United Kingdom National Whale Stranding Database 1913-2008

Strandings Officer

doi:10.15468/uxc4q8

United Kingdom National Whale Stranding Database 1913-2008

Citation

Officer, S. 2011. United Kingdom National Whale Stranding Database 1913-2008. Data downloaded from OBIS-SEAMAP (http://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/731) on yyyy-mm-dd. https://doi.org/10.15468/uxc4q8 accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-05.

Description

Original provider: The Natural History Museum, London Dataset credits: The Natural History Museum, London Abstract: The Natural History Museum has been monitoring whale strandings since 1913. In 1324, a statute was passed which gave the Crown qualified rights to cetaceans stranded on, or caught in the waters of England and Wales. Similar rights were claimed for the Crown of Scotland. The animals were described as "Fishes Royal." In 1913, by agreement with the then Board of Trade, these rights were transferred to the Natural History Museum in London, at that time known as the British Museum (Natural History). Since then, in monitoring cetacean strandings, over 8,000 animals have been recorded, some of the species being new to British waters. Initially, information was stored on a card index. Latterly, information is collated and entered on computer. The resulting database is used to produce distribution maps and analyze information about the biology and ecology of the different species. The National Stranded Whale Recording Scheme is now the center of a coordinated investigation, funded since April 1990 by the then United Kingdom (UK) Department of the Environment, subsequently by the Department of the Environment Transport and the Regions, and now the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, into the biology and ecology of cetacean populations around the British Isles and is a contribution to the UK's program of research on the North Sea and its response to ASCOBANS (the Agreement on the conservation of Small Cetaceans Of the Baltic And North Seas). Investigations are carried out in association with the Institute of Zoology at Regents Park, London (London Zoo) which has responsibility for coordinating autopsies. Purpose: Every year, between 350 and 800 whales, dolphins and porpoises (collectively known as cetaceans) wash up on British shores. Most are dead, but some are still alive. The Museum is responsible for monitoring these strandings. Since The UK Whale & Dolphin Stranding Scheme started in 1913, more than 11,000 animals have been recorded. Museum scientists study the remains of dead stranded cetaceans to learn more about their biology. Their investigations reveal how many cetaceans strand in Britain each year, what species they are, where and when they strand, and the age and sex of the animals. They also research animal behavior and uncover causes of death. The data our scientists compile is used by other researchers, government agencies, conservationists and animal welfare groups. The information they provide is vital to increasing our understanding of whales, dolphins and porpoises, and conserving them in the future. The UK Whale & Dolphin Stranding scheme is one of the longest-running scientific investigations of its kind. It has generated a wealth of crucial information about these captivating marine mammals. Supplemental information: Time was not provided and filled with "00:00:00." Records without a date or latitude/longitude and a grid reference information were excluded. Pregnant individuals are not counted as mass strandings, even where the offspring are partially born, and the data given does not record this detail. This dataset is an updated version of a previous dataset published on SEAMAP as "UK NHM Whale Strandings 1970-79," last modified on 2004-03-11 12:42:47.

Purpose

Every year, between 350 and 800 whales, dolphins and porpoises (collectively known as cetaceans) wash up on British shores. Most are dead, but some are still alive. The Museum is responsible for monitoring these strandings. Since The UK Whale & Dolphin Stranding Scheme started in 1913, more than 11,000 animals have been recorded. Museum scientists study the remains of dead stranded cetaceans to learn more about their biology. Their investigations reveal how many cetaceans strand in Britain each year, what species they are, where and when they strand, and the age and sex of the animals. They also research animal behavior and uncover causes of death. The data our scientists compile is used by other researchers, government agencies, conservationists and animal welfare groups. The information they provide is vital to increasing our understanding of whales, dolphins and porpoises, and conserving them in the future. The UK Whale & Dolphin Stranding scheme is one of the longest-running scientific investigations of its kind. It has generated a wealth of crucial information about these captivating marine mammals.

Sampling Description

Study Extent

NA

Sampling

NA

Method steps

NA

Additional info

marine, harvested by iOBIS

Taxonomic Coverages

Scientific names are based on the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).

Balaenoptera
common name: baleen whales rank: genus
Balaenoptera acutorostrata
common name: Minke Whale rank: species
Balaenoptera
common name: baleen whales rank: genus
Balaenoptera borealis
common name: Sei Whale rank: species
Balaenoptera musculus
common name: Blue Whale rank: species
Balaenoptera physalus
common name: Fin Whale rank: species
Balaenoptera
common name: baleen whales rank: genus
Cetacea
common name: cetaceans rank: order
Delphinapterus leucas
common name: Beluga rank: species
Delphinidae
common name: dolphins rank: family
Delphinus delphis
common name: Short-beaked Common Dolphin rank: species
Delphinus
common name: common dolphins rank: genus
Delphinidae
common name: dolphins rank: family
Globicephala melas
common name: Long-finned Pilot Whale rank: species
Globicephala melas
common name: Long-finned Pilot Whale rank: species
Grampus griseus
common name: Risso's Dolphin rank: species
Hyperoodon ampullatus
common name: Northern bottlenose whale rank: species
Kogia breviceps
common name: Pygmy Sperm Whale rank: species
Lagenodelphis hosei
common name: Fraser's Dolphin rank: species
Lagenorhynchus
common name: white-beaked dolphins rank: genus
Lagenorhynchus acutus
common name: Atlantic White-sided Dolphin rank: species
Lagenorhynchus albirostris
common name: White-beaked Dolphin rank: species
Megaptera novaeangliae
common name: Humpback Whale rank: species
Mesoplodon bidens
common name: Sowerby's Beaked Whale rank: species
Mesoplodon densirostris
common name: Blainville's Beaked Whale rank: species
Mesoplodon europaeus
common name: Gervais' Beaked Whale rank: species
Mesoplodon mirus
common name: True's Beaked Whale rank: species
Monodon monoceros
common name: Narwhal rank: species
Mysticeti
common name: baleen whales rank: suborder
Odontoceti
common name: toothed whales rank: suborder
Orcinus orca
common name: Killer Whale rank: species
Peponocephala electra
common name: Melon-headed Whale rank: species
Phocoena phocoena
common name: Harbor Porpoise rank: species
Physeter macrocephalus
common name: Sperm Whale rank: species
Physeter macrocephalus
common name: Sperm Whale rank: species
Pseudorca crassidens
common name: False Killer Whale rank: species
Stenella coeruleoalba
common name: Striped Dolphin rank: species
Delphinidae
common name: dolphins rank: family
Tursiops truncatus
common name: Common Bottlenose Dolphin rank: species
Hyperoodontidae
rank: family
Ziphius cavirostris
common name: Cuvier's Beaked Whale rank: species

Geographic Coverages

Oceans

Bibliographic Citations

Contacts

Strandings Officer
originator
position: Primary contact
The Natural History Museum, London
email: strandings@nhm.ac.uk

OBIS-SEAMAP
metadata author
Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Duke University
A328 LSRC building
Durham
27708
NC
US
email: seamap-contact@duke.edu
homepage: http://seamap.env.duke.edu

OBIS-SEAMAP
distributor
Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Duke University
A328 LSRC building
Durham
27708
NC
US
email: seamap-contact@duke.edu
homepage: http://seamap.env.duke.edu

Strandings Officer
owner
position: Primary contact
The Natural History Museum, London
email: strandings@nhm.ac.uk

Strandings Officer
administrative point of contact
position: Primary contact
The Natural History Museum, London
email: strandings@nhm.ac.uk