Colour Pattern of Humpback Whales from the Coast of British Columbia

Pike, Gordon C.

doi:10.1139/f53-022

Cited by 20 publications

(26 citation statements)

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“…The geographic structure of humpback whale populations in the North Pacific has been derived from: (1) accounts from commercial catches (Kellogg 1928, Tomilin 1957, Berzin and Rovnin 1966 and movements based on Discovery tag recoveries (Nishiwaki 1966, Omura and Ohsumi 1964, Ohsumi and Masaki 1975, Ivashin and Rovnin 1967, (2) movements determined from photographically identified humpback whales (Darling and Jurasz 1983;Darling and McSweeney 1985;Baker et al 1986;Darling and Mori 1993;Calambokidis et al 1996Calambokidis et al , 2000Steiger et al 1991;Darling and Cerchio 1993;Darling et al 1996;Waite et af. 1999; U r b h et alp 2000), ( 3 ) geographic differences in genetic patterns of humpback whales based either on mtDNA Medrano-Gonzdez et al 1995) or nuclear DNA (Baker et al 1993(Baker et al , 1998Palumbi and Baker 1994), (4) geographic differences in the songs (Helweg et al 1990, Payne andGuinee 1983), and (5) differences in the proportion of whales with different fluke coloration patterns (Baker et al 1985(Baker et al , 1986Allen et al 1994;Pike 1953;Rosenbaum et af. 1995).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Movements and Population Structure of Humpback Whales in the North Pacific

Calambokidis¹,

Steiger²,

Straley

et al. 2001

Marine Mammal Science

198

233

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Despite the extensive use of photographic identification methods to investigate humpback whales in the North Pacific, few quantitative analyses have been conducted. We report on a comprehensive analysis of interchange in the North Pacific among three wintering regions (Mexico, Hawaii, and Japan) each with two to three subareas, and feeding areas that extended from southern California to the Aleutian Islands. Of the 6,413 identification photographs of humpback whales obtained by 16 independent research groups between 1990 and 1993 and examined for this study, 3,650 photographs were determined to be of suitable quality. A total of 1,241 matches was found by two independent matching teams, identifying 2,712 unique whales in the sample (seen one to five times). Site fidelity was greatest at feeding areas where there was a high rate of resightings in the same area in different years and a low rate of interchange among different areas. Migrations between winter regions and feeding areas did not follow a simple pattern, although highest match rates were found for whales that moved between Hawaii and southeastern Alaska, and between mainland and Baja Mexico and California. Interchange among subareas of the three primary wintering regions was extensive for Hawaii, variable (depending on subareas) for Mexico, and low for Japan and reflected the relative distances among subareas. Interchange among these primary wintering regions was rare. This study provides the first quantitative assessment of the migratory structure of humpback whales in the entire North Pacific basin.

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Movements and Population Structure of Humpback Whales in the North Pacific

Calambokidis¹,

Steiger²,

Straley

et al. 2001

Marine Mammal Science

198

233

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“…Pacific white-sided dolphins were the most abundant cetacean sighted in slope and offshore waters of Oregon and Washington during aerial surveys conducted in 1992 by Green et al (1993) during the months of March-May. Pike and MacAskie (1969) noted this species annually moves inshore in winter and offshore in summer, with inshore densities highest in autumn. Strandings have occurred in every month except April, which may be an anomaly (Fig.…”

Section: No Seasonalitymentioning

confidence: 91%

Cetacean strandings in Oregon and Washington between 1930 and 2002

Norman¹,

Bowlby²,

Brancato³

et al. 2023

JCRM

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The Northwest Region (NWR) Marine Mammal Stranding Network was created in the early 1980s to provide a consistent framework in which to collect and compile data about marine mammal strandings in Oregon and Washington. The NWR includes the nearshore waters and 4,243km (2,632 n.miles) of coastline. For the years 1930-2002, there were 904 stranding events, representing 951 individual animals and 23 species: 4 species of balaenopterids, 1 eschrichtiid, 2 physeterids, 4 ziphiids, 10 delphinids and 2 phocoenids. Gender was determined for 343 males and 266 females. Only one mass stranding was recorded (sperm whales: 1979). A few species comprised the majority (71%) of stranding events in the NWR: harbour porpoise (34%), gray whales (23%), Dall’s porpoise (12%) and Pacific white-sided dolphins (4%). There was a steep increase (511%) in the number of stranding reports beginning in the 1980s with over 86% of all records occurring during the last two decades (1980s and 1990s). The general trend of increased reported strandings during the last two decades corresponds to the formation of a formal stranding network and a heightened interest and dedication by the public and government agencies in reporting and documenting strandings. For all events combined, the primary stranding peak was April-July. Since stranding recoveries depend heavily on reports from the general public, most stranding records were in summer when more people are present along the coastline. Individual species or species groups showed varying levels of conformity to this overall seasonal trend. The value and limitations of the use of strandings data in a management context are discussed.

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“…Variation in white and black pigmentation on the ventral-tail fluke of humpback whales was reported during commercial whaling in the early 1900s (True, 1904;Lillie, 1915;Matthews, 1937;Omura, 1953). More recent studies have shown variation in pigmentations between humpback whale populations ranging from mostly black, predominantly in the Northern Hemisphere, to mostly white (Pike, 1953;Allen et al, 1994;Rosenbaum et al, 1995). Burns (2010) reported that both western and eastern Australian humpback whales showed the least amount of variation with over 80% of these whales being predominantly white, and suggested that categorisation into generic pattern types is more limited in its application for the Australian humpback whale populations.…”

Section: White-dominant Southern Hemisphere Ventral-tail Flukesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photo-identification of individual Southern Hemisphere humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) using all available natural marks:

Franklin

Brooks³

et al. 2020

Journal of Cetacean Research and Management

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Misidentification errors in capture-mark recapture studies of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) related to poor quality of photographs as well as changes in natural marks can seriously affect population dynamics parameter estimates and derived estimates of population size when using sophisticated modelling techniques. In this study we used an innovative photo-identification matching system to investigate and examine the long-term stability and/or changes in natural marks on ventral-tail flukes, dorsal fin shapes and lateral body marks from a sample of 79 individual humpback whales, resighted in 2 to 11 years over timespans ranging from 2 to 21 years. A binary logistic mixed effects model, on a pair-matched sample of the 79 individual whales, found no significant differences in the proportions of ventral-tail fluke marks, dorsal fin shapes and lateral body marks, that displayed changes in primary and/or secondary characteristics over years (F=0.939, df=1/156, p =0.334). The results of this study substantiate the value and reliability of using primary and secondary natural marks on the ventral-tail flukes, in conjunction with dorsal fin shapes and secondary lateral body marks as double-tags. This provides a means of maximising observations of individual humpback whales over years, while minimising and managing misidentification errors in the photo-identification matching process, thus significantly improving modelling outcomes.

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Colour Pattern of Humpback Whales from the Coast of British Columbia

Cited by 20 publications

References 0 publications

Movements and Population Structure of Humpback Whales in the North Pacific

Movements and Population Structure of Humpback Whales in the North Pacific

Cetacean strandings in Oregon and Washington between 1930 and 2002

Photo-identification of individual Southern Hemisphere humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) using all available natural marks:

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