title: Collateral damage to marine and terrestrial ecosystems from Yankee whaling in the 19th century.
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 (Gadussp.). 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology Columbia University New York NY USA; Department of Vertebrate Zoology American Museum of Natural History New York NY USA.
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Drew
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology Columbia University New York NY USA; Present address: Hopkins Marine Station Department of Biology Stanford University Pacific Grove CA USA.
authors.forename: Elora H
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0338-0892
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: López
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology Columbia University New York NY USA.
authors.forename: Lucy
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gill
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology Columbia University New York NY USA.
authors.forename: Mallory
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McKeon
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology Columbia University New York NY USA; Present address: Nichols School of the Environment Duke University Durham NC USA.
authors.forename: Nathan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science Barnard College Columbia University New York NY USA.
authors.forename: Madeline
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Steinberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology Columbia University New York NY USA.
authors.forename: Christa
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Studies Colby College Waterville ME USA.
authors.forename: Loren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: McClenachan
keywords: conservation biology; historical ecology; marine/terrestrial linkages; shifting baselines