About
34
Publications
13,433
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
663
Citations
Citations since 2017
Introduction
Publications
Publications (34)
The use of anthropogenic debris as nest-building materials may affect nest function. We study ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) on an island with scarce vegetation and high availability of beached marine debris. We describe the anthropogenic debris in osprey nests, evaluate the factors affecting its prevalence and abundance, and test its potential effect...
First confirmed sighting of pygmy killer whales from Cabo Verde. Recorded during our expedition in September 2019.
Effective conservation of the endangered North Atlantic humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) which breeds in the eastern North Atlantic around the Cape Verde Islands off West Africa requires information about their spatio-temporal distribution, population size, and migratory patterns. Understanding temporal distribution is particularly important...
The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group in collaboration with Bios.CV and NOAA carried out biopsy sampling and photo-id on humpback whales off Boa Vista, Cabo Verde during April 2019. Between 17-28 April, photo-id and biopsy sampling was carried out from a dedicated vessel off Sal Rei, Boa Vista. The purpose of the research was not only to improve our kn...
There was a drop in numbers of calves observed in the Bay of Sal Rei, Boa Vista Island: from 9-10 in the years from 2011 to 2014, to 4 in 2015 and 0 in 2016. Encounter rate for calves in calving area of the Cape Verde Islands: statistical analysis for the years 2011-2016 for the possible influence of sampling efforts and wind speed on the number of...
From Norway to Cape Verde: New insights into the migratory behavior of humpback whales in the Eastern North Atlantic
In species that aggregate for reproduction, the social and fitness costs of movement between groups frequently lead to restricted exchange between breeding areas. We report on four individual humpback whales identified in both the Cape Verde Islands and Guadeloupe; locations separated by an ocean basin and >4000 km. This rate of exchange is rarely...
Despite having a worldwide distribution in tropical waters, knowledge on pygmy killer whales Feresa attenuata, including diet, is poor, with only a few studies carried out to date. The presence of otoliths and beaks in stomachs that have been examined indicate that the diet of F. attenuata includes squid, octopus and fish. In this study, the stomac...
The abundance of humpback whales occurring around Boa Vista, Cape Verde Islands, was estimated by mark recapture modelling. Photographs of markings on tail flukes of individual whales were collected during the breeding season. Sighting histories were constructed for each individual and an abundance of 171 animals was estimated using a Jolly-Seber m...
Between 2004 and 2007, we studied density, habitat features and breeding parameters of the osprey (Pandion haliaetus) population in Boa Vista Island (Cape Verde). A total of 79 nest structures were identified, 37 of which were occupied for at least 1 year during the study period. The osprey population ranged between 14 and 18 pairs, and the mean de...
The waters surrounding Cape Verde comprise one of two known breeding grounds for humpback whales in the North Atlantic. The population remains very small and has apparently failed to recover since the cessation of whaling there. During the breeding seasons of 2011 and 2012, sighting surveys were carried out for humpback whales off Boa Vista, the ea...
Blubber lipid concentrations of 14 organochlorine compounds (OCCs) and 10 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) were measured by gas chromatography with electron-capture detection (GC-ECD) in eastern North Atlantic humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae from Cape Verde (n = 20) and Ireland (n = 4). Concentrations were statistically compared to those from...
The Cape Verde Islands is home to what appear to be the smallest humpback whale winter breeding ground yet it is unclear if the humpback whales at the Cape Verde Islands interbreed with those in the West Indies. Here we present the results of the genetic analysis of 50 humpback whale samples collected in the Cape Verdes. We genotyped 20 each sample...
Marine turtles undergo dramatic ontogenic changes in body size and behavior, with the loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta, typically switching from an initial oceanic juvenile stage to one in the neritic, where maturation is reached and breeding migrations are subsequently undertaken every 2–3 years 1, 2 and 3. Using satellite tracking, we inves...
Abstract
During the winter/spring months from 1990 to 2011, 15 cetacean surveys were conducted around the Cape Verde Islands off West Africa. The main target species was the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae). Study periods varied from 14 to 90 d in duration. Study platforms included a 5-m inflatable boat, a 12-m catamaran, and/or 15-m saili...
In the North Atlantic, the waters surrounding the Cape Verde Islands are a 'potential hot spot' for cookiecutter shark Isistius spp. interactions with cetaceans. These occurrences were recently identified by the improved efforts of researchers to document cetacean strandings in the Cape Verde archipelago, as well as by the photo identification effo...
Humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae perform the longest known migrations among mammalian species (Stone et al. 1990, Rasmussen et al. 2007), feeding at high latitudes during the summer and undertaking annual journeys to their wintering breeding grounds in warm and shallow tropical waters (Winn & Reichley 1985, Clapham & Mead 1999). Due to breedi...
Based on both stranding and sighting records, recent data on the status and distribution of whales and dolphins in the Cape Verde Islands are presented, including records of four taxa new to the archipelago, viz. Common minke whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata, Dwarf sperm whale Kogia sima, beaked whale Mesoplodon cf. europaeus and False killer whale...
During the winter/spring months from 1990 to 2009, 13 cetacean surveys were conducted around the Cape Verde Islands off West Africa. The main target species was the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae). Study periods varied from 14 to 90 d in duration. Study platforms included a 5-m inflatable boat, a 12-m catamaran, and/or 15-m sailing or motor...
On 17-19 November 2007, t wo mass stranding events of melon-headed whales Peponocephala electra occurred in western Boavista, Cape Verde Islands, concerning 265 and 70 animals respectively. Only ca. 65 individuals could be successfully returned to the sea. Dead animals were immediately buried in a mass grave on the beach which however impeded necro...
On 17-19 November 2007, two mass stranding events of melon-headed whales Peponocephala electra occurred in western Boavista, Cape Verde Islands, concerning 265 and 70 animals respectively. Only ca. 65 individuals could be successfully returned to the sea. Dead animals were immediately buried in a mass grave on the beach which however impeded necrop...
Marine turtles undergo dramatic ontogenic changes in body size and behavior, with the loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta, typically switching from an initial oceanic juvenile stage to one in the neritic, where maturation is reached and breeding migrations are subsequently undertaken every 2–3 years [1
• Hopkins-Murphy S.R.
• Owens D.W.
• Murph...
On 31 August 2003, at 11:40 local time, c. 5 nm southwest of São Nicolau (16º33.1N, 024º27.7W), Cape Verde Islands, GT and PLS observed c. 20 Fraser's Dolphins Lagenodelphis hosei Fraser, 1956 (Fig.1). The sighting was made under excellent weather conditions (sea state Beaufort 2 with sun) from the 39.6 m diesel engine powered oceanographic researc...
