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<p>Stejneger’s beaked whale (SBW) remains a very poorly studied toothed whale species, with almost all available information derived from stranded individuals. Most strandings have been recorded in Japan, the Aleutian Islands, and Alaska. In Russia, until recently, only a few SBW remains had been found, all on the Commander Islands since the 19th century. By leveraging citizen science alongside our own research data, we identified the first SBW strandings in the Russian part of the Sea of Japan and analyzed them using a multidisciplinary approach. mtDNA shows genetic affinity between our SBW and those from Japan. The 28&#xa0;S and 18&#xa0;S rDNA sequences from one individual were identical to those of <i>Mesoplodon densirostris</i>. Analysis of SBW external features, enabled in part by citizen observations, allowed us to make several new inferences regarding their ecology and behavior. Synthesizing stranding records with oceanographic information indicates that the overall distribution of SBW is associated with warm currents, and their appearance in previously atypical areas (such as Russian waters) is linked to warm-water intrusions and ongoing ocean warming. Our work demonstrates how the involvement of the broader public in scientific data collection, combined with an integrative, multidisciplinary approach, can expand our knowledge of rare and cryptic species for which data are extremely limited.</p>

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First records of Stejneger’s beaked whales (Mesoplodon stejnegeri) in the Russian part of the Sea of Japan revealed through citizen science: new insights into the species’ ecology and evolution

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月27日

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  • Sergey Ryazanov,
  • Kseniya Efimova

摘要

Stejneger’s beaked whale (SBW) remains a very poorly studied toothed whale species, with almost all available information derived from stranded individuals. Most strandings have been recorded in Japan, the Aleutian Islands, and Alaska. In Russia, until recently, only a few SBW remains had been found, all on the Commander Islands since the 19th century. By leveraging citizen science alongside our own research data, we identified the first SBW strandings in the Russian part of the Sea of Japan and analyzed them using a multidisciplinary approach. mtDNA shows genetic affinity between our SBW and those from Japan. The 28 S and 18 S rDNA sequences from one individual were identical to those of Mesoplodon densirostris. Analysis of SBW external features, enabled in part by citizen observations, allowed us to make several new inferences regarding their ecology and behavior. Synthesizing stranding records with oceanographic information indicates that the overall distribution of SBW is associated with warm currents, and their appearance in previously atypical areas (such as Russian waters) is linked to warm-water intrusions and ongoing ocean warming. Our work demonstrates how the involvement of the broader public in scientific data collection, combined with an integrative, multidisciplinary approach, can expand our knowledge of rare and cryptic species for which data are extremely limited.