Temporal
distribu0on
of
the
most
sighted
baleen
AD31
whales
in
Azores:
fin
whales
(Balaenoptera
physalus)
and
sei
whales
(Balaenoptera
borealis).
Sardà,Clara1;
González,Laura1,2
&
van
der
Linde,Miranda1
(1)Futurismo
Azores
Whale
Watching,
Marina
Pêro
de
Teive,
9500‐771,
Ponta
Delgada,
São
Miguel,
Azores;
(2)Department
of
Applied
Physics,
Vigo
University.
Corresponding
author:
[email protected]
Every
year
several
species
of
baleen
whales
pass
the
Azores
archipelago
along
their
migraFons2,3
.SighFngs
are
more
frequent
in
spring
Fme,
with
sei
whales
(Balaenoptera
borealis)
and
fin
whales
(Balaenoptera
physalus)
having
the
highest
sighFng
rates
of
the
baleen
whales.
This
aims
of
this
study
were
to
analyse
the
temporal
distribuFon
of
fin
whales
and
sei
whales
and
to
photographically
idenFfy
fin
whales
sighted
off
São
Miguel
island,
Azores.
• Around
68%
of
fin
whale
encounters
and
55%
of
sei
whale
encounters
were
in
April
and
May
(Fig.
4,
Fig.
5),
although
we
have
seen
them
throughout
the
rest
of
the
year
as
well,
but
with
much
lower
rates.
Fig.
4.
Temporal
distribuFon
of
fin
whale
(Balaenoptera
physalus)
sighFngs
from
2006
to
2012.
Fig.
1.
Two
photos
on
the
le]
of
fin
whales
and
the
two
photos
on
the
rigth
of
sei
whales.
Data
we
analysed
were
collected
between
2006
and
2012
off
the
south
coast
of
São
Miguel
during
commercial
whale
watching
tours
with
Futurismo
Azores
Whale
Watching
(Fig.
2a).
Cetaceans
were
located
by
one
or
more
lookouts
who
were
situated
at
high
points
along
the
coast,
searching
with
powerful
binoculars.
Data
were
registered
in
situ
by
one
or
more
biologists
and
guides
aboard.
Fin
whales
were
photographically
idenFfied
(Fig.
2b)
based
on
the
shape
of
their
dorsal
fin
and
other
disFnguishing
marks.
All
ID‐ photos
were
compiled
into
a
photographic
catalogue
of
individuals.
Fig.
5.
Temporal
distribuFon
of
sei
whale
(Balaenoptera
borealis)
sighFngs
from
2006
to
2012.
• 45
different
fin
whales
were
idenFfied,
mostly
from
encounters
in
the
last
three
years,
as
photographic
effort
was
very
low
in
previous
years.
Fin
and
Sei
whales
are
the
most
sighted
baleen
whale
species
in
this
study.
The
archipelago
of
the
Azores
is
a
poten0al
Fig.
2
a)
Futurismo
boat
watching
a
fin
whale.
b)
One
of
the
fin
whales
idenFfied
(Bp7).
•
Fin
whales
were
the
most
sighted
baleen
whales
in
this
study
(Fig.
3),
making
up
34,84%
all
baleen
whale
sigthings.
Sei
whales
were
the
second
most
sighted,
making
up
34,57%
of
the
sighFngs
(Fig.
3).
%
sigthings
of
baleen
whales
1,32
Balaenoptera
edeni
3,98
Balaenoptera
acutorostrata
4,78
Megaptera
novaengliae
20,47
Balaenoptera
musculus
Balaenoptera
borealis
34,57
Balaenoptera
physalus
34,84
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Fig.
3.
Percentage
of
sighFngs
of
baleen
whales
on
the
south
coast
of
São
Miguel,
Azores.
area
of
passage
of
migratory
routes
of
baleen
whales,
especially
during
the
springFme.
The
next
step
will
be
to
determine
how
envi ro n menta l
fa cto rs
i nfl u en ce
t h e
occurrence
of
these
whales
in
the
Azores.
45
fin
whales
have
been
iden0fied.
Although
we
did
not
re‐sight
any
fin
whales
during
the
study
period
photographic
effort
should
be
ongoing
as
can
be
an
important
source
of
informaFon
on
a
larger
Fme
scale.
In
the
future
it
may
be
possible
to
compare
our
photographic
catalogue
of
fin
whales
to
those
from
other
nearby
regions,
in
order
to
learn
more
about
fin
whale
migraFon.
Acknowledgments
We
want
to
acknowledge
the
company
“Futurismo
Azores
Whale
Watching”
and
the
team
involved
in
data
collecFon
for
this
project.
We
warmly
thank
all
the
tourists
who
sent
us
pictures.
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