Acoustic detections of singing humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the eastern North Pacific during their northbound migration

1999 ◽  
Vol 106 (1) ◽  
pp. 506-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas F. Norris ◽  
Mark Mc Donald ◽  
Jay Barlow
1999 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 504-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan R Salden ◽  
Louis M Herman ◽  
Manami Yamaguchi ◽  
Fumihiko Sato

We document through photographic identifications three humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) winter ground interchanges between Hawai'i and Japan. Two of these whales, identified as male by their behavioral roles, made multiple interchanges across years; i.e., they were initially seen in Hawai'i, were later observed in Japan, and subsequently, returned to Hawai'i. The third whale was seen in only 2 different years, once in Japan and then in Hawai'i. Prior to this report, there has been only one published report of a Hawai'i-Japan interchange and only eight between Hawai'i and Mexico. None of these involved multiple interchanges. The current findings demonstrate that individual whales may be highly flexible in their annual choice of widely separated winter destinations and suggest that these wanderers may be mainly males. The occurrence of wanderers provides a mechanism for increasing genetic variability in the breeding populations and also suggests a mechanism for noted song similarities across different North Pacific winter grounds.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 181463 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Cartwright ◽  
A. Venema ◽  
V. Hernandez ◽  
C. Wyels ◽  
J. Cesere ◽  
...  

Alongside changing ocean temperatures and ocean chemistry, anthropogenic climate change is now impacting the fundamental processes that support marine systems. However, where natural climate aberrations mask or amplify the impacts of anthropogenic climate change, identifying key detrimental changes is challenging. In these situations, long-term, systematic field studies allow the consequences of anthropogenically driven climate change to be distinguished from the expected fluctuations in natural resources. In this study, we describe fluctuations in encounter rates for humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae , between 2008 and 2018. Encounter rates were assessed during transect surveys of the Au'Au Channel, Maui, Hawaii. Initially, rates increased, tracking projected growth rates for this population segment. Rates reached a peak in 2013, then declined through 2018. Specifically, between 2013 and 2018, mother–calf encounter rates dropped by 76.5%, suggesting a rapid reduction in the reproductive rate of the newly designated Hawaii Distinct Population Segment of humpback whales during this time. As this decline coincided with changes in the Pacific decadal oscillation, the development of the NE Pacific marine heat wave and the evolution of the 2016 El Niño, this may be another example of the impact of this potent trifecta of climatic events within the North Pacific.


2012 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. E253-E265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga A. Filatova ◽  
Briana H. Witteveen ◽  
Anton A. Goncharov ◽  
Alexei V. Tiunov ◽  
Maria I. Goncharova ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 296 ◽  
pp. 113540
Author(s):  
Kelly A. Cates ◽  
Shannon Atkinson ◽  
Adam A. Pack ◽  
Janice M. Straley ◽  
Christine M. Gabriele ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 378
Author(s):  
Shotaro Nakagun ◽  
Laetitia I. Smoll ◽  
Takayuki Sato ◽  
Cynthia A. A. Layusa ◽  
Jo Marie V. Acebes

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the western North Pacific breed in the Philippines and Japan, where there is relatively little scientific data available, leading to uncertainty about their population status and structure. This study investigates links between humpback whale populations in northern Philippines and Ogasawara, Japan, through a comparison of the most recent fluke identification catalogues. The Philippines catalogue (1999–2016) included 234 individuals, and the Ogasawara catalogue (1987–2014), 1389 individuals. The number of matched individuals was 86 (including 14 known females and 40 known males), corresponding to 36.8% of the Philippines and 6.2% of the Ogasawara catalogues. The findings included four within-season matches, with travel times as short as 25 days. The results suggest that a considerable portion of whales utilising Philippine waters pass through and also utilise the Ogasawara region, but the majority of whales found off Ogasawara either stay in that location, move to different breeding grounds, or remain out of the sampling area. Nevertheless, in light of the high site fidelity of individuals in the Philippines and Ogasawara area, as well as constant evidence of breeding activities, these regions are of importance to the lesser known western North Pacific subpopulation. Humpback whales migrating to this part of the world are estimated to be in relatively low abundance, therefore continued conservation attention is needed.


2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga V. Titova ◽  
Olga A. Filatova ◽  
Ivan D. Fedutin ◽  
Ekaterina N. Ovsyanikova ◽  
Haruna Okabe ◽  
...  

1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 308-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Darling ◽  
Daniel J. McSweeney

Migratory destinations of northeast Pacific humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) were determined by repeat sightings of photographically identified individuals, using the black and white pigment patterns on the ventral side of the flukes. Individuals identified between 1975 and 1982 included 1056 in Hawaii, 420 in southeast Alaska, 54 in Prince William Sound, Alaska, 8 in British Columbia, and 12 in the Revillagigedo Islands, Mexico. Of these, 51 were found in Hawaii and southeast Alaska, 8 in Hawaii and Prince William Sound, 1 in Hawaii and British Columbia, and 1 in Mexico and Hawaii. Some travelled for four, five, and six successive seasons between Hawaii and southeast Alaska. One whale was found in British Columbia one summer and in southeast Alaska the next; the same individuals were commonly found off both Kona, Hawaii, and West Maui in winter. The study suggests that separate summer feeding areas may exist in the northeast Pacific where individuals prefer to feed. Migratory connections suggest that all humpbacks in the eastern North Pacific are of the same stock.


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