Quantifying the Behavior of Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and Potential Responses to Sonar

Henderson, E. Elizabeth; Aschettino, Jessica M; Deakos, Mark H.; Alongi, Gabriela C.; Leota, Tara

doi:10.1578/am.45.6.2019.612

Cited by 4 publications

(30 citation statements)

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“…The mean dive depth for FE1 was 47.4 ± 74.0 m, with the deepest dive descending to 412 m. The mean dive depth for PE2 was 47.3 ± 66.6 m, with the deepest dive extending to 396 m. These deep dives occurred as the animals transited between the islands and had the most synchronous behavior across the dive records for both animals (bottom plot, Figure 5). These are similar depths to what was found for previously tagged humpback whales in Hawaiʻi that moved offshore into deep water (Henderson et al 2019, in press), but are deeper than previously reported dives for humpback whales in Hawaiʻi. Previous deep dive records were to 176 m (Baird et al, 2000) and 298 m (Herman et al, 2007), although in both studies the dive depths may have been constrained by the water depth.…”

Section: Figuresupporting

confidence: 89%

Dive and movement behavior of a humpback whale competitive group and a multiday association between a primary escort and female in Hawaiʻi

Henderson

Deakos²,

Engelhaupt

2021

Marine Mammal Science

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Section: Figuresupporting

confidence: 89%

Dive and movement behavior of a humpback whale competitive group and a multiday association between a primary escort and female in Hawaiʻi

Henderson

Deakos²,

Engelhaupt

2021

Marine Mammal Science

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“…Sightings data from large-scale ship-based line-transect surveys undertaken by NMFS from 2002-2020 were also available (see Barlow, 2006;Yano et al, 2018;Yano et al, 2020). Additional data sources were used in delineating the humpback whale R-BIA, including satellite tag data from Oregon State University (OSU; Mate et al, 1998;Palacios et al, 2019;Palacios et al, 2020) and Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific (NIWC Pacific; Henderson et al, 2019;Henderson et al, 2021;Henderson et al, 2022), sightings from dedicated small-boat survey efforts conducted by NIWC Pacific and HDR, Inc., and sightings from aerial surveys conducted by Marine Mammal Research Consultants, Ltd. (MMRC; Mobley et al, 2001;Mobley, 2004) accessed from PacIOOS Voyager 2 . Lastly, acoustic detection data from both NMFS surveys and NIWC Pacific (Pacific Missile Range Facility, PMRF) served as the primary source for delineating the common minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata; minke whale hereafter) watch list area, with all available, albeit limited, visual sightings included (NMFS, CRC, HDR, Inc.).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cetaceans in Hawaiian waters overlap with a number of anthropogenic activities that have the potential to result in both indirect and direct harmful population-level consequences. Threats include military operations (e.g., Martin et al, 2015;Henderson et al, 2019;Baird et al, 2021a;Durbach et al, 2021), commercial and recreational fishing (e.g., Baird and Webster, 2020;Baird et al, 2021b), tourism (e.g., Currie et al, 2021), shipping (e.g., Lammers et al, 2013), pollutants (e.g., Ylitalo et al, 2009;Bachman et al, 2014;Kratofil et al, 2020), protozoal disease from feral, non-native cats (Migaki et al, 1990;Landrau-Giovannetti et al, 2022), and marine debris (Currie et al, 2017). The range-resident behavior of many Hawaiian cetaceans (Baird, 2016) may further exacerbate risk from these threats; where site fidelity may have once been evolutionarily advantageous, this mechanism may become maladaptive in the Anthropocene (Merkle et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although humpbacks can be found in Hawaiʻi as early as late fall and through spring, with stragglers into summer, numbers are high beginning in January, and peak in February and March (Mobley et al, 1999). In the MHI humpback whales are typically found in shallow waters, and particularly high densities of whales occur off Maui Nui (Mobley et al, 2001), although inter-island movements within the MHI are extensive (Cerchio et al, 1998;Calambokidis et al, 2008;Mate et al, 1998;;Palacios et al, 2020;Henderson et al, 2021;Henderson et al, 2022). Habitat use varies between sexes; females with calves preferentially use shallower waters relative to groups without calves and adult males (Craig and Herman, 2000;Cartwright et al, 2012;Craig et al, 2014;Pack et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(Johnston et al, 2007;Yano et al, 2019), passive acoustic detections (Johnston et al, 2007;Lammers et al, 2011;Allen et al, 2021), and movements from a small proportion of humpback whales satellite tagged in the MHI (Henderson et al, 2019;Palacios et al, 2019;Palacios et al, 2020;Henderson et al, 2022) provide evidence on the importance of the NWHI for wintering humpback whales. The NWHI region may serve as a final breeding ground destination before whales begin their migration north to feeding grounds, or it may represent additional breeding habitat, although the degree of connectivity between the MHI and NWHI regions is poorly understood (Palacios et al, 2019;Palacios et al, 2020;Allen et al, 2021;Henderson et al, 2022). In this assessment, we revised the R-BIA for humpback whales in the MHI (detailed below) and defined a watch list area for humpback whale reproductive activities in the NWHI (Supplementary File A).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biologically Important Areas II for cetaceans within U.S. and adjacent waters – Hawaiʻi Region

et al. 2023

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In this assessment we incorporated published and unpublished information to delineate and score Biologically Important Areas (BIAs) for cetaceans in the Hawaiʻi region following standardized criteria. Twenty-six cetacean species have been documented in Hawaiʻi. Eleven odontocete species have distinct small populations resident to one or more island areas: rough-toothed dolphins, pantropical spotted dolphins, common bottlenose dolphins, spinner dolphins, short-finned pilot whales, false killer whales, pygmy killer whales, melon-headed whales, Blainville’s beaked whales, Cuvier’s beaked whales, and dwarf sperm whales. Eight species of mysticetes have been documented, although their occurrence and behavior are poorly understood, with the exception of breeding humpback whales and, more recently, common minke whales. Thirty-five BIAs were delineated or revised from the initial 2015 effort: 33 for small and resident odontocete populations and two for humpback whale reproductive areas. Hierarchical BIAs reflecting core areas of use or population-specific ranges were delineated for nine species. Reproductive watch list areas were designated for common minke whales in the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) and humpback whales in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI); these areas did not meet the criteria for a BIA due to limited supporting information. All but three BIAs were in the MHI, reflecting the disparities in research effort between this region and the NWHI. Spatial extents of BIA boundaries ranged from 457 km2 to 138,001 km2 (median = 8,299 km2). Scores (range: 1-3) for Data Support and Boundary Certainty were moderate to high (mean = 2.40 and 2.43, respectively), while Intensity and Importance scores were slightly lower (mean = 1.94 and 1.89, respectively). Many of the Hawaiʻi species have been extensively studied over several decades; accordingly, this region ranks among the highest in terms of Data Support relative to other regions. BIAs presented here describe known ranges of small resident populations, intensities of use, and uncertainties in important areas for cetaceans in Hawaiʻi based on the best available data, and have also revealed knowledge gaps to guide future research efforts.

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Behavior and inter-island movements of satellite-tagged humpback whales in Hawai’i, USA

Henderson¹,

Deakos²,

Aschettino³

et al. 2022

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae encountered off the island of Kaua’i, Hawai’i, USA, in 2017, 2018, and 2019 were photo-identified, and 19 whales were equipped with satellite telemetry tags to track their inter-island movements and use their movement behavior to estimate when and where the whales changed their behavior from breeding to migration. Fluke photographs were matched in the online photo-ID repository HappyWhale to track individual observation histories and movement records within the islands and on their way to their feeding grounds. Tag attachment periods were relatively short, with transmissions lasting 1.6-12.5 d. Movement behavior models were developed using hidden Markov models; whales in proximity to land were found to remain in area-restricted search or an intermediate behavior state, while whales that moved between islands or offshore tended to transition into directed travel behavior. Movement patterns and routes were similar between animals and across years, particularly when they transited between Kaua’i and O’ahu and began migrating from Ni’ihau to the first seamounts of the northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Dive data were also analyzed in association with the movement behavior. Whales that transited between Kaua’i and O’ahu as well as those in offshore waters conducted repeated series of deep (>100 m) dives only at night, whereas whales that remained in nearshore waters conducted less frequent and less deep dives day or night. These results provide insight into the inter-island movements and behavior of humpback whales while on the Hawaiian breeding grounds as well as where and how their behavior transitioned into migration.

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Quantifying the Behavior of Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and Potential Responses to Sonar

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Dive and movement behavior of a humpback whale competitive group and a multiday association between a primary escort and female in Hawaiʻi

Dive and movement behavior of a humpback whale competitive group and a multiday association between a primary escort and female in Hawaiʻi

Biologically Important Areas II for cetaceans within U.S. and adjacent waters – Hawaiʻi Region

Behavior and inter-island movements of satellite-tagged humpback whales in Hawai’i, USA

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