Seasonality in Cetacean Standings 
Along the Coast of North Carolina 
Wm. David Webster, P. Dawn Goley, Jessie Pustis, 
and Joseph F. Gouveia 
Department of Biological Sciences 
and Center for Marine Science Research 
University of North Carolina at Wilmington 
Wilmington, North Carolina 28403 
ABSTRACT — Records of stranding provide an index by which the 
resident status and local migratory patterns of cetaceans can be ascer- 
tained, especially along North Carolina’s lengthy coastline, which 
extends well into the Atlantic Ocean. Stranding records from North 
Carolina were compiled by month for all cetaceans to test for seasonal 
trends. Twenty-six cetacean species have stranded, or come ashore 
intentionally or unintentionally, along the North Carolina coast, 17 
of which are year-round residents. The northern right whale ( Eubalaena 
glacialis), fin whale ( Balaenoptera physalus), humpback whale ( Megaptera 
novaeangliae ), and harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena ) typically 
strand during the winter and spring months as they migrate along 
the North Carolina coast. Although stranding records are available 
for every month, the bottlenose dolphin ( Tursiops turncatus) also 
strands significantly more frequently in winter and spring, which 
may be explained, in part, by biases inherent in the use of stranding 
data. 
Mammalian diversity in North Carolina exceeds that found in 
other states and provinces in eastern North America because of the 
state’s extreme physiographic variability (Webster et al. 1985), and 
marine mammals clearly exemplify this trend. Many species of marine 
mammals are year-round residents, but others with subtropical and 
subarctic affinities, such as the West Indian manatee ( Trichechus 
manatus Linnaeus) and the harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena 
(Linnaeus)), migrate into inshore and nearshore waters during the 
summer/fall and winter/spring months, respectively. Some closely related 
taxa that ostensibly occupy the same niche, such as the long-finned 
pilot whale ( Globicephala melas (Traill)) and short-finned pilot whale 
( G . macrorhynchus Gray), are thought to be latitudinally parapatric 
along the state’s lengthy (>600 km) coastline, with a dynamic zone 
of parapatry that shifts relative to the positions of cold-water (Labrador) 
and warm-water (Gulf Stream) currents. 
Brimleyana 23:41-51, December 1995 
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