ancestral
reproductive site under a recovery process. The
obtained information is relevant for establishing
conservation issues in Uruguay and the region.


If you are interested in, you can
download freely at this address:
http://www.karumbe.org/publicaciones/piedra06.pdf

Regards

Alejandro Fallabrino
Karumbé 
Centro de Investigación & Conservación Marina
Av. Giannattasio 30.5 km.
El Pinar, Canelones, Uruguay
099917811
+ 598 99917811
afalla7 at gmail.com
www.karumbe.org 
http://tortugasaso.blogspot.com/
Messenger: afalla71 at msn.com
Skype: afalla1


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