First confirmed sightings of Blue Whales Balaenoptera musculus Linnaeus, 1758 (Mammalia: Cetartiodactyla: Balaenopteridae) in the Philippines since the 19th century

Main Article Content

Jo Marie Vera Acebes
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6343-4848
Joshua Neal Silberg
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7171-1967
Timothy John Gardner
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9910-5096
Edna Rex Sabater
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8027-599X
Angelico Jose Cavada Tiongson
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0966-0756
Patricia Dumandan
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3360-1534
Diana Maria Margarita Verdote
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8105-5534
Christine Louise Emata
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5083-2815
Jean Utzurrum
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1606-985X
Arnel Andrew Yaptinchay
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9667-0647

Abstract

For over two centuries there were no records of Blue Whales Balaenoptera musculus in the Philippines. Whalers recorded Blue Whales in the Philippines in the 19th century, and the next confirmed sighting in the country was of a mother and calf in 2004.  Since then 33 subsequent Blue Whale sightings of potentially one individual were recorded between 2004 and 2019, all within the central region of the Philippines around the Bohol Sea.  This individual, recognized through photo-identification, was sighted on at least 13 occasions during eight different years: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.  The geographic location and timing of the sightings (January to July) suggest that Blue Whales in the Philippines may extend the outer range edge of the Indo-Australian population that migrate between western Australia, Indonesia, and East Timor.  Blue Whale sightings in the Bohol Sea coincide with times of high ocean productivity, although further investigation is needed to determine if they are actually feeding in this region.  Acoustic studies and photo-identification matching with other Blue Whale catalogues will clarify the stock identity of Blue Whales in the Philippines and their relation to the rest of the Blue Whale population, with implications for the conservation of this endangered species across multiple jurisdictions.

Article Details

Section
Communications

Funding data

References

Acebes, J.M.V. (2006). Historical Whaling in the Philippines: Origins of ‘indigenous subsistence whaling’, mapping whaling grounds and comparison with current known distribution. A final report submitted to the Sulu-Sulawesi Seascape Project, Conservation International – Philippines and Mia J. Tegner Memorial Research Grants in Marine Environmental History and Historical Marine Ecology, 75pp.

Acebes, J.M.V. (2014). A History of Whaling in the Philippines: A Glimpse of the Past and Current Distribution of Whales, pp. 83–105. In: Christensen, J. & M. Tull (eds.). Historical Perspectives of Fisheries Exploitation in the Indo-Pacific. MARE Publication Series, vol 12. Springer, Dordrecht, 276pp. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8727-7_5

Acebes, J.M.V. (2013). Hunting ‘Big Fish’: A Marine Environmental History of a Contested Fishery. PhD thesis. Murdoch University, Western Australia, vii+393pp.

Best, P.B., R.A. Rademeyer, C. Burton, D. Ljungblad, K. Sekiguchi, H. Shimada D. Thiele, D. Reeb & D.S. Butterworth (2003). The abundance of blue whales on the Madagascar Plateau, December 1996. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 5: 253–260.

Branch, T.A. & Y.A. Mikhalev (2008). Regional differences in length at sexual maturity for female blue whales based on recovered Soviet whaling data. Marine Mammal Science 24(3): 690–703.

Branch, T.A., E. Abubaker, S. Mkango & D. Butterworth (2007a). Separating southern blue whale subspecies based on length frequencies of sexually mature females. Marine Mammal Science 23: 803–833. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2007.00137.x

Branch, T.A., K.M. Stafford, D.M. Palacios, C. Allison, J.L. Bannister, C.L.K. Burton, E. Cabrera, C.A. Carlson, B. Galletti Vernazzani, P.C. Gill, R. Hucke-Gaete, K.C.S. Jenner, M-N.M. Jenner, K. Matsuoka, Y.A. Mikhalev, T. Miyashita, M.G. Morrice, S. Nishiwaki, V.J. Sturrock, D. Tormosov, R.C. Anderson, A.N. Baker, P.B. Best, P. Borsa, R.L. Brownell Jr., S. Childerhouse, K.P. Findlay, T. Gerrodette, A.D. Ilangakoon, M. Joergensen, D. Kahn, D.K. Ljungblad, B. Maughan, R.D. McCauley, S. McKay, T.F. Norris, Oman Whale and Dolphin Research Group, S. Rankin, F. Samaran, D. Thiele, K. Van Waerbeek & R.M. Warkeke (2007b). Past and present distribution, densities and movements of Blue Whales Balaenoptera musculus in the Southern Hemisphere and northern Indian Ocean. Mammal Review 37: 116–175. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2907.2007.00106.x

Branch, T.A., Y.A. Mikhalev & H. Kato (2009). Separating pygmy and Antarctic Blue Whales using long-forgotten ovarian data. Marine Mammal Science 25: 833–854.

Branch, T.A., R.L. Brownell Jr., P.J. Clapham, Y.V. Ivashchenko, K. Matsuoka, S. Mizroch, C.C. Monnahan, P. Olson & A. Širović (2019). Data available for an assessment of North Pacific Blue Whales. IWC paper SC/68A/NH/07. 27pp.

Buckland, S.T., D.R. Anderson, K.P. Burnham, J.L. Laake, D.L. Borchers & L. Thomas (2001). Introduction to Distance Sampling: Estimating Abundance of Biological Populations. Oxford University Press, 448pp.

Cabrera, O.C., C.L. Villanoy, L.T. David & A.L. Gordon (2011). Barrier Layer Control of Entrainment and Upwelling in the Bohol Sea, Philippines. Oceanography 24(1): 130–41. https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2011.10

Calambokidis, J. & J. Barlow (2004). Abundance of blue and humpback whales in the eastern North Pacific estimated by capture-recapture and line-transect methods. Marine Mammal Science 20(1): 63–85. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2004.tb01141.x

Cerchio, S., T. Collins, S. Mashburn, C. Clark & H. Rosenbaum (2010). Acoustic evidence of blue whales and other baleen whale vocalizations off northern Angola. Document SC/62/SH13, presented to the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission, Agadir, 30 May–11 June 2010.

Clapham, P.J., S.B. Young & R.L. Brownell (1999). Baleen whales: conservation issues and the status of the most endangered populations. Mammal Review 29 (1): 35–60. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2907.1999.00035.x

Committee on Taxonomy (2019). List of marine mammal species and subspecies. Society for Marine Mammalogy, www.marinemammalscience.org, consulted on April 18 2020.

Cooke, J.G. (2018). Balaenoptera musculus (errata version published in 2019). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T2477A156923585. Downloaded on 5 June 2020. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T2477A156923585.en

Croll, D.A., B. Marinovic, S. Benson, F.P. Chavez, N. Black, R. Ternullo & B.R. Tershy (2005). From wind to whales: trophic links in a coastal upwelling system. Marine Ecology Progress Series 289: 117–130. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps289117

Dethmers, K., R. Chatto, M. Meekan, A. Amaral, C. de Cunha, N. de Carvalho & K. Edyvane (2012). Marine megafauna surveys in Timor Leste: identifying opportunities for potential ecotourism – Final Report. Project 3 of the Timor Leste Coastal-Marine Habitat Mapping, Tourism and Fisheries Development Project. Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries, Government of Timor Leste, 32pp.

de Vos, A., R. Clark, C. Johnson, G. Johnson, I. Kerr, R. Payne & P.T. Madsen (2012). Sightings and acoustic detections of cetaceans in the offshore waters of Sri Lanka: March–June 2003. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 12: 185–193.

de Vos, A., R.L. Brownell, B. Tershy & D. Croll (2016). Anthropogenic Threats and Conservation Needs of Blue Whales, Balaenoptera musculus indica, around Sri Lanka. Journal of Marine Biology 2016: 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/8420846

Di Iorio, L. & C.W. Clark (2010). Exposure to seismic survey alters blue whale acoustic communication. Biology Letters 6: 51–54. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0651

Dolar, M.L.L. & E.R. Sabater (2012). Balaenoptera musculus, pp. 25–30. In: Alava M.N.R., M.L.L. Dolar, E.R. Sabater, M.T.R. Aquinoo & M.D. Santos (eds.). Red List Status of Marine Mammals in the Philippines. Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-National Fisheries Research and Development Institute, Philippines, 194pp.

Double, M.C., V. Andrews-Goff, K.C.S. Jenner, M-N. Jenner, S.M. Laverick, T.A. Branch & N.J. Gales (2014). Migratory Movements of Pygmy Blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) between Australia and Indonesia as Revealed by Satellite Telemetry. PLoS ONE 9(4): e93578. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0093578

Etnoyer, P., D. Canny, B. Mate & L.E. Morgan (2004). Persistent pelagic habitat in the Baja California to Bering Sea (B2B) Ecoregion. Oceanography 17(1): 90–101. https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2004.71

Etnoyer, P., D. Canny, B.R. Mate, L.E. Morgan, J.G. Ortega-Ortiz & J.W. Nichols (2006). Sea-surface temperature gradients across blue whale and sea turtle foraging trajectories off the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico. Deep-Sea Research II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 53: 340–358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2006.01.010

Figueiredo, I & R. Weir (2014). Blue Whales Balaenoptera musculus off Angola: recent sightings and evaluation of whaling data. African Journal of Marine Science 36(2): 269–278. https://doi.org/10.2989/1814232X.2014.928652

Fiedler, P.C., S.B. Reilly, S.B. Hewitt, D. Demer, V.A. Philbrick, S. Smith, W. Armstrong, D.A. Croll, B.R. Tershy & B.R. Mate (1998). Blue Whale habitat and prey in the California Channel Islands. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 45: 1781–1801. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0967-0645(98)80017-9

Galletti Vernazzani, B., C.R.M. Attard, D.R. Barlow, C. Burton, A. de Vos, M. Double, P. Gill, C. Jenner, M-N. Jenner, L.M. Möller, P. Olson, C. Salgado-Kent & L.G. Torres (2019). Southern Hemisphere Blue Whale Catalogue: preliminary results of IWC comparisons between Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka regions. IWC paper SC/68A/SH/04, 8pp.

Gendron, D. & U. De La Cruz (2012). A new classification method to simplify Blue Whale photo-identification technique. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 12(1): 79–84.

Gilpatrick Jr. J.W. & W.L. Perryman (2008). Geographic variation in external morphology of North Pacific and Southern Hemisphere Blue Whales (Balaenoptera musculus). Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 10: 9–21.

Gill, P.C. (2002). A Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus) feeding ground in a southern Australian coastal upwelling zone. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 4: 179–184.

Gordon, A.L., J. Sprintall & A. Ffield (2011). Regional Oceanography of the Philippine Archipelago. Oceanography 24 (1): 14–27. https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2011.01

Green, S.J., J.O. Flores, J.Q. Dizon-Corrales, R.T. Martinez, D.R.M. Nunal, N.B Armada & A.T. White (2004). The Fisheries of Central Visayas, Philippines: Status and Trends. Cebu City, 159pp.

Hucke-Gaete, R., L.P. Osman, C.A. Moreno, K.P. Findlay & D.K. Ljungblad (2004). Discovery of a Blue Whale feeding and nursing ground in southern Chile. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B (Supplement) 271: S170–S173. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2003.0132

Ichihara, T. (1966). The Pygmy Blue Whale, Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda, a new subspecies from the Antarctic, , pp. 79–111. In: Norris K.S. (ed.) Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 789pp.

Indab, J.D. & P.B. Suarez-Aspilla (2004). Community-Based Marine Protected Areas in the Bohol (Mindanao) Sea, Philippines. NAGA, WorldFish Center Quarterly, Jan–Jun 2004, pp. 4–8.

Jefferson, T.A., M.A. Webber & R.L. Pitman (2015). Marine Mammals of the World: A Comprehensive Guide to their Identification. 2nd Edition. Elsevier Inc., London, 608pp.

Kahn, B. (2007). Blue whales of the Savu Sea, Indonesia. In: Abstracts of the 17th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals. Cape Town, South Africa, 89pp.

Kahn, B., Y. James-Kahn & J. Pet (2000). Komodo National Park cetacean surveys—A rapid ecological assessment of cetacean diversity, distribution and abundance. Indonesian Journal of Coastal and Marine Resources 3(2): 41–59.

Kato, H., Y. Honno, H. Yoshida, E. Kojima, A. Nomura & H. Okamura (2002). Further developments on morphological and behavioral key for sub-species discrimination of southern blue whales, analyses from data through 1995/6 to 2001/02 SOWER cruises. IWC paper SC/54/IA8, 16pp.

Laist, D.W., A.R. Knowlton, J.G. Mead, A.S. Collet & M. Podesta (2001). Collisions between ships and whales. Marine Mammal Science 17(1): 35–75. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2001.tb00980.x

Lavides, M.N., N.V.C. Polunin, S.M. Stead, D.G. Tabaranza, M.T. Comeros & J.R. Dongallo (2010). Finfish Disappearances around Bohol, Philippines Inferred from Traditional Ecological Knowledge. Environmental Conservation 36(3): 235–44. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892909990385

LeDuc, R.G., A.E. Dizon, M. Goto, L.A. Pastene, H. Kato, S. Nishiwaki, C.A. LeDuc & R.L. Brownell (2007). Patterns of genetic variation in Southern Hemisphere Blue Whales and the use of assignment test to detect mixing on the feeding grounds. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 9(1): 73–80.

McDonald, M.A., J.A. Hildebrand & S.L. Mesnick (2006). Biogeographic characterization of Blue Whale song worldwide: Using song to identify populations. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 8(1):55–65.

McDonald, M.A., J.A. Hildebrand & S.L. Mesnick (2009). Worldwide decline in tonal frequencies of Blue Whale songs. Endangered Species Research 9: 13–21. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00217

Melcón, M.L., A.J. Cummins, S.M. Kerosky, L.K. Roche, S.M. Wiggins & J.A. Hildebrand (2012). Blue Whales respond to anthropogenic noise. PLoS ONE 7: e32681. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0032681

Metcalfe, C., B. Koenig, T. Metcalfe, G. Paterson & R. Sears (2004). Intra- and inter-species differences in persistent organic contaminants in the blubber of Blue Whales and Humpback Whales from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada. Marine Environmental Research 57(4): 245–260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2003.08.003

Monnahan, C.C., T.A. Branch, K.M. Stafford, Y.V. Ivashchenko & E.M. Oleson (2014). Estimating historical eastern North Pacific Blue Whale catches using spatial calling patterns. PLoS One, 9: e98974. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0098974

National Academy of Marine Research (NAMR), Taiwan (2020). A giant has fallen – whale. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0109C6ZnQA. Accessed 25 March 2020.

National Marine Fisheries Service (1998). Recovery plan for the Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus). Prepared by Reeves RR, Clapham PJ, Brownell RL, and Silber GK for the National Marine Fisheries Service, Silver Spring, MD. 42pp.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (2009). Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus): Eastern North Pacific Stock. NOAA Stock Reports, 6pp.

Northrup, J., W.C. Cummings & M.F. Johnson (1971). Underwater 20 Hz signals recorded near Midway Island. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 49(6B):1909–1910. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.1912606

Omura, H. (1984). Measurements of body proportions of the pygmy Blue Whale, left by the late Dr. Tadayoshi Ichihara. Scientific Reports of the Whales Research Institute, 35: 199–203.

Palacios, D.M. (1999). Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus) occurrence off the Galapagos Islands, 1978–1995. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 1: 41–51.

Ponnampalam, L.S. (2012). Opportunistic observations on the distribution of cetaceans in the Malaysian South China, Sulu and Sulawesi Seas and an updated checklist of marine mammals in Malaysia. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 60(1): 221–231.

Rankin, S., D. Ljungblad, C. Clark & H. Kato (2005). Vocalisations of Antarctic Blue Whales, Balaenoptera musculus intermedia, recorded during the 2001/2002 and 2002/2003 IWC/SOWER circumpolar cruises, Area V, Antarctica. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 7(1):13–20.

Rennie, S., C.E. Hanson, R.D. McCauley, C. Pattiaratchi, C. Burton, J. Bannister, C. Jenner & M-N. Jenner (2009). Physical properties and processes in the Perth Canyon, Western Australia: Links to water column production and seasonal Pygmy Blue Whale abundance. Journal of Marine Systems 77: 21–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmarsys.2008.11.008

Rice, D.W. (1998). Marine Mammals of the World: Systematics and Distribution. The Society for Marine Mammalogy Special Publication 4. Allen Press, Inc., Kansas, 234pp.

Sabater, E.R. (2005). Cetaceans of the Bohol marine triangle area, Bohol, Philippines: assessment and monitoring, pp. 245–246 In: Abstracts of the 16th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals. San Diego, California, 329pp.

Samaran, F., O. Adam & C. Guinet (2010). Discovery of a mid-latitude sympatric area for two Southern Hemisphere Blue Whale subspecies. Endangered Species Research 12: 157–165. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00302

Samaran, F., K.M. Stafford, T.A. Branch, J. Gedamke, J-Y. Royer, R.P. Dziak & C. Guinet (2013). Seasonal and geographic variation of southern Blue Whale subspecies in the Indian Ocean. PLoS ONE 8: e71561. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0071561

Samaran, F., A. Berne, E.C. Leroy, S. Moreira, K.M. Stafford, M. Maia & J-Y. Royer (2019). Antarctic Blue Whales (Balaenoptera musculus intermedia) recorded at the Equator in the Atlantic Ocean. Marine Mammal Science 35: 641–648. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12559

Sears, R. (2002). Blue Whale, Balaenoptera musculus, pp. 112–116. In: Perrin W.F., B. Würsig , J.G.M. Thewissen (eds.). Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. Academic Press, San Diego, 1414pp.

Sears, R., J.M. Williamson, F.W. Wenzel, M. Bérubé, D. Gendron & P. Jones (1990). Photographic identification of the Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus) in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence, Canada. Report of the International Whaling Commission, Special Issue, 12: 335–342.

Shabangu, F.W., K.P. Findlay, D. Yemane, K.M. Stafford, M. van den Berg, B. Blows & R.K. Andrew (2019). Seasonal occurrence and diel calling behaviour of Antarctic Blue Whales and Fin Whales in relation to environmental conditions off the west coast of South Africa. Journal of Marine Systems 190: 25–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmarsys.2018.11.002

Širović, A., T. Branch, R.L. Brownell, S. Buchan, S. Cerchio, K. Findlay, A. Lang, B. Miller, P. Olson, T.L. Rogers, F. Samaran & R. Suydam (2018). Blue Whale song occurrence in the Southern Hemisphere. IWC Paper SC/67b/SH11, 12pp.

Stafford, K.M., D.R. Bohnenstiehl, M. Tolstoy, E. Chapp, D.K. Mellinger & S.E. Moore (2004). Antarctic-type Blue Whale calls recorded at low latitudes in the Indian and eastern Pacific Oceans. Deep-Sea Research I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 51: 1337–1346. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2004.05.007

Stafford, K.M., E. Chapp, D.R. Bohnenstiel & M. Tolstoy (2011). Seasonal detection of three types of “pygmy” Blue Whale calls in the Indian Ocean. Marine Mammal Science 27: 828-840. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2010.00437.x

Stafford, K.M., S.L. Nieukirk & C.G. Fox (2001). Geographic and seasonal variation of Blue Whale calls in the North Pacific. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 3(1): 65–76.

Tomilin, A.G. (1957). Zveri SSSR i Prilezhasfchikh Stran. Zveri Vostochnoi Evropy i Severnoi Azii. Izdatel’stvo Akademi Nauk SSSR, Moscow. 756pp. [Translated in 1967 as Mammals of the USSR and Adjacent Countries. Mammals of Eastern Europe and Adjacent Countries. Vol. IX. Cetacea by the Israel Program for Scientific Translations, Jerusalem, 717pp.] [In Russian].

Wang, J.Y., S-C. Yang & H-C. Liao (2001). Species composition, distribution and relative abundance of cetaceans in the waters of southern Taiwan: implications for conservation and eco-tourism. Journal of National Park (Taiwan) 11(2): 136–158.