Marine protected areas (MPAs) are a commonly used management tool to safeguard marine life from anthropogenic impacts, yet their efficacy often remains untested. Evaluating how highly dynamic marine species use static MPAs is challenging but becoming more feasible with the advancement of telemetry data. Here, we focus on southern right whales ( Eubalaena australis, , SRWs) in the waters off Aotearoa/New Zealand, which declined from 30,000 whales to fewer than 40 mature females due to whaling. Now numbering in the low thousands, the key socializing and nursery areas for this population in the remote subantarctic islands are under the protection of different types of MPAs. However, the effectiveness of these MPAs in encompassing important whale habitat and protecting the whales from vessel traffic has not been investigated. To address this, we analyzed telemetry data from 29 SRWs tagged at the Auckland Islands between 2009 and 2022. We identified two previously unknown and currently unprotected areas that were used by the whales for important behaviors such as foraging, socializing, or resting. Additionally, by combining whale locations and vessel tracking data (2020-2022) during peak breeding period (June to October), we found high spatiotemporal overlap between whales and vessels within several MPAs, suggesting the whales could still be vulnerable to multiple anthropogenic stressors even when within areas designated for protection. Our results identify areas to be prioritized for future monitoring and investigation to support the ongoing recovery of this SRW population, as well as highlight the overarching importance of assessing MPA effectiveness post-implementation, especially in a changing climate.

Changes in habitat availability and prey abundance are predicted to adversely influence survival and reproduction of wildlife in the Southern Ocean. Some populations of southern right whale (SRW; Eubalaena australis ) are showing dramatic changes in habitat use. Surveys were undertaken in the austral winters of 2020 and 2021 at the key nursery and socialising ground for New Zealand SRWs: Port Ross, Auckland Islands, with 548 encounters and 599 skin biopsy samples collected. Data from these two surveys spanned peak periods of use and were used to test the hypothesis there have been shifts in the phenology, demographic composition and behaviour of SRWs using the Auckland Islands over the past three decades. The behavioural phenology and demographic composition of SRW resembles that observed in the 1990s. In contrast, the proportion of groups containing cow-calf pairs increased from 20% in the 1998 survey to 50% in 2020/21. These changes are consistent with a growing population undergoing strong recruitment, not limited by food resources. Continued use of Port Ross by all SRW demographic classes confirms this as key habitat for SRW in New Zealand waters, and we support increased enforcement of existing management measures to reduce whale-vessel interactions in this remote subantarctic archipelago.

Marine Mammal ScienceEarly View NOTE First satellite-tracked movements of pygmy blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) in New Zealand waters Kimberly T. Goetz, Corresponding Author Kimberly T. Goetz kim.goetz@noaa.gov orcid.org/0000-0002-1356-0512 National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research, Wellington, New Zealand Marine Mammal Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Seattle, Washington, USA Correspondence Kimberly T. Goetz, Marine Mammal Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Seattle, WA 98115-6349. Email: kim.goetz@noaa.govSearch for more papers by this authorSimon J. Childerhouse, Simon J. Childerhouse Cawthron Institute, Nelson, New Zealand Contribution: Data curation, Writing - review & editingSearch for more papers by this authorDavid Paton, David Paton Blue Planet Marine, Canberra, Australia Contribution: Data curation, Writing - review & editingSearch for more papers by this authorMike Ogle, Mike Ogle Department of Conservation, Takaka, New Zealand Contribution: Data curation, Writing - review & editingSearch for more papers by this authorKrista van der Linde, Krista van der Linde National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research, Wellington, New ZealandSearch for more papers by this authorRochelle Constantine, Rochelle Constantine orcid.org/0000-0003-3260-539X University of Auckland, School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Marine Sciences, Auckland, New Zealand Contribution: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Methodology, Writing - original draftSearch for more papers by this authorMichael C. Double, Michael C. Double Australian Marine Mammal Center, Australian Antarctic Division, Hobart, Australia Contribution: ​Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Writing - review & editingSearch for more papers by this authorVirginia Andrews-Goff, Virginia Andrews-Goff orcid.org/0000-0002-4609-7317 Australian Marine Mammal Center, Australian Antarctic Division, Hobart, Australia Contribution: Methodology, Writing - review & editingSearch for more papers by this authorAlexandre N. Zerbini, Alexandre N. Zerbini orcid.org/0000-0002-9776-6605 Marine Mammal Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Seattle, Washington, USA Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA Marine Ecology and Telemetry Research, Seabeck, Washington, USASearch for more papers by this authorPaula A. Olson, Paula A. Olson Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, La Jolla, California, USA Contribution: Data curation, ​Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Writing - review & editingSearch for more papers by this author Kimberly T. Goetz, Corresponding Author Kimberly T. Goetz kim.goetz@noaa.gov orcid.org/0000-0002-1356-0512 National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research, Wellington, New Zealand Marine Mammal Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Seattle, Washington, USA Correspondence Kimberly T. Goetz, Marine Mammal Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Seattle, WA 98115-6349. Email: kim.goetz@noaa.govSearch for more papers by this authorSimon J. Childerhouse, Simon J. Childerhouse Cawthron Institute, Nelson, New Zealand Contribution: Data curation, Writing - review & editingSearch for more papers by this authorDavid Paton, David Paton Blue Planet Marine, Canberra, Australia Contribution: Data curation, Writing - review & editingSearch for more papers by this authorMike Ogle, Mike Ogle Department of Conservation, Takaka, New Zealand Contribution: Data curation, Writing - review & editingSearch for more papers by this authorKrista van der Linde, Krista van der Linde National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research, Wellington, New ZealandSearch for more papers by this authorRochelle Constantine, Rochelle Constantine orcid.org/0000-0003-3260-539X University of Auckland, School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Marine Sciences, Auckland, New Zealand Contribution: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Methodology, Writing - original draftSearch for more papers by this authorMichael C. Double, Michael C. Double Australian Marine Mammal Center, Australian Antarctic Division, Hobart, Australia Contribution: ​Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Writing - review & editingSearch for more papers by this authorVirginia Andrews-Goff, Virginia Andrews-Goff orcid.org/0000-0002-4609-7317 Australian Marine Mammal Center, Australian Antarctic Division, Hobart, Australia Contribution: Methodology, Writing - review & editingSearch for more papers by this authorAlexandre N. Zerbini, Alexandre N. Zerbini orcid.org/0000-0002-9776-6605 Marine Mammal Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Seattle, Washington, USA Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA Marine Ecology and Telemetry Research, Seabeck, Washington, USASearch for more papers by this authorPaula A. Olson, Paula A. Olson Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, La Jolla, California, USA Contribution: Data curation, ​Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Writing - review & editingSearch for more papers by this author First published: 25 September 2021 https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12876 Funding information: National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research; New Zealand Department of Conservation; OMV Ltd Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. 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Conservation monitoring of highly mobile species in relatively inaccessible habitats presents a considerable challenge to wildlife biologists. Effective conservation strategies require knowledge of cetacean ecology that is often challenging and expensive to obtain. Despite their caveats, stranding data represent an underused resource to study the long-term dynamics of cetacean populations. Using long-finned pilot whale (LFPW; Globicephala melas edwardii) strandings on the New Zealand coast as a case study, we present a novel approach to demonstrate how stranding data can inform conservation management of data-poor species. A total of 8571 LFPWs stranded on the New Zealand coast within a 40-year period between January 1978 and December 2017. Overall, where sex was recorded, mass stranded adults were significantly biased towards females, while a significant male bias was observed in juveniles. Strandings occurred in all months, though significant seasonal variation was evident, with 66% of stranding events reported during austral spring and summer months (October–February). Hot spot analysis (ArcGIS) identified the majority of LFPWs stranded at Golden Bay, Great Barrier Island, Stewart Island and the Chatham Islands, with emerging hot spot analysis (ArcGIS) used to identify spatiotemporal trends. While emerging hot spot analysis revealed no significant temporal trend in the annual frequency of stranding events or numbers of individuals stranded, it did reveal a significant spatiotemporal trend, with the numbers of stranded individuals declining in areas of the Far North, Coromandel, Canterbury, Otago and the Chatham Islands, and increasing in Golden Bay and Stewart Island. When combined with other contextual information, such trends help identify the most significant clusters of LFPW strandings on the New Zealand coast, provide baseline ecological data on a poorly understood subspecies, and can be used to guide conservation management of G. m. edwardii in New Zealand waters.

Species conservation depends on robust population assessment. Data on population abundance, distribution, and connectivity are critical for effective management, especially as baseline information for newly documented populations. We describe a pygmy blue whale Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda population in New Zealand waters with year-round presence that overlaps with industrial activities. This population was investigated using a multidisciplinary approach, including analysis of survey data, sighting records, acoustic data, identification photographs, and genetic samples. Blue whales were reported during every month of the year in the New Zealand Exclusive Economic Zone, with reports concentrated in the South Taranaki Bight (STB) region, where foraging behavior was frequently observed. Five hydrophones in the STB recorded the New Zealand blue whale call type on 99.7% of recording days (January to December 2016). A total of 151 individuals were photo-identified between 2004 and 2017. Nine individuals were resighted across multiple years. No matches were made to individuals identified in Australian or Antarctic waters. Mitochondrial DNA haplotype frequencies differed significantly between New Zealand (n = 53 individuals) and all other Southern Hemisphere blue whale populations, and haplotype diversity was significantly lower than all other populations. These results suggest a high degree of isolation of this New Zealand population. Using a closed capture-recapture population model, our conservative abundance estimate of blue whales in New Zealand is 718 (SD = 433, 95% CI = 279-1926). Our results fill critical knowledge gaps to improve management of blue whale populations in New Zealand and surrounding regions.

In this chapter, issues of marine mammal welfare are illustrated through recounting three mass stranding events of long-finned pilot whales which occurred in Golden Bay, New Zealand. For two of the mass strandings discussed, both were reported soon after the whales stranded and had good access and high numbers of volunteers assisting Department of Conservation (DOC) staff. One of these strandings had a high refloating success rate (89% of 345 whales), the other a moderate success rate (39% of 198 whales). This contrasted with the third stranding (comprising of 105 whales) which occurred in a remote location with difficult access and was first observed from an aircraft, 1 or possibly 2 days after the initial stranding. When DOC staff arrived at this remote site, less than one quarter of the pod was still alive, and these were suffering considerably. Given the whales' poor condition, high degree of suffering and low chance of survival, they were euthanised following DOC guidelines. These three mass strandings were relatively large and if combined accounted for approximately one third of the nearly 2000 cetaceans that stranded in Golden Bay between 1990 and 2016. New Zealand has a relatively high occurrence of strandings, with an average of 300 cetaceans stranded annually in the last 26 years. Stranding events are recorded on the New Zealand Whale and Dolphin Stranding Database, which is maintained by the DOC. This government organisation has statutory responsibility for management of marine mammals under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Its role, obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi and use of volunteers at mass strandings are briefly described.

The foraging challenge for predators is to find and capture food with adequate levels of energy and nutrients. Marine predators require particularly sophisticated foraging strategies that enable them to balance self- and offspring-feeding, and also in many circumstances simultaneously consider the nutritional constraints of their partners. Here we combined the use of dietary analysis, proximate composition and nutritional geometry (right-angled mixture triangle nutritional models) to examine the macronutrient preferences of Australasian gannets (Morus serrator) at Farewell Spit gannetry in New Zealand. Our results showed intra- and inter-specific variation in the protein, lipid and water composition of prey captured by our sample of 111 Australasian gannets. In addition, we observed significant differences in the Australasian gannets’ nutritional niche between seasons. We provide evidence of sex-specific macronutrient foraging strategies in a successful marine predator in the wild. We have shown that in spite of fluctuations in the nutritional composition of foods available to Australasian gannets, males consistently capture prey with higher protein-to-lipid ratios and lower lipid-to-water ratios than females. These results aid to better understand the evolutionary relationship between macronutrient selection and sex-specific traits in wild animals. They also suggest an incentive for these predators to combine individually imbalanced but nutritionally complementary foods to achieve dietary balance, further highlighting the likelihood that prey selection is guided by the balance of macronutrients, rather than energy alone.