scholarly journals Humpback whale “super-groups” – A novel low-latitude feeding behaviour of Southern Hemisphere humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Benguela Upwelling System

PLoS ONE ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. e0172002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken P. Findlay ◽  
S. Mduduzi Seakamela ◽  
Michael A. Meÿer ◽  
Stephen P. Kirkman ◽  
Jaco Barendse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Hemisphere ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Humpback Whale ◽  
Megaptera Novaeangliae ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Low Latitude ◽  
Upwelling System ◽  
Benguela Upwelling

scholarly journals Very low numbers of endangered Oceania humpback whales seen in Fijian waters

2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Miller ◽  
A. Batibasiga ◽  
S. Sharma-Gounder ◽  
P. Solomona
Keyword(s):  
Southern Hemisphere ◽  
Humpback Whale ◽  
Megaptera Novaeangliae ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Large Decrease ◽  
The South ◽  
Migration Routes ◽  
Antarctic Waters ◽  
Commercial Whaling

Intensive commercial whaling caused significant declines in Southern Hemisphere humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) populations. In Fiji, land-based humpback whale surveys undertaken from 1956 to 1958 documented maximum weekly counts of more than 150 humpback whales in parts of the Bligh waters. These records provide an invaluable point of comparison to present-day observations as they occurred immediately prior to very large humpback whale catches in Antarctic waters to the south – and on potential migration routes – of humpback whales breeding in Fijian waters. We report here on a three-year (2010–2012) land-based survey also conducted in the Bligh waters during which a total of 33 individuals over 480 h were counted from Ovalau Island and 68 individuals over approximately 300 h were observed from Makogai Island. These findings suggest a large decrease in numbers of humpback whales seen in Fiji waters since commercial whaling operations.

scholarly journals Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) Song on a Subarctic Feeding Ground

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saskia C. Martin ◽  
Ana S. Aniceto ◽  
Heidi Ahonen ◽  
Geir Pedersen ◽  
Ulf Lindstrøm
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Humpback Whale ◽  
Megaptera Novaeangliae ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Low Latitude ◽  
Feeding Ground ◽  
The North ◽  
Singing Behavior ◽  
Breeding Grounds ◽  
Singing Activity

Male humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are known to produce long complex sequences of structured vocalizations called song. Singing behavior has traditionally been associated with low latitude breeding grounds but is increasingly reported outside these areas. This study provides the first report of humpback whale songs in the subarctic waters of Northern Norway using a long-term bottom-moored hydrophone. Data processed included the months January–June 2018 and December 2018–January 2019. Out of 189 days with recordings, humpback whale singing was heard on 79 days. Singing was first detected beginning of January 2018 with a peak in February and was heard until mid-April. No singing activity was found during the summer months and was heard again in December 2018, continuing over January 2019. A total of 131 song sessions, including 35 full sessions, were identified throughout the study period. The longest and shortest complete sessions lasted 815 and 13 min, respectively. The results confirm that singing can be heard over several months in winter and spring on a high latitude feeding ground. This provides additional evidence to the growing literature that singing is not an explicit behavior confined to low latitude breeding grounds. The peak of song occurrence in February appears to coincide with the reproductive cycle of humpback whales. Finally, this study indicates that song occurrence on a subarctic feeding ground likely aids the cultural transmission for the North Atlantic humpback whale population.

scholarly journals Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) observations in Laskeek Bay, western Hecate Strait, in spring and early summer, 1990–2018

2020 ◽  
Vol 133 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-269
Author(s):  
Anthony J. Gaston ◽  
Neil G. Pilgrim ◽  
Vivian Pattison
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Humpback Whale ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Megaptera Novaeangliae ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
The West ◽  
Peak Period ◽  
West Side

We describe observations of Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) made along the west side of central Hecate Strait, British Columbia, during the spring and summer of 1990–2018. From none in March, the frequency of sightings increased from early April to a peak in May, then fell in June with few in July. The frequency of sightings during the peak period (1 May–20 June) increased over the course of the study at a mean rate of 6% a year, similar to increases recorded elsewhere in British Columbian waters. The frequency of sightings was highest in years when the Oceanic Niño Index for January–March was low and peaked earlier in years when the Oceanic Niño Index was high. Both of these relationships suggest a connection between Humpback Whale sightings in western Hecate Strait and the larger oceanographic context, with sightings more frequent in years of lower water temperatures.

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.

Sex differences in site fidelity and migration of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) to the Hawaiian Islands

1997 ◽  
Vol 75 (11) ◽  
pp. 1923-1933 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison S. Craig ◽  
Louis M. Herman
Keyword(s):  
Site Fidelity ◽  
Hawaiian Islands ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Megaptera Novaeangliae ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Low Latitude ◽  
Wintering Area ◽  
The Mean ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Feeding Grounds

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) perform extensive seasonal migrations between high-latitude summer feeding grounds and low-latitude winter reproductive grounds. To investigate gender-related site fidelity to the Hawaiian Islands, an important wintering area for North Pacific humpback whales, photographically based resight histories of 224 females and 416 males observed in Hawai'i from 1976 through 1991 were compiled. Results indicated that the mean number of years in which they were seen was higher for males than for females, that the probability of an individual being resighted across years was higher for males than for females, and that more males than females were seen in consecutive years. Potential sources of bias favoring the photographic capture of males were considered, but none were judged to be significant contributors to the results obtained. It was proposed instead that not all females undertake or complete the migration to the winter grounds each year. Because of the high energy costs of migration and reproduction, some females may overwinter in high latitudes, while others may become pregnant en route to the area traditionally associated with breeding and return to the feeding grounds before arriving at the terminal winter destination.

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

Male mate choice and male-male competition coexist in the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)

2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 745-755 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison S Craig ◽  
Louis M Herman ◽  
Adam A Pack
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Reproductive Potential ◽  
Humpback Whale ◽  
Male Competition ◽  
Megaptera Novaeangliae ◽  
Reproductive Season ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Calving Rate ◽  
Male Mate

Male humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) outnumber females on the winter grounds and compete physically for proximity to females. Analyses of identification photographs collected in Hawai'i from 1976 through 1995 and scan samples collected in 1998 showed that (i) reproductive potential (calving rate) for the following winter was greater for females without a calf than females with a calf, (ii) females without a calf were less likely to be found alone and more likely to be found in large pods than females with a calf, (iii) individual females were found in larger pods when without a calf than when with a calf, (iv) the probability of females with a calf being escorted by one or more males increased as the reproductive season progressed, and (v) head lunges occurred more commonly in all-adult pods than in pods containing a calf. We concluded that male humpback whales associate preferentially with females with high reproductive potential, that the attractiveness of individual females varies with their status (with a calf versus without a calf), that males become progressively less choosy over the course of the reproductive season as females without a calf become increasingly rare on the winter grounds, and that males expend more energy in competition over females without a calf than females with a calf.

Reproduction and recruitment of individually identified humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, observed in Massachusetts Bay, 1979–1985

1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (12) ◽  
pp. 2853-2863 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip J. Clapham ◽  
Charles A. Mayo
Keyword(s):  
Birth Rate ◽  
Crude Birth Rate ◽  
Humpback Whale ◽  
Mature Female ◽  
Reproductive Rate ◽  
Megaptera Novaeangliae ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Massachusetts Bay ◽  
High Return ◽  
Calving Intervals

Humpback whale mother–calf pairs from a currently unexploited population were observed in Massachusetts Bay between 1979 and 1985. During this period, 44 individually identified mature females were observed, with a total of 72 calves. Of the 20 mothers observed with more than one calf during the study period, 12 had two calves and 8 had three calves. The observed calving intervals were 1 year (n = 1), 2 years (n = 16), 3 years (n = 10), and 4 years (n = 1). The crude birth rate varied from a low of 0.045 in 1981 to a high of 0.103 in 1983 (mean = 0.075). An alternative calculation of reproductive rate yielded a range of 0.30–0.43 calves per mature female per year. Mature females were observed significantly more frequently in years when they had a calf than in years when they did not. Females with calves associate with other whales less frequently than females without calves. Observations of calves feeding suggest that weaning may begin when calves are 5–6 months of age. Forty-five of the 49 calves born before 1985 separated from their mothers during the calf's second winter, while 37 of the 49 were observed to return to the study area in 1 or more years after separation from their mothers. One calf is known to have died. Two females born during the study period returned with calves of their own in later years. The high return rate of calves in years after separation strongly suggests that the composition of a humpback whale feeding stock is determined matrilineally.

scholarly journals Surface activity of Humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae (Cetacea, Mysticeti) on the northern coast of Bahia, Brazil

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Leonardo Leão Versiani ◽  
Cristiano Schetini Azevedo
Keyword(s):  
Surface Activity ◽  
Humpback Whale ◽  
Megaptera Novaeangliae ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Northern Coast ◽  
Sea State ◽  
Surface Activities ◽  
Cloud Coverage

Surface activities of humpback whale groups were studied during the reproductive seasons of 2008, 2009 and 2010 on the northern coast of Bahia State, Brazil, near the district of Praia do Forte. The level of surface activity exhibited by 342 groups of whales was evaluated according to the sea state (measured on the Beaufort scale) and cloud coverage. Five behaviours were recorded: breaching, head slapping, tail slapping, pectoral flipper slapping and tail breaching. Most of the sightings occurred with a sea state classified on the Beaufort scale as 2, and with a cloud coverage of 26 to 50%. The most recorded level of surface activity was pectoral flipper slapping. The results showed that humpback whale behaviours do not seem to be influenced by the sea state or by cloud coverage.

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