Migration and local movement of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) through Hawaiian waters

1981 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 460-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Scott Baker ◽  
Louis M. Herman
Keyword(s):  
North Pacific ◽  
Movement Pattern ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Supporting Evidence ◽  
Surface Currents ◽  
Island Group ◽  
Major Period ◽  
Local Movement ◽  
Migratory Timing ◽  
Aircraft Data

Aerial surveys of the population of humpback whales assembled in Hawaiian waters during the 1977, 1978, and 1979 winter seasons were carried out on a weekly to biweekly basis during the major period of residency, from mid-January through mid-April. A progressively later date for peak numbers was found over the 3 years. These annual changes in migratory timing were consistent with earlier data for humpback whales in the western North Pacific but differed from the constant migratory timing reported for South Pacific humpback whales. Regional data showed that each year the earliest peak influx was at the island of Hawaii (Big Island), with regions to the northwest showing progressively later dates for peak residency. Kauai-Niihau, the island group furthest to the northwest, but separated from other islands by extensive deep water channels, seemed to follow an independent trend. Photographic reidentification of seven whales that moved from the Big Island or from the Maui area to regions to the northwest provided supporting evidence for the southeast to northwest movement pattern indicated by aircraft data. This pattern suggested that some whales use the prevailing clockwise surface currents in the upper North Pacific to aid their migration between Alaskan feeding grounds and Hawaii.

Between-year synchrony in migratory timing of individual humpback whales,Megaptera novaeangliae

2012 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 228-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Burns ◽  
Lyndon Brooks ◽  
Phil Clapham ◽  
Peter Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Megaptera Novaeangliae ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Migratory Timing

Geographical restriction as a guide to the causes of extinction: the case of the cold northern oceans during the Neogene

Paleobiology ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 335-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geerat J. Vermeij
Keyword(s):  
Primary Productivity ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Northwestern Pacific ◽  
Supporting Evidence ◽  
Geographical Patterns ◽  
The North ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Late Neogene ◽  
The North Pacific

Geographical restriction to refuges implies the regional extinction of taxa in areas of the previous range falling outside the refuge. A comparison of the circumstances in the refuge with those in areas from which the taxa were eliminated is potentially informative for pinpointing the causes of extinction. A synthesis of data on the geographical and stratigraphical distributions of cool-water molluscs of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans during the late Neogene reveals four patterns of geographical restriction, at least two of which imply that climatic cooling was not the only cause of extinction during the last several million years. These four patterns are (1) the northwestern Pacific restriction, involving 15 taxa whose amphi-Pacific distributions during the late Neogene became subsequently restricted to the Asian side of the Pacific; (2) the northwestern Atlantic restriction, involving six taxa whose early Pleistocene distribution is inferred to have been amphi-Atlantic, but whose present-day and late Pleistocene ranges are confined to the northwestern Atlantic; (3) a vicariant Pacific pattern, in which many ancestral amphi-Pacific taxa gave rise to separate eastern and western descendants; and (4) the circumboreal restriction, involving six taxa whose early Pleistocene distribution, encompassing both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, became subsequently limited to the North Pacific. Like the Pliocene extinctions in the Atlantic, previously studied by Stanley and others, the vicariant Pacific pattern is most reasonably interpreted as having resulted from regional extinction of northern populations in response to cooling. The northwestern Pacific and Atlantic restrictions, however, cannot be accounted for in this way. In contrast to the northeastern margins of the Pacific and Atlantic, the northwestern margins are today characterized by wide temperature fluctuations and by extensive development of shore ice in winter. Northeastern, rather than northwestern, restriction would be expected if cooling were the overriding cause of regional extinction. Among the other possible causes of extinction, only a decrease in primary productivity can account for the observed northwestern and circumboreal patterns of restriction. Geographical patterns of body size and the distribution of siliceous deposits provide supporting evidence that primary productivity declined after the Miocene in the northeastern Pacific, but remained high in the northwestern Pacific, and that productivity in the Pacific is generally higher than it is in the Atlantic. The patterns of geographical restriction in the northern oceans thus provide additional support to previous inferences that reductions in primary productivity have played a significant role in marine extinctions.

Multiple visits of individual humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) between the Hawaiian and Japanese winter grounds

1999 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 504-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan R Salden ◽  
Louis M Herman ◽  
Manami Yamaguchi ◽  
Fumihiko Sato
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variability ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Humpback Whale ◽  
Megaptera Novaeangliae ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Winter Ground ◽  
The Third ◽  
Breeding Populations ◽  
Published Report

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.

Estimating the mortality rate of humpback whale calves in the central North Pacific Ocean

2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (4) ◽  
pp. 589-600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine M Gabriele ◽  
Janice M Straley ◽  
Sally A Mizroch ◽  
C Scott Baker ◽  
Alison S Craig ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mortality Rate ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
North Pacific Ocean ◽  
Humpback Whale ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
First Year ◽  
Robust Estimate ◽  
Calf Mortality

Sighting histories of individually identified female humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in their winter and summer ranges were used to investigate mortality of North Pacific humpback whale calves. We compiled records collected between 1979 and 1995 by eight independent research groups, which yielded 29 cases where 25 different mothers sighted in Hawai'i were identified later the same year in Alaska. In 7 of 29 cases, a calf sighted with its mother in Hawai'i was missing from its mother's Alaska sighting(s). After investigating many factors, we determined that the largest potential bias would occur in late-autumn observations, when calf absences might indicate weaning or temporary mother–calf separation rather than calf mortality. Our minimal and most robust estimate excluded all mortalities and survivals based on sightings of the mother after October 31; 3 of 20 cases or 0.150 (95% confidence intervals (CI) = 0.032, 0.378). The maximal calf mortality rate, derived from all the available data, was 7 of 29 cases or 0.241 (95% CI = 0.103, 0.434). An intermediate estimate that excluded all cases based on single Alaska sightings and omitted late-season sightings (2 of 11 cases or 0.182; 95% CI = 0.023, 0.518) is perhaps closest to the actual first-year mortality rate for humpback whale calves, although it is compromised by its small sample size. Our results demonstrate both the value and the limitations of using longitudinal data to determine the life-history parameters that are essential for documenting the recovery of endangered populations.

scholarly journals Fluctuating reproductive rates in Hawaii's humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae , reflect recent climate anomalies in the North Pacific

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 181463 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Cartwright ◽  
A. Venema ◽  
V. Hernandez ◽  
C. Wyels ◽  
J. Cesere ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Megaptera Novaeangliae ◽  
Anthropogenic Climate Change ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Encounter Rates ◽  
The North ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The North Pacific ◽  
Population Segment

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.

Recent observations of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Japanese waters off Ogasawara and Okinawa

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 325-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Darling ◽  
K. Mori
Keyword(s):  
North Pacific ◽  
Individual Behavior ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Behavior Patterns ◽  
Mariana Islands ◽  
Northern Mariana Islands ◽  
Japanese Waters ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

The current status of humpback whales in waters off Ogasawara and Okinawa islands, Japan, and the relationship of these populations to each other and to humpback whales in the central-eastern North Pacific were investigated. Fluke-identification photographs collected from 1987 to 1990 were analyzed to estimate abundance and determine individual behavior patterns, and were compared with humpback photoidentifications from other regions. In total, 177 humpbacks were identified. At the end of the study period the rate of discovery of "new" whales was still high, suggesting a substantially larger overall population. Whales were commonly sighted throughout the Ogasawara archipelago from December to May, and were present during the same period near the Kerama Islands, Okinawa. Humpback whales were not regularly seen near Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, or near Kenting, Taiwan. Repeat sightings of individuals indicate that some whales were present for extended periods off Ogasawara. The predominant behavior patterns were those related to calving and mating. Two whales were identified in both the Okinawa and Ogasawara regions in different years, suggesting that both regions are used by the same population. Identification of one whale in both Japan and Hawaii (reported elsewhere) indicates the potential for mixing of western and eastern North Pacific humpback populations; the overall matching effort to date suggests that this interchange is relatively small.

The diets of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) on the shelf and oceanic feeding grounds in the western North Pacific inferred from stable isotope analysis

2012 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. E253-E265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga A. Filatova ◽  
Briana H. Witteveen ◽  
Anton A. Goncharov ◽  
Alexei V. Tiunov ◽  
Maria I. Goncharova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Stable Isotope Analysis ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Megaptera Novaeangliae ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Feeding Grounds
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