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https://hdl.handle.net/2440/48225
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Type: | Journal article |
Title: | Periodic variability in cetacean strandings: links to large-scale climate events |
Author: | Evans, K. Thresher, R. Warneke, R. Bradshaw, C. Pook, M. Thiele, D. Hindell, M. |
Citation: | Biology Letters, 2005; 1(2):147-150 |
Publisher: | The Royal Society |
Issue Date: | 2005 |
ISSN: | 1744-9561 1744-957X |
Statement of Responsibility: | K. Evans, R. Thresher, R. M. Warneke, C. J. A. Bradshaw, M. Pook, D. Thiele and M. A. Hindell |
Abstract: | Cetacean strandings elicit much community and scientific interest, but few quantitative analyses have successfully identified environmental correlates to these phenomena. Data spanning 1920–2002, involving a total of 639 stranding events and 39 taxa groups from southeast Australia, were found to demonstrate a clear 11–13- year periodicity in the number of events through time. These data positively correlated with the regional persistence of both zonal (westerly) and meridional (southerly) winds, reflecting general long-term and large-scale shifts in sea-level pressure gradients. Periods of persistent zonal and meridional winds result in colder and presumably nutrient-rich waters being driven closer to southern Australia, resulting in increased biological activity in the water column during the spring months. These observations suggest that large-scale climatic events provide a powerful distal influence on the propensity for whales to strand in this region. These patterns provide a powerful quantitative framework for testing hypotheses regarding environmental links to strandings and provide managers with a potential predictive tool to prepare for years of peak stranding activity. |
Keywords: | cetacean strandings southeast Australia climate meridional winds zonal winds sea-surface temperature |
Rights: | © 2005 The Royal Society |
DOI: | 10.1098/rsbl.2005.0313 |
Published version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2005.0313 |
Appears in Collections: | Aurora harvest 6 Earth and Environmental Sciences publications Environment Institute Leaders publications |
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