*New publication on short-finned pilot whale **morphometrics using drones.*
Dear Colleagues, The paper ‘Body Condition and Allometry of Free-Ranging Short-Finned Pilot Whales in the North Atlantic’ has been published in the journal *Sustainability*. You can download the pdf from this link: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/22/14787 The work is the result of the joint effort of researchers from the University of La Laguna (Spain), Aarhus University (Denmark), University of Iceland (Iceland), University of Western Australia (Australia), Carleton University (Canada) and University of Amsterdam (Netherlands). Authors: P. Arranz, F. Christiansen, M. Glarou, S. Gero, F. Visser, M. Oudejans, N. Aguilar de Soto, K. Sprogis. Anthropogenic disturbance on animals can affect the nutritional health of individuals. The morphometrics, allometrics and body condition of individuals can be used to assess and monitor the health of cetacean populations. We examined the body shape, allometric relationships and body condition of free-ranging short-finned pilot whales (*Globicephala macrorhynchus*) in three locations across the North Atlantic: Tenerife, the Canaries; Terceira, the Azores; and Dominica, the Lesser Antilles. Using unmanned aerial vehicles, the body length (BL) and width (along the body axis) were measured from photographs of the dorsal side, while body height (dorso-ventral distance) was measured of the lateral side. The body shape was similar among reproductive classes, with the widest point being anterior of the dorsal fin. The cross-sectional body shape of the whales was flattened in the lateral plane, which increased towards the peduncle and fluke. The rostrum-blowhole distance and fluke width increased linearly with body length. There was no difference in body condition among reproductive classes or locations. These results contribute to the long-term monitoring of the health status of these populations and the better understanding of their vulnerability to potential anthropogenic stressors with implication in management conservation of the short-finned pilot whales across the North Atlantic. Reference: P. Arranz, F. Christiansen, M. Glarou, S. Gero, F. Visser, M. Oudejans, N. Aguilar de Soto, K. Sprogis. 2022. Body condition and allometry of free-ranging short-finned pilot whales in the North Atlantic. Sustainability 14(22):14787. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions. Kind regards, Patricia Arranz (University of La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain) arr...@ull.edu.es
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