Population-level lateralized feeding behaviour in North Atlantic humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae

2011 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 901-909 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Canning ◽  
Danielle Crain ◽  
T. Scott Eaton ◽  
Kathryn Nuessly ◽  
Ari Friedlaender ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Megaptera Novaeangliae ◽  
Humpback Whales

Evidence for acquisition of a novel feeding behaviour: lobtail feeding in humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae

1992 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 1059-1072 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mason T. Weinrich ◽  
Mark R. Schilling ◽  
Cynthia R. Belt
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Megaptera Novaeangliae ◽  
Humpback Whales

scholarly journals Segregation of migration by feeding ground origin in North Atlantic humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae)

2003 ◽  
Vol 259 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter T. Stevick ◽  
Judith Allen ◽  
Martine Bérubé ◽  
Phillip J. Clapham ◽  
Steven K. Katona ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Megaptera Novaeangliae ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Feeding Ground

North Atlantic humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) hotspots defined by bathymetric features off western Puerto Rico

2016 ◽  
Vol 94 (7) ◽  
pp. 517-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.M. MacKay ◽  
B. Würsig ◽  
C.E. Bacon ◽  
J.D. Selwyn
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rico ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Humpback Whale ◽  
Current Data ◽  
Megaptera Novaeangliae ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Shelf Edge ◽  
Species List ◽  
Occurrence Patterns ◽  
Potential Interactions

North Atlantic humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781)) are increasing in number, necessitating current data from winter areas for assessing potential interactions with humans. Occurrence patterns of humpback whales wintering off Puerto Rico were investigated to predict where whales aggregate in nearshore areas. Here we describe the relationship between group associations of humpback whales and bathymetric features off western Puerto Rico. Data were collected from 2011 to 2014. Effort consisted of 240.9 vessel h, 13.0 aerial h, and 303.6 h of land observations conducted over 165 days. A total of 197 humpback whale groups were observed with n = 331 individuals: 91 (46.2%) singletons, 67 (34%) dyads, 17 (8.6%) mother–calf pairs, 8 (4.1%) competitive groups, 8 (4.1%) mother–calf–escort groups, and 6 (3.1%) mixed-species associations. A linear regression model supported that group composition correlated with hotspots associated with four bathymetric features. Dyads and competitive groups were dispersed among features in deeper water. Singletons were observed farther from a shelf edge, whereas singing males were closely associated with a shelf edge. Mother–calf pairs occurred nearshore in shallow water; however, when mother–calf pairs were sighted with an escort, they were offshore. This study is especially important ahead of possible removal from the Endangered Species list.

Local and migratory movements of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) satellite-tracked in the North Atlantic Ocean

2014 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.S. Kennedy ◽  
A.N. Zerbini ◽  
O.V. Vásquez ◽  
N. Gandilhon ◽  
P.J. Clapham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dominican Republic ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Gulf Of Maine ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Megaptera Novaeangliae ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
The North ◽  
Breeding Grounds ◽  
Multiple Feeding ◽  
Feeding Grounds

North Atlantic humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781)) migrate from high-latitude summer feeding grounds to low-latitude winter breeding grounds along the Antillean Island chain. In the winters and springs of 2008 through 2012, satellite tags were deployed on humpback whales on Silver Bank (Dominican Republic) and in Guadeloupe (French West Indies) breeding areas. Whales were monitored, on average, for 26 days (range = 4–90 days). Some animals remained near their tagging location for multiple days before beginning their northerly migration, yet some visited habitats along the northwestern coast of the Dominican Republic, northern Haiti, the Turks and Caicos islands, and off Anguilla. Individuals monitored during migration headed towards feeding grounds in the Gulf of Maine (USA), Canada, and the eastern North Atlantic (Iceland or Norway). One individual traveled near Bermuda during the migration. This study provides the first detailed description of routes used by North Atlantic humpback whales towards multiple feeding destinations. Additionally, it corroborates previous research showing that individuals from multiple feeding grounds migrate to the Antilles for the breeding season. This study indicates that North Atlantic humpbacks use an area broader than the existing boundaries of marine mammal sanctuaries, which should provide justification for their expansion.

scholarly journals Evidence for ship noise impacts on humpback whale foraging behaviour

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 20160005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah B. Blair ◽  
Nathan D. Merchant ◽  
Ari S. Friedlaender ◽  
David N. Wiley ◽  
Susan E. Parks
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Mixed Models ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Acoustic Environment ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Archival Tags ◽  
Conservation Concern ◽  
Shipping Traffic ◽  
Atlantic Coastal

Noise from shipping activity in North Atlantic coastal waters has been steadily increasing and is an area of growing conservation concern, as it has the potential to disrupt the behaviour of marine organisms. This study examines the impacts of ship noise on bottom foraging humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) in the western North Atlantic . Data were collected from 10 foraging whales using non-invasive archival tags that simultaneously recorded underwater movements and the acoustic environment at the whale. Using mixed models, we assess the effects of ship noise on seven parameters of their feeding behaviours. Independent variables included the presence or absence of ship noise and the received level of ship noise at the whale. We found significant effects on foraging, including slower descent rates and fewer side-roll feeding events per dive with increasing ship noise. During 5 of 18 ship passages, dives without side-rolls were observed. These findings indicate that humpback whales on Stellwagen Bank, an area with chronically elevated levels of shipping traffic, significantly change foraging activity when exposed to high levels of ship noise. This measureable reduction in within-dive foraging effort of individual whales could potentially lead to population-level impacts of shipping noise on baleen whale foraging success.

Abundance and Distribution of Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in West Greenland Waters

1984 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 533-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith S. Perkins ◽  
Kenneth C. Balcomb III ◽  
George Nichols Jr. ◽  
Marisa DeAvilla
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Megaptera Novaeangliae ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
The West ◽  
Mark Recapture ◽  
West Greenland ◽  
Abundance And Distribution

Using photoidentification of individual humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and mark–recapture calculations in 1981 (mark) and 1982 (recapture), the population of this species that occurs in summer along the West Greenland coast between 63 and 70°N was estimated to be less than 200 whales. Whale distribution, however, was not random. Humpbacks were found clustered on Fyllas Banke (Godthaab District) during July and August in both years. Only a few individuals were scattered within a 240-km radius of this location. No West Greenland humpbacks have been seen in other known western North Atlantic feeding areas and vice versa.

Current Knowledge on the Distribution and Relative Abundance of Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) off the Cape Verde Islands, Eastern North Atlantic

2009 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 502-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick W. Wenzel ◽  
Judith Allen ◽  
Simon Berrow ◽  
Cornelis J. Hazevoet ◽  
Beatrice Jann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Relative Abundance ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Cape Verde ◽  
Megaptera Novaeangliae ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Cape Verde Islands ◽  
Eastern North Atlantic
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