Nicola Ransome

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Research Associate at Murdoch University

For the 40 years after the end of commercial whaling in 1976, humpback whale populations in the North Pacific Ocean exhibited a prolonged period of recovery. Using mark–recapture methods on the largest individual photo-identification dataset ever assembled for a cetacean, we estimated annual ocean-basin-wide abundance for the species from 2002 thro...

Introduction: Worldwide, false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) are infrequently encountered, yet long-term studies have shown strong site fidelity as well as long-term associations among individuals in several locations. Detailed studies of this species have primarily been conducted around tropical oceanic islands or in the subtropi�cal sout...

Introduction: The study of many aspects of cetacean ecology is made possible by identifying individuals through space and time. Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) can be easily identified by photographing their ventral tail flukes’ unique shape and pigmentation patterns. The small and endangered distinct population segment (DPS) of Central Am...

Humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae undertake extensive annual migrations, have complex migratory patterns, and have held several mammalian long-distance movement records. Here, we report on a whale known to feed in the Russian Far East that was sighted in breeding areas on either side of the North Pacific, the Mariana Islands and Mexico, in les...

Understanding the migratory patterns of large whales is of conservation importance, especially in identifying threats to specific populations. Migration ecology, including migratory destinations, movements and site fidelity for humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) remain poorly studied in parts of the range of the Central America population, co...

We present an ocean-basin-scale dataset that includes tail fluke photographic identification (photo-ID) and encounter data for most living individual humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the North Pacific Ocean. The dataset was built through a broad collaboration combining 39 separate curated photo-ID catalogs, supplemented with community sc...

Current knowledge of the abundance, movements, and population structure of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) at the scale of the entire North Pacific Ocean is based primarily on data collected during and prior to 2004-06. In recent years, new technology and international collaboration among research groups across the North Pacific have enabl...

Humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae typically fast for several months in low-latitude breeding areas. Here we report on persistent feeding events during 5 wintering seasons between 2013 and 2020 in a known upwelling region of Banderas Bay of the mainland Mexico breeding area. In total, there were 76 unique feeding events documented (group size =...

We present an ocean-basin-scale dataset that includes tail fluke photographic identification (photo-ID) and encounter data for the majority of living individual humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) in the North Pacific Ocean. The dataset was built through a broad collaboration combining 39 separate curated photo-ID catalogs supplemented with...

We present an ocean-basin-scale dataset that includes tail fluke photographic identification (photo-ID) and encounter data for most living individual humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) in the North Pacific Ocean. The dataset was built through a broad collaboration combining 39 separate curated photo-ID catalogs, supplemented with community...

The SPLASH project (2004–2006) revealed complex population structure and migratory connections, but no regional effort was made along the southern Mexican Pacific coast until dedicated research was initiated in 2010. It is unclear whether humpback whales documented in this region belong to the Mexican or Central American population units. This stud...

El enredo en las artes de pesca es reconocido como la principal amenaza moderna para las poblaciones de cetáceos a nivel mundial. A continuación, se presenta la primera evidencia de interacciones entre las pesquerías artesanales marino-costeras y los cetáceos a lo largo de la costa del Pacífico de El Salvador. Entre los años 2017 y 2022, se registr...

Este reporte integra información producto de proyectos colaborativos, que se han llevado a cabo entre WWF México, la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) y la Asociación Civil Ecología y Conservación de Ballenas (ECOBAC). Tiene como objetivo compartir información actual y de alta calidad científica, para ayudar a desarrollar una estrategi...

Vessel strike is recognized as a major modern threat to the recovery of large whale populations globally, but the issue is notoriously difficult to assess. Vessel strikes by large ships frequently go unnoticed, and those involving smaller vessels are rarely reported. Interpreting global patterns of vessel strikes is further hindered by underlying r...

Documented cases of cetacean births in the wild are rare. While there are currently no direct observations of a complete humpback whale birth, they are one of the few large whale species where observers have been present during a birthing event. We compiled eye-witnessed accounts of all known humpback whale birthing events and found nine well-docum...

The mainland Mexico state of Nayarit is an important breeding/calving area for the ‘Threatened’ Mexican humpback whale population and acts as a migratory corridor to the ‘Endangered’ Central American humpback whale population. However, knowledge of the species’ seasonal distribution and habitat use throughout the state is limited. Without a major c...

Banderas Bay, located in the Mexican Pacific, is a breeding/calving ground for the North Pacific stock of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) during the winter. While sporadic registers of humpback whales feeding on their mating grounds exist, this is the first occasion where feeding activity was observed intensively and extensively on a breed...