Assessing North Atlantic Right whale health: a review of threats, and development of tools critical for conservation of the species

© The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Moore, M. J., Rowles, T. K., Fauquier, D. A., Baker, J. D., Biedron, I., Durban, J. W., Hamilton, P. K., Henry, A. G., Knowlton, A. R., McLellan, W. A., Miller, C. A., Pace, R. M.,3rd, Pettis, H. M., Raverty, S., Rolland, R. M., Schick, R. S., Sharp, S. M., Smith, C. R., Thomas, L., der Hoop, J. M. V., & Ziccardi, M. H. REVIEW: Assessing North Atlantic right whale health: threats, and development of tools critical for conservation of the species. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, 143, (2021): 205-226, https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03578.Whaling decimated North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis - NARW) since the 11th century and southern right whales (E. australis - SRW) since the 19th century. Today, NARWs are critically endangered and decreasing, whereas SRWs are recovering. We review NARW health assessment literature, NARW Consortium databases, and efforts and limitations to monitor individual and species health, survival, and fecundity. Photographs are used to track individual movement and external signs of health such as evidence of vessel and entanglement trauma. Post mortem examinations establish cause of death and determine organ pathology. Photogrammetry is used to assess growth rates and body condition. Samples of blow, skin, blubber, baleen and feces quantify hormones that provide information on stress, reproduction, and nutrition, identify microbiome changes, and assess evidence of infection. We also discuss models of the population consequences of multiple stressors, including the connection between human activities (e.g., entanglement) and health. Lethal and sublethal vessel and entanglement trauma have been identified as major threats to the species. There is a clear and immediate need for expanding trauma reduction measures. Beyond these major concerns, further study is needed to evaluate the impact of other stressors, such as pathogens, microbiome changes, and algal and industrial toxins, on NARW reproductive success and health. Current and new health assessment tools should be developed and used to monitor the effectiveness of management measures, and will help determine whether they are sufficient for a substantive species recovery.We thank the participants of the North Atlantic Right Whale Health Assessment workshop, June 24-26, 2019, Silver Spring MD, USA, for their contributions. NA14OAR4320158 funded the drafting of this manuscript. We sincerely thank three anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments. The scientific results and conclusions, as well as any views or opinions expressed herein, are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of NOAA