Blue ( Balaenoptera musculus ) and fin ( B. physalus) whales are prominent species in the California Current Ecosystem (CCE) using the area for migration and foraging. Blue whales migrate between tropical wintering grounds and higher latitude foraging grounds in the CCE, whereas fin whales may remain there year-round. We used Argos tracks of 182 blue (mean duration: 78 days) and 98 fin (mean duration: 35 days) whales tagged fr...

Here we update U.S. West Coast Biologically Important Areas (BIAs) that were published in 2015 using new data and approaches. Additionally, BIAs were delineated for two species that were not delineated in the 2015 BIAs: fin whales and Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW). While harbor porpoise BIAs remained the same, substantial changes were made for other species including identifying both larger overall areas (parent BIAs)...

In this assessment we incorporated published and unpublished information to delineate and score Biologically Important Areas (BIAs) for cetaceans in the Hawaiʻi region following standardized criteria. Twenty-six cetacean species have been documented in Hawaiʻi. Eleven odontocete species have distinct small populations resident to one or more island areas: rough-toothed dolphins, pantropical spotted dolphins, common bottlenose...

This paper presents data from 48 resightings of 16 southern right whales that were satellite‐tagged on the South African coast in September 2001, up to and including 2012. Tag performance in terms of number of days with locations received was significantly higher in males than females, and lowest in cows with calves, and attributed to behavioral differences leading to variable degrees of antenna damage. Resightings occurred fr...

Humpback whales wintering in the Revillagigedo Archipelago, Mexico, have been considered a different subpopulation from those found off mainland Mexico and Baja California. The primary feeding grounds for Revillagigedo humpbacks remain unknown. In February 2003, we deployed 11 Argos satellite‐monitored radio tags to track movements and surfacings of humpback whales (five adults without calves, five mothers with calves, one cal...

A bstract The satellite‐acquired locations of 10 blue whales ( Balaenoptera musculus ) tagged off southern California with Argos radio tags were used to identify (1) their movements during the late summer feeding season; (2) the routes and rate of travel for individuals on their southern fall migration; and (3) a possible winter calving/breeding area. Whales were tracked from 5.1 to 78.1 d and from 393 to 8,668 km. While in th...