Find research datasets worth reusing

opencc-by-4.0Apr 2020View details →

MALDI-TOF-MS spectra of historical whale skeletons from the Museum of Zoology, Strasbourg

Spectra data from historical whale skeletons from the Museum.  Samples were acid demineralized followed by gelatinization, digestion with trypsin, and peptide purification on C18 filters.  They were run on on Bruker autoflex MALDI-TOF-MS.  Mzml file formats for the raw data are provided here along with a file information csv file which provides the identification of the samples. For more information see the associated publciation.

opencc-by-4.0Apr 2017View details →

Survival, fecundity and reproductive tissue data from false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens)

These data come from specimens from false killer whales from combined strandings (South Africa, 1981) and harvest (Japan 1979-80). The South African material was collected from 65 false killer whales that stranded en masse on the west coast of the Western Cape Province. Scientists reached the site two days after the stranding event was reported, so the material was not fresh and fixation of tissue samples was suboptimal. Data are available from 41 (including 32 mature) females. The Japanese material (96 females, 57 mature) originated from 6 schools harvested during shore-drive fisheries operations at Iki Island. In each case, as many false killer whales as possible were randomly examined. Data presented here come from 91 females if which 89 were mature. The Japanese and South African data were combined to estimate survival, but fecundity information is available for each separately. These data are associated with the following publication: Theoni Photopoulou, Ines M. Ferreira, Peter B. Best, Toshio Kasuya and Helene Marsh. 2017. Evidence for a postreproductive phase in female false killer whales Pseudorca crassidens. Frontiers in Zoology. 14:30. DOI 10.1186/s12983-017-0208-y

opencc-by-4.0Mar 2024View details →

Diverse baleen whale acoustic occurrence around two sub-Antarctic Islands: A tale of residents and visitors

This dataset contains the acoustic .wav file of all exemplar calls illustrated by the spectrograms in the manuscript figure, MS Excel Spreadsheet file with baleen whale call occurrence and environmental data, and the R code used for fitting the RF models. R codes must be run in the following manner: 1. 01_tune_occ_enviro_rf_model_balance_baleen_whales 2. 02_process_occ_enviro_rf_model_balance_baleen_whales The codes are self-explanatory given the comments contained therein, and the source code for fitting the codes is provided as 000_source_all.

opencc-by-4.0Sep 2019View details →

A right whale (Mysticeti, Balaenidae) from the Pleistocene of Taiwan

Abstract Current patterns of biological distribution result from the deep past. Of particular interest, some closely related species appear at high latitudes of both hemispheres, but not in between, a pattern known as antitropical distribution. However, the timing, pathway, and drivers of antitropical distributions remain mostly unknown. Here we describe a new fossil, a left tympanic bulla (part of the ear bones), from the Middle/Late Pleistocene (0.78–0.01 mya, but not excluding the possibility of Holocene in age, as the specimen was dredged from the sea bottom and the geological horizon remains uncertain) of Taiwan. The tympanic bulla is diagnostic in baleen whales, and this specimen shows morphological features that are identical to extant Eubalaena, including: relatively large size (the anteroposterior length is 117 mm); rectangular outline in medial view; short anterior lobe, judging from the remaining of the lateral furrow; squared anterior margin; prominent transverse crease on the involucrum; transversely compressed in anterior view; well-developed and rounded outer lip; and parallel involucral and main ridges. Although incomplete, the morphological characters and overall similarity to extant Eubalaena allow a reliable taxonomic assignment to Eubalaena sp. The occurrence of a Pleistocene Eubalaena on the southern margin of the western North Pacific is the first balaenid fossil evidence indicative of the biotic interchange between two hemispheres leading to the origin of antitropical distribution in the Pleistocene; alternatively, this specimen might merely represent an extra-limital record of the North Pacific Eubalaena. Furthermore, this find suggests that the Eubalaena interchange, being one of the largest species displaying antitropical distribution pairs in the history of life, likely took place along the western Pacific. Notably, this does not preclude the Eubalaena interchange from other routes, such as the eastern Pacific or the Atlantic Ocean, and future finds should test the scenario for the biotic interchange between Northern and Southern Hemispheres of Eubalaena.

openmit-licenseDec 2020View details →

Evolution of the recombination regulator PRDM9 in minke whales

This data repository contains data and protocols for the manuscript: Evolution of the recombination regulator PRDM9 in minke whales

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Santa Barbara Channel Marine BON: Gray Whales Count

This dataset documents the passage of gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) migrating northbound since 2007, through the nearshore areas of the Santa Barbara Channel, along a corridor extending approximately 3 nautical miles (nm) from the mainland shore. The data is collected by a non-profit organization Gray Whales Count (http://www.graywhalescount.org/GWC/The_Count/The_Count.htmt), which is a research and education project. The survey is conducted at the Coal Oil Point Reserve in Goleta, California, USA. The coastline runs east-west, with northbound whales traveling west, left to right across our Point towards Point Conception. Every year, we survey 98 consecutive days from early February through mid-May. Conditions permitting, each survey-day begins at 9 AM and ends usually at 5 PM.

openCC (other)Mar 2020View details →

opencc-zeroFeb 2019View details →

FIG. 2. — Oil painting from a in The wonder whale: a commodity, a monster, a show and an icon

FIG. 2. — Oil painting from a private collection depicting the shore-based sperm-whaling off the Azores (19 th century). Photo by the authors.

opencc-zeroFeb 2019View details →

FIG. 1 in The wonder whale: a commodity, a monster, a show and an icon

FIG. 1. — Beached fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus (Linnaeus, 1758)) in Parede (nearby Lisbon, Portugal), January 2016. Photo by Inês Carvalho.

opencc-zeroFeb 2019View details →

FIG. 5 in The wonder whale: a commodity, a monster, a show and an icon

FIG. 5. — "There are two whales in this watercolour. One, its tail raised, is diving. The back of the second is indicated by a long, curved pencil line below the tail of the first. A harpoon appears to have struck one of them, for the sea is stained red with blood." A Harpooned Whale (1845) by Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851), part of Ambleteuse and Wimereux Sketchbook. © Tate Collection, CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 (Unported). http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/turner-aharpooned-whale-d35391, last consultation: 16/01/2019.

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Genetic diversity and connectivity of southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) found in the Brazil and Chile–Peru wintering grounds and the South Georgia (Islas Georgias del Sur) feeding ground

As species recover from exploitation, continued assessments of connectivity and population structure are warranted to provide information for conservation and management. This is particularly true in species with high dispersal capacity, such as migratory whales, where patterns of connectivity could change rapidly. Here we build on a previous long-term, large-scale collaboration on southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) to combine new (nnew) and published (npub) mitochondrial (mtDNA) and microsatellite genetic data from all major wintering grounds and, uniquely, the South Georgia (Islas Georgias del Sur: SG) feeding grounds. Specifically, we include data from Argentina (npub mtDNA/microsatellite = 208/46), Brazil (nnew mtDNA/microsatellite = 50/50), South Africa (nnew mtDNA/microsatellite = 66/77, npub mtDNA/microsatellite = 350/47), Chile–Peru (nnew mtDNA/microsatellite = 1/1), the Indo-Pacific (npub mtDNA/microsatellite = 769/126), and SG (npub mtDNA/microsatellite = 8/0, nnew mtDNA/microsatellite = 3/11) to investigate the position of previously unstudied habitats in the migratory network: Brazil, SG, and Chile–Peru. These new genetic data show connectivity between Brazil and Argentina, exemplified by weak genetic differentiation and the movement of 1 genetically identified individual between the South American grounds. The single sample from Chile–Peru had an mtDNA haplotype previously only observed in the Indo-Pacific and had a nuclear genotype that appeared admixed between the Indo-Pacific and South Atlantic, based on genetic clustering and assignment algorithms. The SG samples were clearly South Atlantic and were more similar to the South American than the South African wintering grounds. This study highlights how international collaborations are critical to provide context for emerging or recovering regions, like the SG feeding ground, as well as those that remain critically endangered, such as Chile–Peru.

opencc-zeroSep 2020View details →

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Exploring variability in the diet of depredating sperm whales in the Gulf of Alaska through stable isotope analysis

Sperm whales interact with commercially important groundfish fisheries offshore in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This study aims to use stable isotope analysis to better understand the trophic variability of sperm whales and their potential prey, and to use dietary mixing models to estimate the importance of prey species to sperm whale diets. We analyzed tissue samples from sperm whales and seven potential prey (five groundfish and two squid species). Samples were analyzed for stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios, and diet composition was estimated using Bayesian isotopic mixing models. Mixing model results suggest that an isotopically combined sablefish/dogfish group, skates, and rockfish make up the largest proportion of sperm whale diets (35%, 28% and 12%) in the GOA. The top prey items of whales that interact more frequently with fishing vessels consisted of skates (49%) and the sablefish/dogfish group (24%). This is the first known study to provide an isotopic baseline of adult male sperm whales and these adult groundfish and offshore squid species, and to assign contributions of prey to whale diets in the GOA. This study provides information to commercial fishermen and fisheries managers to better understand trophic connections of important commercial species.

opencc-zeroJan 2020View details →

opencc-by-4.0Sep 2015View details →

Dataset from Annual Acoustic Presence of Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus) Offshore Eastern Sicily, Central Mediterranean Sea

This dataset is form the study:  Sciacca V., Caruso F.,Beranzoli L., Chierici F., De Domenico E., Embriaco D., Favali P., Giovanetti G., Larosa G., Marinaro G., Papale E., Pavan G., Pellegrino C., Pulvirenti S., Simeone F., Viola S., and G. Riccobene. "Annual Acoustic Presence of Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus) Offshore Eastern Sicily, Central Mediterranean Sea." PLoS ONE 10(11): e0141838. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0141838 The archives labeled YYYYMM_Spectrograms.zip contain the data from each  month of passive acoustic recording -MM- of the years -YYYY- 2012 and 2013. Data consist of the spectrograms (1-50 Hz) of 10-min audio recordings, in PNG format files. These data were used in the cited study to verify the presence of fin whale calls. The archive labeled "NoiseData.zip" consists of two matrix (ASCII format) containing the recorded values of acoustic noise within the fin whale call frequency band.

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2023View details →

Catalogue of Arctic Toothed Whale Click Spectra and Spectrograms from SoundTrap Recordings

This supplementary file accompanies a research article focused on beluga and narwhal echolocation click classification. This document provides an overview of the data included in all beluga and narwhal acoustic events (each 1 hour) from SoundTrap recordings collected at the Kong Oscar and Fisher Islands mooring sites. There are two figures for each event: (1) concatenated click spectrogram, and (2) mean power spectrum for all detections within the event. Summary statistics are provided for each event showing the number of detections and the one-third octave level (TOL) ratio in decibels (dB) between selected TOL bands. Visual inspection of the enclosed figures demonstrates clear differences between beluga and narwhal click spectra.

FIG. 7 in A new platyrostrine sperm whale from the Early Miocene of the southeastern Pacific (East Pisco Basin, Peru) supports affinities with the southwestern Atlantic cetacean fauna

FIG. 7. — Cranium of Diaphorocetus poucheti (Moreno, 1892) MLP 5-6 (holotype) in dorsal (A), ventral (B), right lateral (C), and posterior (D) views, illustrating among others some diagnostic characters at the genus and species levels. The figured photos were taken by one of us (CM) in 1981, with a preservation state that is closer to the original illustrations in Lydekker (1893), prior to the separation of the right and left rostral parts and pterygoids/palatines from the neurocranium and with more complete antorbital notches and right orbit. Scale bar: 200 mm.

FIG. 4FIG. 4 in A new platyrostrine sperm whale from the Early Miocene of the southeastern Pacific (East Pisco Basin, Peru) supports affinities with the southwestern Atlantic cetacean fauna

FIG. 4FIG. 4. — Cranium of Diaphorocetus ortegai n. sp. MUSM 3246 (holotype, Chilcatay Formation, East Pisco Basin, Peru) in left (A) and right (B) lateral views. Black dashed lines for sutures, foramina, and outline of several bones and temporal fossa; red dashed line for posterior outline of supracranial basin. Scale bar: 200 mm.

FIG. 1 in A new platyrostrine sperm whale from the Early Miocene of the southeastern Pacific (East Pisco Basin, Peru) supports affinities with the southwestern Atlantic cetacean fauna

FIG. 1. — Geographic and geological setting. A, Location of the main outcrops of the Chilcatay Formation along the southern coast of Peru. B, Simplified map providing the position of Ullujaya (the type locality of Diaphorocetus ortegai n. sp.) alongside other highly fossiliferous sites of the Ica desert (including Zamaca, the type locality of Rhaphicetus valenciae Lambert, Muizon, Urbina & Bianucci, 2020). C, Schematic stratigraphic column of the Cenozoic succession exposed in the East Pisco Basin. D, Simplified stratigraphic section of the Chilcatay Formation in Ullujaya, showing the exact position of the holotype of D. ortegai n. sp. in the Ct1 allomember, Ct1a facies association. E, Simplified stratigraphic section of the Chilcatay Formation in Zamaca, showing the exact position of the holotype of R. valenciae in the Ct1 allomember, Ct1a facies association. Both sections D and E include positions of ash layers dated with 40Ar/39Ar and shell-rich beds dated with 87Sr/86Sr along with the corresponding age estimates (after Bosio et al. 2022). Maps and sections modified from Bianucci et al. (2018b), Di Celma et al. (2018, 2019), Bosio et al. (2020, 2022), and Lambert et al. (2020).

APPENDIX 5 in A new platyrostrine sperm whale from the Early Miocene of the southeastern Pacific (East Pisco Basin, Peru) supports affinities with the southwestern Atlantic cetacean fauna

APPENDIX 5. — Strict consensus of 15 most parsimonious trees resulting from the heuristic search performed with down-weighting of homoplastic characters (k = 3). Tree length 188; Goloboff fit -42.64; CI 0.45; RI 0.68.