Southbound migration corridor of pygmy blue whales off the northwest coast of Australia based on data from ocean bottom seismographs

Abstract

A line array of 14 ocean bottom seismographs was deployed on the Exmouth Plateau northwest of the North West Cape in Western Australia in December 2014–January 2015. Acoustic data collected with this array were used to evaluate the corridor of the southbound migration of pygmy blue whales of the eastern Indian Ocean population. It is found that pygmy blue whales tended to travel southward much further away from the Western Australian coast, at distances of up to 400 km from shore, than that expected from data on their northbound migration. This is an important observation providing additional information on the migration pattern of pygmy blue whales, which is crucial for assessing their population and migration by passive acoustic means.