{"id":56349,"date":"2020-12-21T13:00:39","date_gmt":"2020-12-21T14:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/?p=56349"},"modified":"2020-12-21T13:00:41","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T14:00:41","slug":"what-are-the-pilots-doing-in-sao-miguel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whalewatchingazores.com\/blog\/what-are-the-pilots-doing-in-sao-miguel\/","title":{"rendered":"What are the pilots doing in S\u00e3o Miguel?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One of the great things about Futurismo is that we don\u2019t only offer our clients the opportunity to go out on a boat and observe the magnificent creatures that live in our little corner of the Atlantic, but also, we are trying to learn more about these through the research of our biologists. We are currently developing several projects to investigate various species that we can find around S\u00e3o Miguel Island, among which sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus<\/em>), common dolphins (Delphinus delphis<\/em>), bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus<\/em>), Risso\u2019s dolphins (Grampus griseus<\/em>) and, the subject of our entry today, short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus<\/em>). Ramona, is a Marine Biology Master student at the University of Algarve and she spent the last months preparing her master thesis researching the short-finned pilot whales of S\u00e3o Miguel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Who are the pilot whales?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This species actually belongs to the dolphin family and it is the second largest of this group after the orca, with males reaching lengths of up to 7 m, while the shorter females measure around 5 m. It is very easy to identify these animals due to their large, rounded head, without a visible beak, the dark grey-black colour (which in the past earned them the name \u201cblackfish\u201d) and the dorsal fin that is placed in the first third of the body. The pectoral fins are sickle-shaped and their length is one of the main characteristics that differentiate long-finned pilot whales (G. melas<\/em>) from the short-finned pilot whales (G. macrorhynchus<\/em>), as their names suggest. Another difference between these two species is their distribution. While G. melas <\/em>prefers colder regions at higher latitudes, G. macrorhynchus <\/em>inhabits warm temperate to tropical waters all around the world and is, therefore, the main species to be found around the Azores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo by Ramona Negulescu, Tenerife 2017<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Short-finned pilot whales feed mainly on squid and they perform very deep dives in order to go hunt for them. They are among the fastest cetaceans, being known to reach speeds of 9 m\/s and for this reason, they have been nicknamed \u201cthe cheetahs of the deep sea\u201d (Aguilar Soto et al., 2008). These animals live in matriarchal groups, formed by an old female and various generations of her offspring. The females have one calf every 3-5 years and they can have a total of 4-5 calves during their life. One of the interesting facts about short-finned pilot whales is that they are one of the few species of mammals in which females go through menopause. After finishing their fertile period, they dedicate the last years of their lives helping out with raising the young of other females of the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why should we study them?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although this species is quite common in various parts of the world and occurs frequently within Macaronesia, with some groups being residents around Tenerife and Madeira, very little is known about the animals that are seen around the Azores, and S\u00e3o Miguel Island in particular. They are rarely sighted in the area and all the individuals from the Azores are known to be transients, which means they only pass by from time to time. We don\u2019t know yet if they prefer to come always to the same region of the ocean or if they come more during a certain season. We also don\u2019t know which specific individuals are seen around the island and if there are always the same ones that come every year. The species has been listed as \u201cData Deficient\u201d on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2008 and recently in 2018 as \u201cLeast Concern\u201d. However, it still faces numerous threats, including plastic pollution, collisions with boats or ending up as bycatch in various forms of fisheries. It is therefore essential to investigate whether or not they form a single conservation unit in order to implement the correct management procedures.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What were the aims and objectives of this study?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aim of Ramona\u2019s master thesis was to fill as much as possible of this knowledge gap about the pilot whales of S\u00e3o Miguel. For this purpose, data collected by our biologists from opportunistic boat surveys on whale-watching platforms, as well as data collected from land surveys by our lookouts were analyzed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Distribution maps using GPS coordinates taken while out at sea were produced in order to show how the pilot whales use the space around the island and to check if they prefer certain points or if they spread over a larger area. In order to assess if they prefer a certain season, both land and boat data were used. During the low touristic season, when whale watching trips are not performed on a daily basis mostly because of unfavourable sea conditions, some sightings might be recorded only from land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A photo identification (photo ID) catalogue was also compiled in order to find which individuals were spotted in the area and to see if the same ones come back year after year. In order to do so, more than 3400 photos were processed and analyzed in search for distinctions in the shape and number of notches of the dorsal fins that help us differentiate between individuals. This technique contributes to our knowledge about the movements of these animals in the North Atlantic.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Photos by Laura Otero, S\u00e3o Miguel 2017<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What were some of the findings of this study?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    After analysing data and photos collected over the past 11 years, Ramona found that the pilot whales of S\u00e3o Miguel prefer to pass by the island during the summer, when they are also often sighted accompanied by calves and juveniles. They are generally spotted a few kilometers away from the shore, in regions with deep waters, where there are more chances for them to find the squid that they prey on. We now have a catalogue that identifies more than 300 different pilot whales, some of which have been spotted together on different occasions, therefore indicating they might belong to the same group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Are there any plans for the future?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This project is in its first stage and our findings are only beginning to shape an understanding about the presence of this species in the Azores. However, there are still so many questions left to answer about the pilot whales of S\u00e3o Miguel. How many groups are passing by and how often do they do it? Exactly how many individuals are part of each group? Are they the same whales that are spotted around other islands of the archipelago? These are just a few of the research ideas that we will try to investigate during the following years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Written by Ramona Negulescu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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