Table 1.
Survey effort in km and number of whale sightings during the 16 research surveys conducted by the SEFSC between 2004 and 2019. Bold designates surveys dedicated to studying Rice’s whales with most or all effort in the Core Area.
Fig 1.
Rice’s whale sightings with photos incorporated into the catalog and survey tracklines performed in the Core Area during the 16 SEFSC surveys.
Inner map: total survey tracklines and Rice’s whale sightings, including one off the coast of TX seen in 2017 and the stranding location off FL in 2019.
Table 2.
The 31 individually identified Rice’s whales, their fin type (Dist. = distinctive, Marg. = marginally distinctive and ND = non-distinctive), sex (if known), number of sightings matched, time span in days between first and last sightings; along with primary and secondary features used for matching (Anat. malf. = anatomical malformation, Cc = cookiecutter shark bite scar, DF lac. = dorsal fin laceration, DF NN = dorsal fin nicks and notches, DF pigm. = dorsal fin pigmentation, Nod. = nodules, ped. nicks = peduncle nicks and gaps). Bold indicates genetic duplicates.
Fig 2.
Dorsal fin attributes used for individually identifying and matching Rice’s whales.
Catalog ID 1000 “Stumpy” with a distinctive dorsal fin caused by a laceration (top left), catalog ID 6000 “Jean Jacques” with a distinctive dorsal fin caused by a deep round notch on the upper trailing edge (top right), catalog ID 12005 “Squiggles” with a marginally distinctive dorsal fin with small and shallow nicks on the upper trailing edge (bottom left), and catalog ID 12003 “Edna “ with a marginally distinctive dorsal fin with a unique overall shape (bottom right).
Fig 3.
Whales with non-distinctive dorsal fins primarily matched by cookiecutter shark bite scars on their bodies.
Catalog ID 20031 “Splash” with multiple bite scars on the body (top), catalog ID 20001 “Scyther” with a few bite scars under the dorsal fin and a vertebral anatomical malformation (center), and catalog ID 20023 “Jo Jo” with multiple bite scars behind the dorsal fin (bottom).
Fig 4.
Secondary features used for identifying and matching Rice’s whales.
Catalog ID 1000 “Beaker” displaying nodules of varying sizes (top), catalog ID 20031 “Splash” with a gap on the peduncle (center), and catalog ID 20014 “Milky Way” with white nodules and nicks on the peduncle (bottom).
Fig 5.
Discovery curve of the cumulative number of individually identified Rice’s whales (red) by the km of effort (blue) surveyed inside the Core Area during all SEFSC surveys between 2004 and 2019.
Fig 6.
Catalog ID 12008 “Dig Deeper” a whale missed during the initial photographic matching and matched by genetic samples collected in 2011 (top) and 2019 (bottom).
Note the slight indentation on the dorsal fin (bottom) and possible cookiecutter shark bite scar partially merged with the chevron on both images.
Fig 7.
Catalog ID 1001 “Stumpy” showing the unchanged dorsal fin photographed in 2007 (top left), 2011 (top right), 2015 (center left) and 2019 (center right).
Catalog ID 2000 “Chip Tip” photographed in 2010 (bottom left) and 2019 (bottom right), showing the unaltered dorsal fin profile and the cookiecutter shark bite scar on the left peduncle on both images.
Fig 8.
Catalog ID 6004 “Scoop” photographed in 2010 (top), 2017 (center) and 2019 (bottom).
The cookiecutter shark bite scar on the left peduncle is seen in all images; the shallow notch on the upper trailing edge of the dorsal fin is seen only in 2017 and 2019.
Fig 9.
Catalog ID 12009 “Ms. Clean” displaying the unchanged dorsal fin and multiple cookiecutter shark bite scars on the body photographed in 2015 (top left) and 2019 (bottom left).
Catalog ID 7001 “Gonzo” displaying the unchanged highly distinctive dorsal fin, a cookiecutter shark bite scar and a large round scar on the dorsum in 2010 (top right) and 2011 (bottom right).
Fig 10.
Catalog ID 20001 “Scyther”, a female, individually identified by the multiple cookiecutter shark bite scars and a vertebral anatomical malformation, photographed in 2007 (top left) and 2011 (bottom left).
The presumed calf from 2007, catalog ID 20002 (top right) is shown with a non-distinctive dorsal fin; the bottom right image shows “Scyther” with the presumed calf, catalog ID 20049, photographed in 2011 by O.S.U.
Fig 11.
Catalog ID 7002 “Mystery”, presumed calf of catalog ID 12009 “Ms. Clean”, photographed in 2015 (top).
Catalog ID 6004 “Scoop” (bottom and back) and presumed calf catalog ID 2001 “Scar” (bottom and front) photographed together in 2019; note the small notch and depigmentation on the apex of “Scar’s” dorsal fin.
Fig 12.
Catalog ID 6004 “Scoop” (adult female) with a relatively large and smooth rostrum (top left) and her presumed calf, catalog ID 20021 with a relatively small rostrum (top left).
Details for catalog ID 20021: mottling on the skin and roughened rostrum (bottom left), and bent-over dorsal fin (bottom right).
Fig 13.
Catalog ID 9000 “Lucky” photographed in 2019 with a large healed scar on the peduncle indicative of a vessel strike (top and center).
Catalog ID 7003 “Witch Hazel” photographed alive in 2018 displaying the distinctive dorsal fin and sunken dorsum, indicative of emaciation (bottom).
Fig 14.
Catalog ID 20023 “Edna”, photographed with a UAV (top) and matched to the vessel-based photograph by a cookiecutter shark bite scar and scars on the dorsum (bottom).