Guzman Hector M, Estévez Rocío M, Kaiser Stefanie
Naos Marine Laboratory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City P.O. Box 0843-03092, Panama.
Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Animals (Basel). 2024 Sep 18;14(18):2707. doi: 10.3390/ani14182707.
The Galapagos Marine Reserve is vital for cetaceans, serving as both a stopover and residency site. However, blue whales, occasionally sighted here, exhibit poorly understood migratory behavior within the Galapagos and the broader Eastern Tropical Pacific. This study, the first to satellite tag blue whales in the Galapagos (16 tagged between 2021 and 2023), explored their behavior in relation to environmental variables like chlorophyll-a concentration, sea surface temperature (SST), and productivity. Key findings show a strong correlation between foraging behavior, high chlorophyll-a levels, productivity, and lower SSTs, indicating a preference for food-rich areas. Additionally, there is a notable association with geomorphic features like ridges, which potentially enhance food abundance. Most tagged whales stayed near the Galapagos archipelago, with higher concentrations observed around Isabela Island, which is increasingly frequented by tourist vessels, posing heightened ship strike risks. Some whales ventured into Ecuador's exclusive economic zone, while one migrated southward to Peru. The strong 2023 El Niño-Southern Oscillation event led to SST and primary production changes, likely impacting whale resource availability. Our study provides crucial insights into blue whale habitat utilization, informing adaptive management strategies to mitigate ship strike risks and address altered migration routes due to climate-driven environmental shifts.
加拉帕戈斯海洋保护区对鲸类动物至关重要，既是中途停留地，也是栖息地。然而，偶尔在此被目击的蓝鲸，在加拉帕戈斯群岛及更广阔的东热带太平洋区域内展现出鲜为人知的洄游行为。本研究首次在加拉帕戈斯群岛对蓝鲸进行卫星追踪标记（2021年至2023年间标记了16头），探究了它们与叶绿素a浓度、海表面温度（SST）和生产力等环境变量相关的行为。主要研究结果表明，觅食行为与高叶绿素a水平、生产力以及较低的海表面温度之间存在强烈关联，这表明蓝鲸偏好食物丰富的区域。此外，它们与海脊等地貌特征存在显著关联，这些地貌特征可能会增加食物丰度。大多数被标记的鲸鱼停留在加拉帕戈斯群岛附近，在伊莎贝拉岛周围观察到的鲸鱼数量更多，而该岛正越来越多地受到旅游船只的光顾，这增加了船只撞击的风险。一些鲸鱼冒险进入厄瓜多尔的专属经济区，还有一头向南迁徙至秘鲁。2023年强烈厄尔尼诺 - 南方涛动事件导致海表面温度和初级生产力发生变化，可能影响鲸鱼的资源可利用性。我们的研究为蓝鲸栖息地利用提供了关键见解，为制定适应性管理策略提供依据，以降低船只撞击风险，并应对因气候驱动的环境变化而改变的洄游路线问题。
