Preliminary results of the Argentine Right Whale Stranding Project, 2003-2005

UHART, M.; ROWNTREE, V.; LA SALA, L.; POZZI, L.; MUSMECI, LUCIANA RAQUEL

2003-05-01/2005-12-31

1-9

Biológica

Sanidad animal-Otros

Each year, more right whales strand on the nursery ground at Peninsula Valdes, Argentina than anywhere else in the world. Here we describe some preliminary findings from the first three years of a stranding project that has been funded National Marine Fisheries Service since 2003. The project was established to collect information that could be used to manage right whale populations, particularly the highly endangered species in the northern hemisphere. Comparisons between populations should allow researchers to identify body conditions and other variables associated with successful and failing populations and thus highlight health issues causing population declines. This report includes a summary of the strandings, descriptions of allometric, blubber thickness and histopathology results to date, and a listing of current and future research that will be undertaken with materials collected from the stranded animals. In 2003 the Argentine Stranding Project developed a health assessment protocol and used it to collect measurements and biomedical samples from 91 right whales (86% calves) that stranded at Península Valdés from 2003 through 2005. We are concerned about the high number of stranded whales in 2005 (47 whales including 7 adults) and are eager to continue our work in 2006. An increasing number of researchers are interested in analyzing materials from these whales. Their names and interests are listed at the end of the report. A CD containing a database of stranding information collected in 2003 and 2004 was sent to the Office of Protected Resources in the spring of 2005. An updated CD including the information for 2005 will be sent to NMFS as soon as all information from this last field season has been appended. The database contains reports and photographs for each stranding, results of histopathology analyses, and morphometric and blubber thickness data.