The biogeography of the North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica)

The eastern North Pacific population of right whales (Eubalaena japonica) is among the most endangered whale populations, with an estimated size of only 10s of individuals. The effectiveness of measures (e.g., protected areas, abundance surveys) intended to promote recovery of this population will be enhanced by understanding its distribution, habitat use, and habitat characteristics. In order to facilitate such understanding, we summarized relevant right whale biology, reviewed the life history of their zooplankton prey species, and related North Pacific oceanography to the production, distribution, and concentration of these prey at three scales of variability. We discuss how ocean processes may drive zooplankton distribution and concentration, and present hypotheses about how prey patches suitable for right whale foraging might be formed. Such hypotheses, combined with available distributional data and descriptions of the ocean environment, would be suitable for predicting potential right whale foraging habitat.