Body size data collected non-invasively fromdrone images indicate a morphologically distinct Chilean blue whale (<i>Balaenopteramusculus</i>) taxon

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dc.contributor.authorLeslie, Matthew S.
dc.contributor.authorPerkins-Taylor, Colin M.
dc.contributor.authorDurban, John W.
dc.contributor.authorMoore, Michael J.
dc.contributor.authorMiller, Carolyn A.
dc.contributor.authorChanarat, Proud
dc.contributor.authorBahamonde, Paulina
dc.contributor.authorChiang, Gustavo
dc.contributor.authorApprill, Amy
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-23T19:46:05Z
dc.date.available2025-01-23T19:46:05Z
dc.date.issued2020
dc.description.abstractThe blue whale Balaenoptera musculus (Linnaeus, 1758) was the target of intense commercial whaling in the 20th century, and current populations remain drastically below prewhaling abundances. Reducing uncertainty in subspecific taxonomy would enable targeted conservation strategies for the recovery of unique intraspecific diversity. Currently, there are 2 named blue whale subspecies in the temperate to polar Southern Hemisphere: the Antarctic blue whale B. m. intermedia and the pygmy blue whale B. m. brevicauda. These subspecies have distinct morphologies, genetics, and acoustics. In 2019, the Society for Marine Mammalogy's Committee on Taxonomy agreed that evidence supports a third (and presently unnamed) subspecies of Southern Hemisphere blue whale subspecies, the Chilean blue whale. Whaling data indicate that the Chilean blue whale is intermediate in body length between pygmy and Antarctic blue whales. We collected body size data from blue whales in the Gulfo Corcovado, Chile, during the austral summers of 2015 and 2017 using aerial photogrammetry from a remotely controlled drone to test the hypothesis that the Chilean blue whale is morphologically distinct from other Southern Hemisphere blue whale subspecies. We found the Chilean whale to be morphologically intermediate in both overall body length and relative tail length, thereby joining other diverse data in supporting the Chilean blue whale as a unique subspecific taxon. Additional photogrammetry studies of Antarctic, pygmy, and Chilean blue whales will help examine unique morphological variation within this species of conservation concern. To our knowledge, this is the first non-invasive small drone study to test a hypothesis for systematic biology.
dc.description.funderFoundation MERI (Melimoyu Ecosystem Research Institute)
dc.fuente.origenWOS
dc.identifier.doi10.3354/esr01066
dc.identifier.eissn1613-4796
dc.identifier.issn1863-5407
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.3354/esr01066
dc.identifier.urihttps://repositorio.uc.cl/handle/11534/100262
dc.identifier.wosidWOS:000619516900022
dc.language.isoen
dc.pagina.final304
dc.pagina.inicio291
dc.revistaEndangered species research
dc.rightsacceso restringido
dc.subjectAerial photogrammetry
dc.subjectTaxonomy
dc.subjectSubspecies
dc.subjectWhaling
dc.subjectSystematics
dc.subjectUnoccupied aerial systems
dc.subjectUAS
dc.subject.ods14 Life Below Water
dc.subject.odspa14 Vida submarina
dc.titleBody size data collected non-invasively fromdrone images indicate a morphologically distinct Chilean blue whale (<i>Balaenopteramusculus</i>) taxon
dc.typeartículo
dc.volumen43
sipa.indexWOS
sipa.trazabilidadWOS;2025-01-12
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