The median date was 23–26 January for the first and third season and a week early for the second season. Boat

surveys indicated a wide (20 km) migration corridor but most gray whales traveled within 9.9 km from shore. The estimated total number of whales during watch hours was 2,298 (95% CI = 1,536–4,447). “
“Bio-logging tags are widely used to study the behavior and movements of marine mammals with the tacit assumption of little impact to the animal. However, tags on fast-swimming animals generate substantial hydrodynamic forces potentially affecting behavior and energetics adversely, or promoting early removal of the tag. In this work, hydrodynamic loading of three novel tag housing designs are compared over a range of swimming speeds Galunisertib manufacturer using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Results from CFD simulation AZD9291 chemical structure were verified using tag models in a water flume with close agreement. Drag forces were reduced by minimizing geometric disruptions to the flow around the housing, while lift forces were reduced by minimizing the frontal cross-sectional area of the housing and holding the tag close to the attachment surface. Hydrodynamic tag design resulted in an experimentally measured 60%

drag force reduction in 5.6 m/s flow. For all housing designs, off-axis flow increased the magnitude of the force on the tag. Experimental work with a common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) cadaver indicates that the suction cups used to attach the types of tags described here selleck screening library provide sufficient attachment force to resist failure to predicted forces at swimming speeds of up to 10 m/s. “
“Extreme environmental events and demographic changes can have variable effects on the social structure of animal populations. This study compared the social structure of a community of Atlantic spotted dolphins in the Bahamas before and after two hurricanes. Approximately

36% of the individuals were lost, with no subsequent increase in immigration. The majority of the social structure characteristics were consistent with results from a long-term study covering the previous 12 yr, including community structure with definitive social clusters, sex preferences and overall association patterns. However some changes occurred, though still constrained within sex preferences. Posthurricane there was a decrease in social differentiation and increased cohesion within clusters and across age class. Males retained or made new first order alliances, however, only one second order alliance was evident, revealing a simplified alliance structure. Juvenile individuals made alliance level associations, unprecedented from long-term analysis. Although other studies have shown stark restructuring, this study showed that less drastic changes within overall social structure stability can occur.