Occurrence of long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) and killer whales (Orcinus orca) in Icelandic coastal waters and their interspecific interactions.

ABSTRACT: Long-finned pilot whales and killer whales are widely distributed across the North Atlantic, but few studies have reported their occurrence in Icelandic coastal waters. Here, we use sightings data from research platforms and whale watching tours in six regions of Iceland from 2007 to 2020 to show that the occurrence of long-finned pilot and killer whales varied with region and season. Killer whales were regularly encountered in the south of Iceland during summer and west of Iceland during winter/spring. Long-finned pilot whales were only seen during the summer and were most often encountered in the south, west, and northwest of Iceland. Long-finned pilot whale occurrence in the south of Iceland appeared to increase during the study period but killer whale occurrence showed no noticeable ch

SUBMITTER: Selbmann A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9170559 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature