Evaluating cetacean body condition; a review of traditional approaches and new developments

The ability to accurately gauge the body condition of free-swimming cetaceans is invaluable in population and conservation biology, due to the direct implications that this measure has on individual fitness, survival, and reproductive success. Furthermore, monitoring temporal change in body condition offers insight into foraging success over time, and therefore the health of the supporting ecosystem, as well as a species' resilience. These...