About the Authors

Howard C. Rosenbaum

hrosenbaum@wcs.org

Affiliations Cetacean Conservation and Research Program, Global Conservation-Marine, Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, New York, United States of America, Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics and Conservation Genetics Program, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, United States of America, American Museum of Natural History, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, New York, New York, United States of America, Department of E3B, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America

Cristina Pomilla

Affiliations Cetacean Conservation and Research Program, Global Conservation-Marine, Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, New York, United States of America, Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics and Conservation Genetics Program, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, United States of America, American Museum of Natural History, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, New York, New York, United States of America

Martin Mendez

Affiliations Cetacean Conservation and Research Program, Global Conservation-Marine, Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, New York, United States of America, Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics and Conservation Genetics Program, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, United States of America, Department of E3B, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America

Matthew S. Leslie

Affiliations Cetacean Conservation and Research Program, Global Conservation-Marine, Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, New York, United States of America, Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics and Conservation Genetics Program, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, United States of America

Peter B. Best

Affiliation University of Pretoria, Mammal Research Institute, Pretoria, Cape Town, South Africa

Ken P. Findlay

Affiliation Oceanography Department, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa

Gianna Minton

Affiliation Environment Society of Oman, Ruwi, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

Peter J. Ersts

Affiliations Cetacean Conservation and Research Program, Global Conservation-Marine, Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, New York, United States of America, American Museum of Natural History, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, New York, New York, United States of America

Timothy Collins

Affiliations Cetacean Conservation and Research Program, Global Conservation-Marine, Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, New York, United States of America, Environment Society of Oman, Ruwi, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

Marcia H. Engel

Affiliations Instituto Baleia Jubarte, Caravelas, Bahia, Brazil, Faculdade de Biociências, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Sandro L. Bonatto

Affiliation Faculdade de Biociências, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Deon P. G. H. Kotze

Affiliation Marine and Coastal Management, Rogge Bay, South Africa

Mike Meÿer

Affiliation Marine and Coastal Management, Rogge Bay, South Africa

Jaco Barendse

Affiliation University of Pretoria, Mammal Research Institute, Pretoria, Cape Town, South Africa

Meredith Thornton

Affiliation University of Pretoria, Mammal Research Institute, Pretoria, Cape Town, South Africa

Yvette Razafindrakoto

Affiliation Wildlife Conservation Society-Madagascar Country Program, Antananarivo, Madagascar

Solange Ngouessono

Affiliation Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux, Ministère du Tourisme et des Parcs Nationaux, Libreville, Gabon

Michel Vely

Affiliation Association Megaptera, Paris, France

Jeremy Kiszka

Affiliation Université de La Rochelle, LIENSS, Institut du Littoral et de l'Environnement, La Rochelle, France

Competing Interests

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: HR CP MM MSL PBB KPF GM PJE TC MHE SLB DPGHK MM JB MT YR SN MV JK. Performed the experiments: HR CP MM MSL PBB KPF GM PJE TC MHE SLB DPGHK MM JB MT YR SN MV JK. Analyzed the data: HR CP MM MSL. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: HR CP MM MSL PBB KPF GM PJE TC MHE SLB DPGHK MM JB MT YR SN MV JK. Wrote the paper: HR CP MM MSL. Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content: CP MM MSL PBB KPF GM PJE TC MHE SLB DPGHK MM JB MT YR SN MV JK. Final approval of the version to be published: CP MM MSL PBB KPF GM PJE TC MHE SLB DPGHK MM JB MT YR SN MV JK.