Abstract

We present an ocean-basin-scale dataset that includes tail fluke photographic identification (photo-ID) and encounter data for most living individual humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the North Pacific Ocean. The dataset was built through a broad collaboration combining 39 separate curated photo-ID catalogs, supplemented with community science data. Data from throughout the North Pacific were aggregated into 13 regions, including six breeding regions, six feeding regions, and one migratory corridor. All images were compared with minimal pre-processing using a recently developed image recognition algorithm based on machine learning through artificial intelligence; this system is capable of rapidly detecting matches between individuals with an estimated 97–99% accuracy. For the 2001–2021 study period, a total of 27,956 unique individuals were documented in 157,350 encounters. Each individual was encountered, on average, in 5.6 sampling periods (i.e., breeding and feeding seasons), with an annual average of 87% of whales encountered in more than one season. The combined dataset and image recognition tool represents a living and accessible resource for collaborative, basin-wide studies of a keystone marine mammal in a time of rapid ecological change.

Details

Title
A collaborative and near-comprehensive North Pacific humpback whale photo-ID dataset
Author
Cheeseman, Ted 1 ; Southerland, Ken 2 ; Acebes, Jo Marie 3 ; Audley, Katherina 4 ; Barlow, Jay 5 ; Bejder, Lars 6 ; Birdsall, Caitlin 7 ; Bradford, Amanda L. 8 ; Byington, Josie K. 9 ; Calambokidis, John 10 ; Cartwright, Rachel 11 ; Cedarleaf, Jen 12 ; Chavez, Andrea Jacqueline García 13 ; Currie, Jens J. 14 ; De Weerdt, Joëlle 15 ; Doe, Nicole 16 ; Doniol-Valcroze, Thomas 17 ; Dracott, Karina 18 ; Filatova, Olga 19 ; Finn, Rachel 20 ; Flynn, Kiirsten 10 ; Ford, John K. B. 17 ; Frisch-Jordán, Astrid 21 ; Gabriele, Christine M. 22 ; Goodwin, Beth 23 ; Hayslip, Craig 24 ; Hildering, Jackie 25 ; Hill, Marie C. 26 ; Jacobsen, Jeff K. 27 ; Jiménez-López, M. Esther 28 ; Jones, Meagan 29 ; Kobayashi, Nozomi 30 ; Lyman, Edward 31 ; Malleson, Mark 32 ; Mamaev, Evgeny 33 ; Martínez Loustalot, Pamela 34 ; Masterman, Annie 35 ; Matkin, Craig 36 ; McMillan, Christie J. 37 ; Moore, Jeff E. 5 ; Moran, John R. 38 ; Neilson, Janet L. 39 ; Newell, Hayley 40 ; Okabe, Haruna 30 ; Olio, Marilia 41 ; Pack, Adam A. 42 ; Palacios, Daniel M. 43 ; Pearson, Heidi C. 12 ; Quintana-Rizzo, Ester 44 ; Ramírez Barragán, Raul Fernando 45 ; Ransome, Nicola 46 ; Rosales-Nanduca, Hiram 28 ; Sharpe, Fred 47 ; Shaw, Tasli 48 ; Stack, Stephanie H. 49 ; Staniland, Iain 50 ; Straley, Jan 12 ; Szabo, Andrew 51 ; Teerlink, Suzie 52 ; Titova, Olga 53 ; Urban R., Jorge 34 ; van Aswegen, Martin 19 ; de Morais, Marcel Vinicius 54 ; von Ziegesar, Olga 55 ; Witteveen, Briana 56 ; Wray, Janie 57 ; Yano, Kymberly M. 26 ; Zwiefelhofer, Denny 58 ; Clapham, Phil 59 

1  Happywhale, Santa Cruz, USA; Southern Cross University, Lismore, Australia (GRID:grid.1031.3) (ISNI:0000000121532610) 
2  Happywhale, Santa Cruz, USA (GRID:grid.1031.3) 
3  BALYENA.ORG, Jagna, Philippines (GRID:grid.1031.3) 
4  Whales of Guerrero, Barra de Potosí, Mexico (GRID:grid.1031.3) 
5  NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center, San Diego, USA (GRID:grid.473842.e) (ISNI:0000 0004 0601 1528) 
6  University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa, Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, Kaneohe, USA (GRID:grid.410445.0) (ISNI:0000 0001 2188 0957) 
7  Marine Education and Research Society, Port McNeill, Canada (GRID:grid.410445.0); Ocean Wise, Vancouver, Canada (GRID:grid.410445.0) 
8  NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Honolulu, USA (GRID:grid.466960.b) (ISNI:0000 0004 0601 127X) 
9  Pacific Wildlife Foundation, Port Moody, Canada (GRID:grid.466960.b) 
10  Cascadia Research Collective, Olympia, USA (GRID:grid.448402.e) (ISNI:0000 0004 5929 5632) 
11  Keiki Kohola Project, Delray Beach, USA (GRID:grid.448402.e) 
12  University of Alaska Southeast, Juneau, USA (GRID:grid.265896.6) (ISNI:0000000086120468) 
13  Whales of Guerrero, Barra de Potosí, Mexico (GRID:grid.265896.6) 
14  Pacific Whale Foundation, Maui, USA (GRID:grid.265896.6) 
15  Association ELI-S, Gujan-Mestras, France (GRID:grid.265896.6) 
16  Marine Education and Research Society, Port McNeill, Canada (GRID:grid.265896.6) 
17  Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Nanaimo, Canada (GRID:grid.23618.3e) (ISNI:0000 0004 0449 2129) 
18  Ocean Wise, Vancouver, Canada (GRID:grid.23618.3e); North Coast Cetacean Society, Hartley Bay, Canada (GRID:grid.23618.3e) 
19  University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark (GRID:grid.10825.3e) (ISNI:0000 0001 0728 0170) 
20  NOAA Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, Kihei, Maui, USA (GRID:grid.10825.3e) 
21  Ecología y Conservación de Ballenas, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (GRID:grid.23618.3e) 
22  Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Gustavus, USA (GRID:grid.23618.3e); Hawaiʻi Marine Mammal Consortium, Kamuela, USA (GRID:grid.23618.3e) 
23  Eye of the Whale Marine Mammal Research, Kamuela, USA (GRID:grid.23618.3e) 
24  Oregon State University, Marine Mammal Institute, Newport, USA (GRID:grid.4391.f) (ISNI:0000 0001 2112 1969) 
25  Marine Education and Research Society, Port McNeill, Canada (GRID:grid.4391.f) 
26  NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Honolulu, USA (GRID:grid.466960.b) (ISNI:0000 0004 0601 127X); Research Corporation of the University of Hawaiʻi, Cooperative Institution of Marine and Atmospheric Research, Honolulu, USA (GRID:grid.410445.0) (ISNI:0000 0001 2188 0957) 
27  VE Enterprises, Arcata, USA (GRID:grid.455457.2) 
28  Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, Departamento Académico de Ingeniería en Pesquerías, La Paz, México (GRID:grid.508667.a) (ISNI:0000 0001 2322 6633) 
29  Whale Trust, Puunene, USA (GRID:grid.508667.a) 
30  Okinawa Churashima Foundation, Kunigami-gun, Japan (GRID:grid.505718.e) 
31  NOAA Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, Kihei, Maui, USA (GRID:grid.505718.e) 
32  Humpback Whales of the Salish Sea, Duncan, Canada (GRID:grid.505718.e) 
33  Commander Islands National Park, Kamchatka Krai, Russian Federation (GRID:grid.505718.e) 
34  Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, La Paz, Mexico (GRID:grid.508667.a) (ISNI:0000 0001 2322 6633) 
35  NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Juneau, USA (GRID:grid.508667.a) 
36  North Gulf Oceanic Society, Homer, USA (GRID:grid.508667.a) 
37  Marine Education and Research Society, Port McNeill, Canada (GRID:grid.508667.a); Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Nanaimo, Canada (GRID:grid.23618.3e) (ISNI:0000 0004 0449 2129) 
38  NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Juneau, USA (GRID:grid.473842.e) 
39  Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Gustavus, USA (GRID:grid.473842.e) 
40  Happywhale, Santa Cruz, USA (GRID:grid.473842.e) 
41  Happywhale, Santa Cruz, USA (GRID:grid.505718.e) 
42  University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, Hilo, USA (GRID:grid.266426.2) (ISNI:0000 0000 8723 917X); The Dolphin Institute, Hilo, USA (GRID:grid.266426.2) 
43  Oregon State University, Marine Mammal Institute, Newport, USA (GRID:grid.4391.f) (ISNI:0000 0001 2112 1969); Oregon State University, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, Newport, USA (GRID:grid.4391.f) (ISNI:0000 0001 2112 1969) 
44  Emmanuel College, Boston, USA (GRID:grid.420985.2) (ISNI:0000 0004 0504 9268) 
45  Whales of Guerrero, Barra de Potosí, Mexico (GRID:grid.420985.2) 
46  Murdoch University, Perth, Australia (GRID:grid.1025.6) (ISNI:0000 0004 0436 6763) 
47  Alaska Whale Foundation, Petersburg, USA (GRID:grid.508667.a) 
48  Humpback Whales of the Salish Sea, Duncan, Canada (GRID:grid.508667.a) 
49  Pacific Whale Foundation, Maui, USA (GRID:grid.508667.a) 
50  International Whaling Commission, Impington, UK (GRID:grid.508667.a) 
51  Alaska Whale Foundation, Petersburg, USA (GRID:grid.265896.6) 
52  NOAA Fisheries Alaska Regional Office, Juneau, USA (GRID:grid.265896.6) 
53  Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Moscow, Russian Federation (GRID:grid.437665.5) (ISNI:0000 0001 1088 7934) 
54  Happywhale, Santa Cruz, USA (GRID:grid.10825.3e) 
55  Winged Whale Research, Homer, USA (GRID:grid.10825.3e) 
56  University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, USA (GRID:grid.70738.3b) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 981X) 
57  North Coast Cetacean Society, Hartley Bay, Canada (GRID:grid.70738.3b) 
58  Happywhale, Santa Cruz, USA (GRID:grid.410445.0) 
59  Seastar Scientific, Vashon Island, USA (GRID:grid.502370.3) 
Pages
10237
Publication year
2023
Publication date
2023
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-36928-1
ProQuest document ID
2828981690
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2023. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.