First record of a fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) in coastal waters of Ecuador in a century

Fernando Félix; Ben Haase; Claudia Terán; Miguel Pozo; Santiago Burneo

doi:10.47536/jcrm.v23i1.360

First record of a fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) in coastal waters of Ecuador in a century

Fernando Félix^*, Ben Haase, Claudia Terán, Miguel Pozo, Santiago Burneo

^*Corresponding author for this work

Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

A male 16.9m fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) was stranded on 3 April 2019 at Chanduy southwestern Ecuador (2°23’29.4”S, 80°44’17.96”W). Its colouration pattern, including the whitecoloured right side of the mouth and around 200 cream‐coloured baleens, are characteristics of the species. This is the first confirmed record of the species in almost a century in mainland Ecuador. A skin sample was taken for molecular studies. Fragments of the D‐loop and CytB mitochondrial genes were amplified and compared with global databases. The D‐loop fragment matched with a haplotype found in a fin whale from the Central‐south of Chile and the CytB with several populations in both hemispheres. Our findings confirm that the Ecuadorian coast is part of the distribution area of southeastern Pacific fin whales.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	141-146
Number of pages	6
Journal	Journal of Cetacean Research and Management
Volume	23
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.47536/jcrm.v23i1.360
State	Published - 28 Sep 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 International Whaling Commission. All rights reserved.

Funding

The Authors thank Yesica Carvajal, Denis Mosquera, Julián Pérez, Carlos Stefano, Katherine Albán and the personnel of Ecuasal and the Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition, who contributed to collecting and transporting bones from Chanduy to Salinas. Melinda Hofmann helped with molecular analysis at PUCE. The sample collection and its molecular analyses were carried out under the Framework Contracts to Assess Genetic Resources No. MAE‐DNB‐CM‐2016‐0042‐PUCE and No. MAAE‐DBI‐CM‐2021‐0165, between the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE) and the Ministry of the Environment of Ecuador as part of the project ‘Molecular characterization of the marine mammals in Ecuadorian waters’.

Funders	Funder number
Denis Mosquera
Ministry of the Environment of Ecuador
Yesica Carvajal
Ministerio del Ambiente, Agua y Transición Ecológica	MAAE‐DBI‐CM‐2021‐0165
Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador

Keywords

DISTRIBUTION
FIN WHALE
GENETICS
SOUTH AMERICA
STRANDINGS

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Cite this

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abstract = "A male 16.9m fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) was stranded on 3 April 2019 at Chanduy southwestern Ecuador (2°23{\textquoteright}29.4”S, 80°44{\textquoteright}17.96”W). Its colouration pattern, including the whitecoloured right side of the mouth and around 200 cream‐coloured baleens, are characteristics of the species. This is the first confirmed record of the species in almost a century in mainland Ecuador. A skin sample was taken for molecular studies. Fragments of the D‐loop and CytB mitochondrial genes were amplified and compared with global databases. The D‐loop fragment matched with a haplotype found in a fin whale from the Central‐south of Chile and the CytB with several populations in both hemispheres. Our findings confirm that the Ecuadorian coast is part of the distribution area of southeastern Pacific fin whales.",

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AU - Pozo, Miguel

AU - Burneo, Santiago

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First record of a fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) in coastal waters of Ecuador in a century

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

Access to Document

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Cite this