Immigration as the main driver of population dynamics in a cryptic cetacean.

Empirical evidence about the role and interaction of immigration with local demographic processes in shaping population dynamics is still scarce. This knowledge gap limits our capability to derive a conceptual framework that can be used to inform conservation actions. Populations exposed to nonstationary environment do not converge to a stable stage distribution, implying the need for evaluating the demographic role of both vital rates and stage distribution using appropriate tools.

Floating macro-litter pollution in the northern South China Sea.

Marine litter pollution, particularly plastics pollution, is an increasing global concern. While various studies have contributed useful information on this topic, there has been a scarcity of data on floating marine macro-litter (FMML) in poorly monitored areas such as the South China Sea (SCS). This paper describes a large-scale FMML assessment research in the northern SCS.

TOSSIT: A low-cost, hand deployable, rope-less and acoustically silent mooring for underwater passive acoustic monitoring.

Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) has been used to study the ocean for decades across several fields to answer biological, geological and meteorological questions such as marine mammal presence, measures of anthropogenic noise in the ocean, and monitoring and prediction of underwater earthquakes and tsunamis. While in previous decades the high cost of acoustic instruments limited its use, miniaturization and microprocessor advances dramatically reduced the cost for passive acoustic monitoring instruments making PAM available for a broad scientific community. Such low-cost devices are often deployed by divers or on mooring lines with a surface buoy, which limit their use to diving depth and coastal regions.

Natural dimethyl sulfide gradients would lead marine predators to higher prey biomass.

Finding prey is essential to survival, with marine predators hypothesised to track chemicals such as dimethyl sulfide (DMS) while foraging. Many predators are attracted to artificially released DMS, and laboratory experiments have shown that zooplankton grazing on phytoplankton accelerates DMS release. However, whether natural DMS concentrations are useful for predators and correlated to areas of high prey biomass remains a fundamental knowledge gap.

First live sighting of Deraniyagala's beaked whale (Mesoplodon hotaula) or ginkgo-toothed beaked whale (Mesoplodon ginkgodens) in the western Pacific (South China Sea) with preliminary data on coloration, natural markings, and surfacing patterns.

Beaked whales represent around 25% of known extant cetacean species, yet they are the least known of all marine mammals. Identification of many Mesoplodon species has relied on examination of a few stranded individuals. Particularly, the ginkgo-toothed beaked whale (Mesoplodon ginkgodens) and Deraniyagala's beaked whale (Mesoplodon hotaula) are among the least-known of beaked whale species, without confirmed sightings of living individuals to date.

A pioneering survey of deep-diving and off-shore cetaceans in the northern South China Sea.

A pioneering boat-based survey was conducted in 2019, to gather baseline information regarding the presence, composition, relative abundance, and spatial distribution of deep-diving and off-shore cetaceans in the northern South China Sea (SCS). A total of 27 sightings comprising at least 8 cetacean species were recorded during the 13-day survey, including 5 deep-diving species (i.e.

Diel differences in blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) dive behavior increase nighttime risk of ship strikes in northern Chilean Patagonia.

The northern Chilean Patagonia region is a key feeding ground and a nursing habitat in the southern hemisphere for blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus). From 2014 to 2019, during 6 separate research cruises, the dive behavior of 28 individual blue whales was investigated using bio-logging tags (DTAGs), generating ≈190 h of data. Whales dove to significantly greater depths during the day compared to nighttime (day: 32.

Acoustic recordings of rough-toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis) offshore Eastern Sicily (Mediterranean Sea).

Rough-toothed dolphin's abundance and distribution is largely unknown worldwide and evaluation of its conservation status in the Mediterranean Sea is necessary. A rough-toothed dolphin was sighted offshore Eastern Sicily (Mediterranean Sea) in July 2017 and acoustic data were acquired in the same area of Watkins, Tyack, Moore, and Notarbartolo di Sciara [(1987). Mar.

Characterizing Chilean blue whale vocalizations with DTAGs: a test of using tag accelerometers for caller identification.

Vocal behavior of blue whales () in the Gulf of Corcovado, Chile, was analysed using both audio and accelerometer data from digital acoustic recording tags (DTAGs). Over the course of three austral summers (2014, 2015 and 2016), seventeen tags were deployed, yielding 124 h of data. We report the occurrence of Southeast Pacific type 2 (SEP2) calls, which exhibit peak frequencies, durations and timing consistent with previous recordings made using towed and moored hydrophones.

Recreational boating traffic: a chronic source of anthropogenic noise in the Wilmington, North Carolina Intracoastal Waterway.

The majority of attention on the impact of anthropogenic noise on marine mammals has focused on low-frequency episodic activities. Persistent sources of mid-frequency noise pollution are less well studied. To address this data gap, the contribution of 25 physical, biological and anthropogenic factors to the ambient noise levels in the Wilmington, North Carolina Intracoastal Waterway were analyzed using a principal components analysis and least squares regression.