Photo: Matias Arenas
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Weekly Summary
Information updated to: January 25, 2022
Four months after the beginning of this season we continue #TrackingWhales on their migratory routes in the southwest Atlantic Ocean. The six long duration satellite tags continue transmitting.
Antares, whose tag reconnected after a lapse of 12 days, is the only whale which remains in the deep Ocean Basin. The other four mothers with calves and Orion, a solitary individual, are spread out over the continental shelf, in areas that average 200 meters depth, with large concentrations of chlorophyll (which indicates the presence of abundant nutrients and food).
This past week Orion returned to the area he was in during November and December 2021, between the coast of Santa Cruz province and the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands.
Andromeda is northeast of the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands, traveling southwards on the continental shelf that surrounds those islands.
Centaura and Electra traveled westwards across the continental slope and remain close to each other on the continental shelf in the highly productive area of the Blue Hole.
Amalthea traveled northwards from the Islas Georgias del Sur (South Georgia) and is now on the border of the continental shelf (at the eastern end of the Falkland Plateau, over the Maurice Ewing Bank).
Important information about satellite tracking
Animal welfare: New generation satellite tags used by the project may have minimal and short-term effects on the behavior and health of the animals. This research strives to use the safest technology to track whales.
Positions recorded: Positions have a margin of error of 200 to 2000 meters (which is the reason some tracks that are close to shore seem to be on dry land).
Duration: The devices stop sending data when they become detached, which can occur weeks or months after their deployment, or when their batteries run out, depending on various factors, but mainly on the type of tag used. In 2021, we deployed 12 short-term and 6 long-term devices.