Protecting Blue Corridors Report 2022

PARTNERS & DATA REFERENCES

The Protecting Blue Corridors report contains a number of datasets from the marine mammal science community. We would like to thank the scientists and partner organisations who contributed to this project.

10-Universidad Nacional de Comahue-Argentina.png

We would like to thank the following data contributors:

Daniel Palacios (Oregon State University), Ryan Reisinger (Univ. of Southampton), Ari Frielaender (University of California, Santa Cruz), Andy Willson (Future Seas), Alex Zerbini (CICOES-UW, NOAA, Marecotel & Instituto Aqualie),

O. Adam (Neurosciences Paris Saclay), Alejandro Fernandez Ajó (Northern Arizona University), Artur Andriolo (UFJF, Instituto Aqualie), Virginia Andrews-Goff (Australian Antarctic Division), Salvatore Cerchio (African Aquatic Conservation Fund), Phillip Clapham (Seastar Scientific), Rochelle Constantine (University of Auckland), Mariano Coscarella (CESIMAR-CENPAT), Enrique Crespo (CESIMAR-CENPAT), Environment Society of Oman, Tim Collins (Wildlife Conservation Society), Luciano Dalla Rosa (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande), Mike Double (Australian Antarctic Division), Violaine Dulau (Globice), Matias Di Martino, Ken Findlay (Cape Peninsula University of Technology), Santiago Fernandez (CESIMAR-CENPAT), Raul González (CIMAS / EsCiMar), Claire Garrigue (UMR ENTROPIE), Guillermo Harris (Wildlife Conservation Society), Jason How (Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development), F. Mayer (Cetamada NGO), Curt and Micheline-Nicole Jenner (Centre for Whale Research), Christian Lydersen (Norwegian Polar Institute), Carina Marón (Wildlife Conservation Society), Bruce Mate (Oregon State University), Martin Mendez (WCS), Simone Panigada (Tethys Research Institute), Howard Rosenbaum (WCS), Rui Prieto (University of the Azores), Mduduzi Seakamela (Department of Environmental Affairs), Maritza Sepulveda (Universidad de Valparaiso), Monica Silva (University of the Azores), Roxana Schteinbarg (ICB Argentina), Mariano Sironi (ICB Argentina), Diego Taboada (ICB Argentina), Raquel Soley (ICB Argentina), Nicolás Lewin (ICB Argentina), Marcos Ricciardi (ICB Argentina), Federico Sucunza (Instituto Aqualie), Laurène Trudelle (Neurosciences Paris Saclay), Matthew Witt (University of Exeter), Judy Uhart, Marcela Uhart (UC Davis), Els Vermeulen (Mammal Research Institute Whale Unit, Univ of Pretoria), Florencia Vilches and Victoria Zavattieri (Wildlife Conservation Society).

Read the media release

Feb 17, 2022: World-First Map Exposes Growing Dangers Along Whale Superhighways. A new global report by WWF and the marine mammal science community calls for urgent action to safeguard whales amid mounting threats along their migratory routes.

The following data is displayed in the Protecting Blue Corridors report including:

SATELLITE TELEMETRY DATA. Satellite tracks displayed in infographics and maps were kindly provided by the following researchers and research groups or is available as supplementary data online.

SPECIES
AREA
NUMBER OF TRACKS
CONTRIBUTORS
CITATION/SOURCE
Blue whales
Eastern North Pacific
189
Daniel Palacios (Oregon State University)

		Mate, B. R., Lagerquist, B. A. & Calambokidis, J. Movements of North Pacific Blue Whales
		During the Feeding Season Off Southern California and Their Southern Fall Migration.
		Mar. Mamm. Sci. 15, 1246–1257 (1999).

		Bailey, H., Mate, B. R., Palacios, D. M., Irvine, L., Bograd, S. J. & Costa, D. P. Behavioural
		estimation of blue whale movements in the Northeast Pacific from state-space model
		analysis of satellite tracks. Endanger. Species Res. 10, 93–106 (2010).

		Irvine, L. M., Mate, B. R., Winsor, M. H., Palacios, D. M., Bograd, S. J., Costa, D. P. &
		Bailey, H. Spatial and temporal occurrence of blue whales off the U.S. West Coast, with
		implications for management. PLoS One 9, (2014).

		Mate, B.R. Palacios, D.M. Baker, C.S. Lagerquist, B.A. Irvine, L.M. Follett, T. Steel, D.
		Hayslip, C.E. Winsor, M.H. Baleen Whale Tagging in Support of Marine Mammal Monitoring
		Across Multiple Navy Training Areas Covering the Years 2014, 2015, 2016, and
		2017. Final Report Prepared for Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet. Submitted to Naval
		Facilities Engineering Command Pacific, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii under Contract No.
		N62470-15-8006-17F4016 issued to HDR, Inc., San Diego, California. (2018).

		Oregon State University, unpublished. Tagged in California, USA (2014-2017).
		
			Blue whales
		
			Chile
		
			10
		
			Publication supplement
		
			Hucke-Gaete, R., Bedri ana-Romano, L., Viddi, F. A., Ruiz, J. E., Torres-Florez, J. P. & Zerbini, A. N. From Chilean Patagonia to Galapagos, Ecuador: Novel insights on blue whale migratory pathways along the Eastern South Pacific. PeerJ 2018, 1–22 (2018).

			Blue whales
		
			Chile
		
			15
		
			Publication supplement
		
			Bedri ana-Romano, L., Hucke-Gaete, R., Viddi, F. A., Johnson, D., Zerbini, A. N., Morales, J., Mate, B. & Palacios, D. M. Defining priority areas for blue whale conservation and investigating overlap with vessel traffic in Chilean Patagonia, using a fast-fitting movement model. Sci. Rep. 11, 1–16 (2021).

			Blue, fin, Sei whales
		
			Azores - Central Atlantic
		
			Blue = 13
			
Fin = 16
			
Sei = 11
		
			Rui Preito, Monica De Silva
		
			Silva, M. A., Prieto, R., Jonsen, I., Baumgartner, M. F. & Santos, R. S. North Atlantic blue
			and fin whales suspend their spring migration to forage in middle latitudes: building up
			energy reserves for the journey? PLoS One 8, e76507 (2013).
			
Silva, M. A., Jonsen, I., Russell, D. J. F., Prieto, R., Thompson, D. & Baumgartner, M. F.
			Assessing performance of Bayesian state-space models fit to Argos satellite telemetry
			locations processed with Kalman filtering. PLoS One 9, e92277 (2014).
			
Prieto, R., Silva, M. A. & Waring, G. T. Sei whale movements and behaviour in the North
			Atlantic inferred from satellite telemetry. Endanger. Species Res. (2014). at https://www.
			int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v26/n2/p103-113/
		
			Bowhead whales
		
			North Atlantic - Spitsbergen
		
			16
		
			Christian Lydersen (Norweigan Polar Institute)
		
			Lydersen, C., Vacqui -Garcia, J., Heide-J rgensen, M. P.,  ien, N., Guinet, C. & Kovacs, K. M. Autumn movements of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) from Svalbard, Norway, revealed by satellite tracking. Sci. Rep. 10, 16966 (2020).
		
			Fin whales
		
			North Atlantic - Newfoundland
		
			6
		
			Steve Ferguson, Cory Matthews, Jack Lawson
		
			Unpublished
		
			Fin whales
		
			 Chile
		
			6
		
			Natalya Hernández
		
			Sepúlveda, M., Pérez-Álvarez, M. J., Santos-Carvallo, M., Pavez, G., Olavarría, C., Moraga, R. & Zerbini, A. N. From whaling to whale watching: Identifying fin whale critical foraging
			habitats off the Chilean coast. Aquat. Conserv. 28, 821–829 (2018).
		
			Fin whales
		
			Mediterranean
		
			6
		
			Daniel Palacios (Oregon State University)
		
			Cotté, C., Guinet, C., Taupier-Letage, I. & Mate, B. Scale-dependent habitat use by a
			large free-ranging predator, the Mediterranean fin whale. Deep Sea Res. Part I (2009).
			
Cotté, C.,d’Ovidio, F., Chaigneau, A., Lévy, M., Taupier-Letage, I., Mate, B. & Guinet, C.
			Scale-dependent interactions of Mediterranean whales with marine dynamics. Limnol.
			Oceanogr. 56, 219–232 (2011).
		
			Fin whales
		
			Mediterranean
		
			9
		
			Simone Panigada (Tethys Research Institute)
		
			Panigada, S., Donovan, G. P., Druon, J. N., Lauriano, G., Pierantonio, N., Pirotta, E.,
			Zanardelli, M., Zerbini, A. N. & Di Sciara, G. N. Satellite tagging of Mediterranean fin
			whales: Working towards the identification of critical habitats and the focussing of
			mitigation measures. Sci. Rep. 7, 1–12 (2017).
		
			Fin whales
		
			North Atlantic - Svalbard
		
			25
		
			Christian Lydersen (Norweigan Polar Institute)
		
			Lydersen, C., Vacqui -Garcia, J., Heide-J rgensen, M. P.,  ien, N., Guinet, C. & Kovacs, K.
			M. Autumn movements of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) from Svalbard, Norway,
			revealed by satellite tracking. Sci. Rep. 10, 16966 (2020).
		
			Humpback whales
		
			North Atlantic - Newfoundland
		
			13
		
			Steve Ferguson, Cory Matthews, Jack Lawson
		
			Unpublished
		
			Humpback whales
		
			Eastern North Pacific - Hawaii
		
			49
		
			Daniel Palacios (Oregon State University)
		
		Mate, B. R., Gisiner, R. & Mobley, J. Local and migratory movements of Hawaiian
		humpback whales tracked by satellite telemetry. Can. J. Zool. (1998).
		
Mate, B., Mesecar, R. & Lagerquist, B. The evolution of satellite-monitored radio tags for
		large whales: One laboratory’s experience. Deep Sea Res. Part 2 Top. Stud. Oceanogr.
		54, 224–247 (2007).
		
Tagged in Hawaii. Years: 1994-2000
		
			Humpback whales
		
			Eastern North Pacific - Mexico
		
			16
		
			Daniel Palacios (Oregon State University)
		
			Lagerquist, B. A., Mate, B. R., Ortega-Ortiz, J. G., Winsor, M. & Urb n-Ramirez,
			J. Migratory movements and surfacing rates of humpback whales (Megaptera
			novaeangliae) satellite tagged at Socorro Island, Mexico. Mar. Mamm. Sci. 24, 815–830
			(2008).
			
			Oregon State University, unpublished. Tagged in Baja California, Mexico, N=6. (1998).
		
			Humpback whales
		
			Southeast Alaska
		
			46
		
			Daniel Palacios (Oregon State University)
		
			Mate, B., Mesecar, R. & Lagerquist, B. The evolution of satellite-monitored radio tags for
			large whales: One laboratory’s experience. Deep Sea Res. Part 2 Top. Stud. Oceanogr.
			54, 224–247 (2007).
			
Palacios, D.M., B.R. Mate, C.S. Baker, C.E. Hayslip, T.M. Follett, D. Steel, B.A. Lagerquist,
			L.M. Irvine, and M.H. Winsor. Tracking North Pacific Humpback Whales To Unravel Their
			Basin-Wide Movements. Final Technical Report. Prepared for Pacific Life Foundation.
			Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University. Newport, Oregon, USA. 30 June
			2019. 58 pp. doi:10.5399/osu/1117. (2019). https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/
			technical_reports/z890s0924

Oregon State University, unpublished. Tagged in SE Alaska. Years: 1997, 2014, 2015
		
			Humpback whales
		
			Southeast Atlantic
		
			15
		
			Howard Rosenbaum (Wildlife Conservation Society)
			
 Daniel Palacios (Oregon State University)
		
			Rosenbaum, H. C., Maxwell, S. M., Kershaw, F. & Mate, B. Long-Range Movement of
			Humpback Whales and Their Overlap with Anthropogenic Activity in the South Atlantic
			Ocean. Conserv. Biol. 28, 604–615 (2014).
			
			Tagged in Gabon. N = 13 individuals. N = 2 individuals from Reisinger et al (2021) below.
		
			Humpback whales
		
			Southern Ocean
		
			378
		
			Ryan Reisinger (University of Southampton, University of California Santa Cruz) and collaborators
		
			Reisinger RR, Friedlaender AS, Zerbini AN, Palacios DM, Andrews-Goff V, Dalla Rosa L,
			Double M, Findlay K, Garrigue C, How J, Jenner C, Jenner M-N, Mate B, Rosenbaum HC,
			Seakamela SM, and Constantine R. Combining regional habitat selection models for
			large-scale prediction: circumpolar habitat selection of Southern Ocean humpback
			whales. Remote Sensing (2021).
		
			Humpback whales
		
			Northern Indian Ocean
		
			15
		
			Andrew Willson (Future Seas),  Environment Society of Oman
		
			Willson, A., Leslie, M., Baldwin, R., Cerchio, S., Childerhouse, S., Collins, T., Findlay, K.,
			Genov, T., Godley, B. J., Al Harthi, S., Macdonald, D. W., Minton, G., Zerbini, A. & Witt, M. J.
			Update on satellite telemetry studies and first unoccupied aerial vehicle assisted health
			assessment studies of Arabian Sea humpback whales off the coast of Oman. Document
			presented to the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission. Bled,
			Slovenia: International Whaling Commission. (2018).
		
			Humpback whales
		
			Madagascar
			- Southwest
			Indian Ocean
		
			14 - le Ste Marie
			
11 - Anakao
		
			Salvatore Cerchio (African Aquatic Conservation Fund), Lauren Trudelle (Neurosciences Paris Saclay) and collaborators
		
			Cerchio, S., Trudelle, L., Zerbini, A. N., Charrassin, J. B., Geyer, Y., Mayer, F. X.,
			Andrianarivelo, N., Jung, J. L., Adam, O. & Rosenbaum, H. C. Satellite telemetry of
			humpback whales off Madagascar reveals insights on breeding behavior and longrange
			movements within the southwest Indian Ocean. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 562,
			193–209 (2016).
			
Trudelle, L., Cerchio, S., Zerbini, A. N., Geyer, Y., Mayer, F.-X., Jung, J.-L., Herv , M. R.,
			Pous, S., Sall e, J.-B., Rosenbaum, H. C., Adam, O. & Charrassin, J.-B. Influence of
			environmental parameters on movements and habitat utilization of humpback whales
			( Megaptera novaeangliae ) in the Madagascar breeding ground. Royal Society Open
			Science 3, 160616 (2016).
		
			Humpback whales
		
			Southwest Indian Ocean
		
			15
		
			Violaine Dulau (Globice)
		
			Dulau, V., Pinet, P., Geyer, Y., Fayan, J., Mongin, P., Cottarel, G., Zerbini, A. & Cerchio, S.
			Continuous movement behavior of humpback whales during the breeding season in
			the southwest Indian Ocean: on the road again! Mov Ecol 5, 11 (2017).
		
			Pygmy blue whales
		
			Indonesia - Western Australia - Victoria
		
			25
		
			Australia Antarctic Division Data Centre
		
			Andrews-Goff, V., Double, M., Moller, L., Attard, C., Bilgmann, K., Jonsen, I. and Paton,
			D. Switching state space model for pygmy blue whale satellite tag derived locations,
			Ver. 1. Australian Antarctic Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.26179/5e671120e52b4
			(2020).
			
https://data.aad.gov.au/metadata/records/AAS_4101_pygmy_blue_whale_SSSM
			
Andrews-Goff, V., Double, M. and Gales, N. Filtered Argos location data for
			pygmy blue whales 2009 and 2011, Ver. 1, Australian Antarctic Data Centre -
			doi:10.4225/15/5af3cbf350bf0, (2018).
			
https://data.aad.gov.au/metadata/records/AAS_2941_blue_whale_Argos_sda_filter_tracks
		
			Southern right whales
		
			South Africa
		
			21
		
			Daniel Palacios (Oregon State University)
			
Els Vermuelen (University of Pretoria)
		
			Mate, B. R., Best, P. B., Lagerquist, B. A. & Winsor, M. H. Coastal, offshore, and
			migratory movements of South African right whales revealed by satellite telemetry.
			Mar. Mamm. Sci. 27, 455–476 (2011).
		
			Southern right whales
		
			New Zealand to Australia
		
			16
		
			Australia Antarctic Division Data Centre
		
			Andrews-Goff, V., Double, M., Mckay, A., & Bailleul, F. Argos location data for
			southern right whales satellite tagged off New Zealand and South Australia, Ver. 1.
			Australian Antarctic Data Centre. (2021).
			https://doi.org/10.26179/5d37c13fe2ff4
			
https://data.aad.gov.au/metadata/records/AAS_2941_4101_SRW_tracks
		
			Southern right whales
		
			SW Atlantic
		
			33
		
			Alex Zerbini and partners
		
			Zerbini, A.N., Rosenbaum, H., Mendez, M., Sucunza, F., Andriolo, A., Harris, G.,
			Clapham, P.J., Sironi, M., Uhart, M. and Aj , A. Tracking southern right whales through
			the Southwest Atlantic: an update on movements, migratory routes and feeding
			grounds. Paper SC/66b/BRG26 presented to the IWC Scientific Committee, Bled,
			Slovenia, 7-19 June 2016. 16pp. (2016).
			
Zerbini, A.N., Ajo, A.F, Andriolo, A., Clapham, P.J., Crespo, E., Gonzalez, R., Harris,
			G., Mendez, M., Rosenbaum, H., Sironi, M., Sucunza, F., and Uhart, M. Satellite
			tracking of Southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) from Golfo San Mat as, Rio
			Negro Province, Argentina. Paper SC/67B/CMP/17 presented to the IWC Scientific
			Committee, Bled, Slovenia, 23 April-6 May 2018. 10pp. (2018).
		
			Sperm whales
		
			Gulf of Mexico
		
			18
		
			Daniel Palacios (Oregon State University)
		
			Irvine, L. M., Winsor, M. H., Follett, T. M., Mate, B. R. & Palacios, D. M. An at-sea
			assessment of Argos location accuracy for three species of large whales, and the effect
			of deep-diving behavior on location error. Animal Biotelemetry 8, 20 (2020).
		
			Sperm whales
		
			Baffin Bay
		
			3
		
			Steve Ferguson, Kyle Lefort, Nigel Hussey
		
			Unpublished

2. ADDITIONAL WHALE MOVEMENT. Some whale corridors, or migration areas, are visualised based on peer-review literature and other sources.

SPECIES
REGION
SOURCE

		Bowhead whales
		
		Eastern Canada / West
		Greenland
		
		Ferguson, S. H., Dueck, L., Loseto, L. L. & Luque, S. P. Bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus)
		seasonal selection of sea ice. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 411, 285–297 (2010).
		
		Bowhead whales
		
		Bering / Chukchi / Beaufort
		Seas
		
			Smith, M. A., Goldman, M. S., Knight, E. J. & Warrenchuk, J. J. Ecological Atlas of the Bering, Chukchi,
			and Beaufort Seas: Melanie A. Smith, Max S. Goldman, Erika J. Knight, and Jon J. Warrenchuk.
			(Audubon Alaska, 2017).
		
		Humpback whales
		
		North Atlantic
		
		Robbins, J. Gulf of Maine Humpback Whales - Centre for Coastal Studies. Movebank (2021). at
		https://www.movebank.org/cms/webapp?gwt_fragment=page=studies,path=study540299766
		
		Humpback whales
		
		North Atlantic
		
		Rikardsen, A. Blanchet, M.A.  ien, N. Biuw, M. Broms, F. KLeivane, L. Whaletrack. UiT - The Arctic
		University of Norway (2022). at https://en.uit.no/prosjekter/prosjekt?p_document_id=505966
		
		Humpback whales
		
		Global
		
		Fleming, A. & Jackson, J. Global review of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). NOAA
		Technical Memorandum NMFS. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (2011). at https://repository.
		library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/4489/noaa_4489_DS1.pdf

3. MARINE AND ENVIRONMENTAL DATA.

DATA LAYERS DISPLAYED IN MAPS AND INFOGRAPHICS
SOURCE

		Marine Protected Areas
		
			UNEP-WCMC and IUCN. Protected Planet: The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and World
			Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM) [Online], November 2021,
			Cambridge, UK: UNEP-WCMC and IUCN (2021). Available at: www.protectedplanet.net.

CCAMLR MPA data layers, special thanks to Cassandra Brooks, University of Colorado, Boulder
			(USA).
		
		IUCN Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs)
		
		IUCN Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force. Global Dataset of Important Marine Mammal Areas
		(IUCN-IMMA). February 2022. Made available under agreement on terms of use by the IUCN Joint SSC/
		WCPA Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force (2022).
		Available at www.marinemammalhabitat.org/imma-eatlas
		
		Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs)
		
			BirdLife International. World Database of Key Biodiversity Areas. Developed by the KBA Partnership:
			BirdLife International, International Union for the Conservation of Nature, American Bird Conservancy,
			Amphibian Survival Alliance, Conservation International, Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, Global
			Environment Facility, Re:wild, NatureServe, Rainforest Trust, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds,
			Wildlife Conservation Society and World Wildlife Fund. September 2021 version (2021).
			Available at http://keybiodiversityareas.org/kba-data/request
		
		Other Effective Area-based Conservation
			Measures (OECMs)
		
			UNEP-WCMC and IUCN. Protected Planet: The World Database on Other Effective Area-based
			Conservation Measures (WD-OECM) [Online], November 2021, Cambridge, UK: UNEP-WCMC and IUCN
			(2021).
			Available at: www.protectedplanet.net.
		
		Country Borders, Land and Sea Areas
		
		Available at https://www.naturalearthdata.com/
		
		Country EEZs
		
			Flanders Marine Institute. Maritime Boundaries Geodatabase: Maritime Boundaries and Exclusive
			Economic Zones (200NM), version 11 (2019).
			Downloaded from https://www.marineregions.org/. Last accessed 10 February 2021.
			https://doi.org/10.14284/386.
		
		Climate change data
		
		GISTEMP Team: GISS Surface Temperature Analysis (GISTEMP), version 4. NASA Goddard Institute for
		Space Studies (2021).
		Dataset accessed 2021-03-22 at data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/.
		Lenssen, N., G. Schmidt, J. Hansen, M. Menne, A. Persin, R. Ruedy, and D. Zyss. Improvements
		in the GISTEMP uncertainty model. J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 124, no. 12, 6307-6326,
		doi:10.1029/2018JD029522 (2019).
		
		Global fishing effort
		
		Global Fishing Watch. Fishing effort, Version 2. Global Fishing Watch. (2021). Downloaded (19 March
		2021) from https://globalfishingwatch.org/data-download/datasets/public-fishing-effort.
		
		Global ship traffic data
		
			ExactEarth Vessel Traffic Density Layers, (2015). https://www.exactearth.com/product-exactais-densitymaps
		
			Species Probability of Occurrence
		
		Kaschner, K., K. Kesner-Reyes, C. Garilao, J. Segschneider, J. Rius-Barile, T. Rees, and R. Froese.
		AquaMaps: Predicted range maps for aquatic species. World Wide Web electronic publication, www.
		aquamaps.org, version 10/2019 (final) (2019). Last accessed 15 November 2021.