Research publications derived from the Whales and climate program

    1. Torre-Williams, L., Meynecke, J.O., Martinez, E., Reinke, J., Stockin, K.A. (2019). Presence of newborn humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) calves in Gold Coast Bay, Australia. Marine Behaviour and Physiology 52(5), 199-216. https://doi.org/10.1080/10236244.2019.1671769
    2. McCulloch, S., Meynecke J.-O., Franklin T., Franklin W., Chauvenet, A.L.M. (2021). Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) behaviour determines habitat use in two Australian bays. Marine and Freshwater Research https://doi.org/10.1071/MF21065
    3. Richards, R., Meynecke, J.-O., Sahin O. (2020). Addressing dynamic uncertainty in the whale-watching industry under climate change and system shocks. Science of The Total Environment, 756, e143889. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv
    4. Valani, R., Meynecke, J.-O., Olsen, M.T.(2020). Presence and movement of humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) mother-calf pairs in the Gold Coast, Australia. Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology, 53 (5-6), 251-263. https://doi.org/10.1080/10236244.2020.1850177
    5. Meynecke, J.‐O.,  Seyboth, E.,  De Bie, J., Barraqueta-Menzel J.‐L., Chama, A., Dey S.P., Lee S., Tulloch,V., Viche M., Findlay K., Roychoudhury A.N., Mackey, B. (2020). Responses of humpback whales to a changing climate in the Southern Hemisphere: Priorities for research efforts. Marine Ecology, 41(6), 12616. , https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.12616
    6. Elisa Seyboth, Fernando Félix, Mary-Anne Lea, Luciano Dalla Rosa, George Watters, Keith Reid, and Eduardo R. Secchi. Influence of krill (Euphausia superba) availability on humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) reproductive rate. 2021. DOI: 10.1111/mms.12805.
    7. Dey, S. P., Vichi, M., Fearon, G., Seyboth, E., Findlay, K. P., Meynecke, J. O., … & Mackey, B. (2021). Oceanographic anomalies coinciding with humpback whale super-group occurrences in the Southern Benguela. Scientific Reports, 11(1): 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-00253-2
    8. Cloete, R., J.C. Loock, N.R. van Horsten, J-L. Menzel Barraqueta, S. Fietz, T.N. Mtshali, H. Planquette, M. I. Garcia-Ibanez, A.N. Roychoudhury (2021) Winter dissolved and particulate zinc in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean: Distribution and relation to major nutrients (GEOTRACES GIpr07 transect) Marine Chemistry, V236, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2021.104031
    9. Cloete, R., J.C. Loock, N.R. van Horsten, S. Fietz, T.N. Mtshali, H. Planquette, A.N. Roychoudhury (2021) Winter biogeochemical cycling of dissolved and particulate cadmium in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean (GEOTRACES GIpr07 transect). Frontiers in Marine Sciences: Marine Biogeochemistry, 8, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.656321
    10. Lee, S. B., Zhang, F., Lemckert, C. J., Tomlinson, R., 2021, Investigations Exploring the Use of an Unstructured-Grid, Finite-Volume Modelling Approach to Simulate Coastal Circulation in Remote Island Settings—Case Study Region, Vanuatu/New Caledonia. Frontiers in Marine Science.
    11. Meynecke, J. O., De Bie, J., Barraqueta, J. L. M., Seyboth, E., Dey, S. P., Lee, S. B., … & Mackey, B. (2021). The role of environmental drivers in humpback whale distribution, movement and behavior: A review. Frontiers in Marine Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.697741
    12. Meynecke, J.-O.; Liebsch, N. (2021). Asset Tracking Whales—First Deployment of a Custom-Made GPS/GSM Suction Cup Tag on Migrating Humpback Whales. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 9, 597.https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9060597
    13. Ogundare, M., Agneta Fransson, Melissa Chierici, Warren Joubert and Alakendra N Roychoudhury (2021) Variability of sea-air carbon dioxide flux in autumn across the Weddell gyre and offshore Droning Maud Land in the Southern Ocean. Frontiers in Marine Sciences: Marine Biogeochemistry, 7, pp. 1168, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.614263
    14. Reisinger, R. R., Friedlaender, A. S., Zerbini, A. N., Palacios, D. M., Andrews-Goff, V., Dalla Rosa, L., … & Constantine, R. (2021). Combining regional habitat selection models for large-scale prediction: circumpolar habitat selection of Southern Ocean humpback whales. Remote Sensing, 13(11): 2074. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13112074
    15. Samanta, S., Ryan Cloete, Jean C Loock, Riana Rossouw, Alakendra N Roychoudhury (2021) Determination of trace metal (Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Co, Cd and Pb) concentration in seawater using single quadrupole ICP-MS: A comparison between offline and online preconcentration setups. Minerals, 11(11) https://doi.org/10.3390/min11111289
    16. Warwick-Evans, V., Kelly, N., Dalla Rosa, L., Friedlaender, A., Hinke, J.T., Kim, J.H., Kokubun, N., Santora, J., Secchi, E., Seyboth, E. & Trathan, P.N. (2022). Spatially-explicit estimates of consumption of Antarctic krill by a suite of seabird and marine mammal predators in the northern Antarctic Peninsula. Ecosphere13( 6): e4083. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4083
    17. Vichi, M. (2022). An indicator of sea ice variability for the Antarctic marginal ice zone, The Cryosphere, 16, 4087–4106, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-4087-2022
    18. Samanta, S., J. L. M.Barraqueta, R. Das, A. Roychoudhury (2022) Source apportionment of the atmospheric Pb using a simulation-based inversion model: a case study from India uncovers bituminous road as the prime contributor of petroleum-derived Pb. Applied Geochemistry, V136, https://doi.org/1016/j.apgeochem.2021.105164
    19. Fearon, G., Herbette, S., Veitch, J., Cambon, G., Vichi, M., (2022). The influence of the land–sea breeze on coastal upwelling systems: locally forced vs internal wave vertical mixing and implications for thermal fronts. Ocean Modelling 176, 102069. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocemod.2022.102069
    20. van Horsten, N.R., H. Planquette, G. Sarthou, T. N Mtshali, A. Roychoudhury, E. Bucciarelli, (2022). Early winter Southern Indian Ocean Barium excess as a seasonal remineralization proxy linked to remote sensing primary productivity (GEOTRACES GIPr07 cruise). Biogeosciences 19, pp. 3209-3224. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3209-2022
    21. Mdutyana, M., X. Sun, J.M. Burger, R.F. Flynn, S. Smith, N.R. van Horsten, A.N. Roychoudhury, H. Planquette, E. Bucciarelli, S.J. Thomalla, B.B. Ward, S.E. Fawcett (2022) The kinetics of ammonium uptake and oxidation across the African sector of the Southern Ocean. Limnology and Oceanography, V. 67, pp. 973–991. https://doi.org/1002/lno.12050
    22. Meynecke, J.-O.; Gustafon, J.; Cade, D.E. (2023). Exfoliating Whales–Sandy Bottom Contact Behaviour of Humpback Whales.  Mar. Sci. Eng.11, 600. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11030600
    23. Samanta, S., Cloete, R., Dey, S.P. et al.Exchange of Pb from Indian to Atlantic Ocean is driven by Agulhas current and atmospheric Pb input from South Africa. Sci Rep 13, 5465 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-32613-5
    24. Wilkinson, C., Seyboth E., Olbers, J., Vermeulen, E., Kramer, R., and Findlay, K. (2023). Estimating population changes in humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae migrating past Cape Vidal, South Africa. African Journal of Marine Science. https://doi.org/2989/1814232X.2023.2193591.
    25. Bamford, C., Kelly, N., Herr, H., Seyboth, E., and Jackson, J. (2023). The recovery of Antarctic’s giants – baleen whales. Antarctic Environments Portal. https://doi.org/10.48361/edgj-pp83.
    26. Fearon, G., Herbette, S., Cambon, G., Veitch, J., Meynecke, J-O, Vichi, M., (2023) The land-sea breeze influences the oceanography of the southern Benguela upwelling system at multiple time-scales. Frontiers in Marine Sciences. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1186069
    27. Moreau, S., T. Hattermann, L. de Steur, H. M. Kauko, H. Steen, H. Ahonen, M. Ardelan, Philipp Assmy, M. Chierici, S. Descamps, T. Dinter, T. Falkenhaug, A. Fransson, E. Grønningsæter, E. Halfredsson, A. Lebrun, A. Lowther, N. Lubcker, P. Monteiro, I. Peeken, A.Roychoudhury, Magdalena Róźańska, T. Ryan-Keogh, N. Sanchez, A. Singh, J.-H. Simonsen, N. Steiger, S. J. Thomalla, A.van Tonder, J. Wiktor (2023). Wind-driven upwelling of iron sustains dense phytoplankton blooms and productive food webs in the eastern Weddell Gyre. Nature Communication, V14,1303. https://doi.org/1038/s41467-023-36992-1
    28. Ramos, E. A., Cheeseman, T., Marcondes, M. C. C., Olio, M., Vogel, A., Elwen, S., de Melo, T. H. M., Facchola, C., Cipolotti, S., Southerland, K., Findlay, K., Seyboth, E., McCue, S. A., Kotze, P. G. H., and Seakamela, S. M. 2023. Interchange of Southern Hemisphere humpback whales across the South Atlantic Ocean. Scientific Reports, 13(1): 4621. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-31358-5
    29. Meynecke, J.-O., Samanta S., de Bie, J., Seyboth, E., Dey S.P., Fearon, G., Vichi, M., Roychoudhury, A., Mackey, B. (2023). Do whales really increase the uptake of atmospheric carbon? Frontiers in Marine Science. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10:1117409. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1117409
    30. Meynecke, J.-O., Kela, H. (2023). What’s at Play: Humpback Whale Interaction with Seaweed Is a Global Phenomenon. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 11(9):1802. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11091802
    31. Seyboth, E., Meynecke, J.-O., de Bie, J., Roychoudhury, A, Findlay, K. (2023). A review of post-whaling abundance, trends, changes in distribution and migration patterns, and supplementary feeding of Southern Hemisphere humpback whales. Frontiers in Marine Science 10:997491. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.997491
    32. Flynn, R. F., Haraguchi, L., McQuaid, J., Burger, J. M., Mutseka Lunga, P., Stirnimann, L., Samanta, S., Roychoudhury, A. N., Fawcett, S. E, (2023). Nanoplankton: The dominant vector for carbon export across the Atlantic Southern Ocean in spring. Science Advances 9, eadi3059. https://doi.org/1126/sciadv.adi3059
    33. Meynecke, J.-O., Derville, S., Richards, R. (2023) Editorial: Whales and climate. Frontiers in Marine Science10:1347360. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1347360
    34. Audh, R. R., Fawcett, S. E., Johnson, S.,Rampai, T., & Vichi, M. (2023). Rafting of growing Antarctic sea ice enhances in-ice biogeochemical activity in winter. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 128, e2023JC019925. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JC019925
    35. Da Silva, J., Taniguchi, S., Colabuono, F., Leonel, J., Maia, D., Rosa, L., Secchi, E., Borges, J., Bícego, M., Siciliano, S., Acevedo, J., Aguayo-Lobo, A., Baldassin, P., Montone, R., Lourenço, RA. (2023). Mobilization of persistent organic pollutants in humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) from feeding areas around the Antarctic Peninsula and Strait of Magellan and migration, breeding and calving grounds on the Brazilian coast”. Marine Pollution Bulletin 194: 115448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115448
    36. Venegas, R.M., Acevedo, J., Treml, E.A. (2023). Three decades of Ocean warming impacts on marine ecosystems: A review and perspective. Deep-Sea Research Part II: 105318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2023.105318
    37. Acevedo, J., Haro, D., González-Gutiérrez, E., Aguayo-Lobo, A. (2023). Estimates of prey consumption and initial examination of the primary productivity required to support the Magellan Strait humpback whales. Progress in Oceanography 211: 102971. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2023.102971
    38. Duan, J., Cloete, Loock, R.J.C., Lanzirotti, A., Newville, M., Martinez-Garcia, A., Sigman, D.M., Lam, P.J. Roychoudhury, A.N., Myneni, S.C.B. (2024). Biogenic-to-Lithogenic Handoff of Particulate Zinc Controls the Zn-Cycle in the Southern Ocean. Science V384, 1235-1240, doi: 10.1126/science.adh8199
    39. Meynecke, J.-O.; Zigic, S.; Perez, L.; Dunn, R.J.K.; Benfer, N.; Gustafson, J.; Bosshard, S. (2024). Dead on the Beach? Predicting the Drift of Whale Remains Improves Management for Offshore Disposal. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 12,1156. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse12071156
    40. Fariello, C.M.F., Meynecke J.-O., de Bie, J. (2024). Defining humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) potential distribution in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park: a two-way Pacific Conservation Biology, 30, PC23032. https://doi.org/10.1071/PC23032
    41. Tree, B., J Olbers, E Seyboth, SM Seakamela, VG Cockcroft, E Vermeulen& KP Findlay (2024) Migratory movement of photo-identified humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae along the southeastern coast of Africa, African Journal of Marine Science, 46:3,191-203, https://doi.org/10.2989/1814232X.2024.2380882
    42. Seyboth, E, S. Paarman, C. Allison, J.-O Meynecke, J. de Bie, K.P. Findlay (2024). A review of Southern Hemisphere humpback whaling by period and catch location. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management, 25. https://doi.org/10.47536/jcrm.v25i1.859
    43. Kela H., de Bie J., Paas K. H. W., Stack S., Franklin W., Franklin T., Meynecke J.-O. (2024) Assessment of humpback whale swimming speeds in two eastern Australian bays. Marine and Freshwater Research, 75, MF24116. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF24116
    44. deBie,, Lee, S.B., Meynecke, J.O., Seyboth, E.,  Samanta, S., Vichi, M.,  Roychoudhury, A., &  Mackey, B.(2024).  Agent-based modelling of southward coastal migration by humpback whale mother–calf pods off eastern Australia. Marine Mammal Science, e13203. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.13203
    45. Timoszczuk, C.T., Taniguchi, S., da Silva, J., Pereira, L.C., Rosa, L.D., Negrete J., Borges, J.C.G., Siciliano, S., Baldassin, P., Acevedo. J., Aguayo-Lobo, A., Fruet, P.F., Bícego, M.C., Lourenço, R.A. (2025). Persistent organic pollutants and fatty acids in humpback whales: Antarctic and Chilean feeding and Brazilian breeding sites. Science of The Total Environment, 958, 178170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.178170
    46. Djukarić, J., Meynecke, J. O. (2025). Spatial and temporal habitat use of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in relation to vessel traffic in the Gold Coast Bay, Australia.Marine and Freshwater Research, 76(3). https://www.publish.csiro.au/MF/MF23164
    47. Millien, V., Stafiej, N., Félix, F., Guzman, H.M. (2025). Migratory behaviour of humpback whales in the southeastern Pacific under climate change. Scientific Reports, 15(1), p.3989. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-87489-4
    48. Woletz P., Meynecke J.-O. (2025). The Influence of the East Australian Current on the Regional Distribution of Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 13(2):351. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13020351
    49. Vichi, M., Seyboth, E., Mazomba, T., Vermeulen, E., Findlay, K., Meynecke, J.O., De Bie, J., Secchi, E., Dalla Rosa, L. and Roychoudhury, A. (2025). Historical catch records of humpback whales and the assessment of early 20th century sea ice edge in climate models. Environmental Research: Climate 4(2). https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5295/add614
    50. Seyboth, E., Findlay, K., Vogel, A., Abras, D., Hurwitz, D., Vermeulen, E., Tresfon, J., Gridley, T. and Elwen, S. (2025). An Update on the Occurrence of Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) Super‐Groups on the West Coast of South Africa. Marine Mammal Science, p.e70018. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.70018
    51. Toro F, M Alvarado-Ryback, L Bedriñana-Romano, AM García-Cegarra, R Hucke-Gaete, C Olavarría, M Sepúlveda, B Galletti-Vernazzani, W Sielfeld, A Aguayo, DVM, J Capella, MJ Pérez-Álvarez, F Viddi, B Cáceres, J Gibbons, J Acevedo, H Guzmán, J Guerra, R Saez, M Seguel & M Fishbach. 2025. High rate of ship strike to large whales off Chile: historical data and proposed actions to reduce risk. Marine 174: 106577. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106577
    52. Félix, F., Castro, C., Barragán, L., Orellana, H. & Platt, M. The Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni) on the central coast of Ecuador: abundance and ecological insights. (2025). Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 26:87-100. tps://doi.org/10.47536/jcrm.v26i1.1088.
    53. Lima, R., Félix, F., Secci, E., Haase, B., Dalla-Rosa, L. Variability in the migration behavior of humpback whales off Ecuador associated to Antarctic climate variability. Polar Biology 48:92. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-025-03410-9
    54. Cloete R., J Duan, J Loock, SCB Myneni and AN Roychoudhury (2025) Molecular scale interactions impact ocean scale zinc concentrations. South African Journal of Science, V121 (9/10) pp. 1-4, doi: 10.17159/sajs.2025/20922
    55. Viljoen, J. , Ryan Cloete, Raïssa Philibert, Ole Valk, Jean C. Loock, Natasha R. van Horsten, Hélène Planquette, Eva Bucciarelli, Géraldine Sarthou, Alakendra N. Roychoudhury, Susanne Fietz (2025) Winter dynamics of phytoplankton and micronutrients in the Southern Ocean. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans doi: 10.1029/2025JC02243
    56. Ringard, A., Hélène Planquette, Thato Mtshali, Alakendra Roychoudhury, Eva Bucciarelli (2025) Particulate iron seasonality between winter and spring in the open Southern Atlantic Ocean is primarily driven by non-biological processes. Marine Chemistry V 272, pp 1 -13, doi: 10.1016/j.marchem.2025.104552
    57. Singh, A.; Thomalla, Sandy; Fietz, Susanne; Samanta, Saumik; Mtshali, Thato; Roychoudhury, Alakendra; Viljoen, Johannes J; Ryan-Keogh, Thomas (2025) Phytoplankton iron limitation in the Atlantic Southern Ocean driven by seasonal mixed layer dynamics. Limnology and Oceanography Letters doi: 10.1002/lol2.70049
    58. Demasy, C., Singh, A., Samanta, S., Ryan-Keogh, T. J., & Roychoudhury, A. N. (2025). Toxic impact of aluminium on the natural phytoplankton community during spring in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 591, 152119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2025.152119
    59. Meyer, T. H., Tracy, A. G. Rittenhouse, T.A.G., Elbroch, M., Pozdnyakov, V., Yan, J., Hu, C., Félix, F., Guzmán, H.M., Meynecke, J.-O. (2025). Accounting for Earth’s curvature and elevation in animal movement modeling. Ecology. 106(7):e70167. doi: 10.1002/ecy.70167
    60. Meynecke, J.-O., Crawley, O. (2025). Assessing social behaviour between baleen whales (Mysticeti) and dolphins (Delphinidae).  Discover Animals  2, 54. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44338-025-00099-2
    61. Félix, F., Haase, B. (2025). Population estimate and demographic trends of humpback whale breeding stock G in Ecuador: Insights from 15 years of land-based nmonitoring. Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals, 20(2), 122-135. https://doi.org/10.5597/lajam0035
    62. Celemín, E., Acevedo, J., Hagberg, L., Acuña-Gómez, E.P., Castro, C., Castrillón, J., Valenzuela, P., Pastene, L.A., Tiedemann, R. (2026). Genomic signatures of migratory preference and historical whaling on eastern South Pacific humpback whales. Communications Biology 9: 630. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-10037-x
    63. V. Coussy, J. M. Santana-Casiano, M. González-Dávila, D. González-Santana, T. Mtshali, T. Ryan-Keogh, S. Samanta, A.N. Roychoudhury, A. G. González (2026) Seasonal characterization of iron-binding ligands in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean (Scale Cruises 2019). Marine Environmental Research V 218, pp. 1-13, doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2026.107987
    64. Thapelo Ramalepe, Alakendra N. Roychoudhury, Corentin Baudet, Andrew Bowie, Eva Bucciarelli, Natasha van Horsten, Pauline Latour, Hélène Planquette, Geraldine Sarthou, Yoshiki Sohrin, Linjie Zheng, Thomas J. Ryan-Keogh (2026) Physical vertical fluxes decouple iron and manganese supply in the Southern Ocean. Nature Communications Earth & Environment doi.org/10.1038/s43247-026-03466-3