Estimating body mass of sperm whales from aerial photographs

Abstract

8 m), indicating fluctuations in body condition of adults and mothers. Volume was converted to mass, using tissue-density estimates from catch data, animal-borne tags, and body-tissue composition. Average total body density ranged from 834 to 1,003 kg/m3, while the weight predictions matched with existing measurements and weight-length relationships. Our body-mass models can be used to study sperm whale bioenergetics, including inter- and intraseasonal variations in body condition, somatic growth, metabolic rates, and cost of reproduction.