Collateral damage to marine and terrestrial ecosystems from Yankee whaling in the 19th century. Issue 22 (19th October 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Drew, Joshua; López, Elora H.; Gill, Lucy; McKeon, Mallory; Miller, Nathan; Steinberg, Madeline; Shen, Christa; McClenachan, Loren
• Is Part Of: Ecology and evolution. Volume 6:Issue 22(2016:Dec.)
• Page Start: 8181
• Page End: 8192
• Publication Date: 2016-10-19
• Subjects: conservation biology -- historical ecology -- marine/terrestrial linkages -- shifting baselines; Ecology -- Periodicals; Evolution -- Periodicals; 577.05
• DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2542
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2045-7758

Abstract

Abstract: Yankee whalers of the 19th century had major impacts on populations of large whales, but these leviathans were not the only taxa targeted. Here, we describe the "collateral damage, " the opportunistic or targeted taking of nongreat whale species by the American whaling industry. Using data from 5, 064 records from 79 whaling logs occurring between 1840 and 1901, we show that Yankee whalers captured 5, 255 animals across three large ocean basins from 32 different taxonomic categories, including a wide range of marine and terrestrial species. The taxa with the greatest number of individuals captured were walruses ( Odobenus rosmarus ), ducks (family Anatidae), and cod ( Gadus sp.). By biomass, the most captured species were walruses, grampus (a poorly defined group within Odontoceti), and seals (family Otariidae). The whalers captured over 2.4 million kg of nongreat whale meat equaling approximately 34 kg of meat per ship per day at sea. The species and areas targeted shifted over time in response to overexploitation of whale populations, with likely intensive local impacts on terrestrial species associated with multiyear whaling camps. Our results show that the ecosystem impacts of whaling reverberated on both marine and coastal environments. Abstract : The American whaling fleet of the 1800s traveled the globe in search of whales, yet the great whales were not the only species captured by these commercial voyages. In this article, we document the diversity of both marine and terrestrial species targeted and show that each whaling vessel on average took approximately 36 kg of nongreat whale biomass from the oceans and the land per day at sea.