The departure of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in response to the declining jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) population in the central portion of the Gulf of California.

ABSTRACT: As sperm whales are important predators that control energy flux in the oceans, changes in their population can be used as a sentinel to measure of ecosystem health. The present study conducted a sperm whale survey of the eastern Midriff Islands Region in the Gulf of California over the course of nine years, recording sightings and collecting photographs of the fluke of sperm whale individuals. A photo-identification catalog was compiled, while individual recapture data were used to estimate the population size in the central portion of the Gulf of California, using a Jolly-Seber POPAN open population model. The results obtained show a yearly population of between 20 and 167 sperm whales, with a super population of 354 sperm whales observed between 2009 and 2015. However, from 2016 to 2018

SUBMITTER: Perez-Puig H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11468805 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature