Record of feeding by humpback whales (<i>Megaptera novaeangliae</i>) in tropical waters off Brazil

Alves, Luiz Cláudio Pinto de Sá; Andriolo, Artur; Zerbini, Alexandre N.; Pizzorno, José Luis A.; Clapham, Phillip J.

doi:10.1111/j.1748-7692.2008.00249.x

Cited by 31 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The putative migration of humpbacks appears to represent not only a continuum in terms of breeding behaviour as suggested by Brown and Corkeron (1995), but also includes a component of foraging. Based on our findings, as well as an ever-growing number of records of feeding during migrat ion (such as Stamation et al 2007), in trad itional "wintering" areas (Danilewicz et al 2008, de Sá Alves et al 2009) and "red iscoveries" of previously unknown feeding grounds (Gibbons et al 2003), "flexib le forager" is a label which seems equally appropriate for humpback whales.…”

Section: Feeding Behavioursupporting

confidence: 60%

Migration redefined? Seasonality, movements and group composition of humpback whalesMegaptera novaeangliaeoff the west coast of South Africa

Barendse

Best

Thornton

et al. 2010

African Journal of Marine Science

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The migration of Southern Hemisphere humpback whales between their feeding and breeding areas has thus far been considered a highly predictable and seasonal event. However, p revious observations on the humpbacks that pass through the near-shore waters of the west coast of South Africa have revealed deviations from the behaviour and seasonality expected during a typical migration. This "anomaly" is hypothesised to be associated with prey availability in the region. Shore-based observations between July 2001 and February 2003 fro m North Head, Saldanha Bay yielded relative abundances that again did not support a classical migration pattern, with the highest sighting rates from mid-spring through summer. Movement parameters (actual swimming speed, direction and linearity) of humpback groups tracked by theodolite showed mid-spring to be a turning point in their behaviour, after which we observed a significant reduction in actual swimming speed, an increase in 'nondirectional' movement, and a distribution further fro m shore than in other seasons. Additional data on group composition and sex collected between 1993 and 2008, showed a significantly female-biased sex ratio during mid-spring, the first such recorded for any region. Direct observation of feeding on crustacean prey during spring and summer months further supports the notion that humpbacks may have more flexib le forag ing habits than previously appreciated, and that the Southern Benguela upwelling region may function as an important feeding area for these whales.

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Section: Feeding Behavioursupporting

confidence: 60%

Migration redefined? Seasonality, movements and group composition of humpback whalesMegaptera novaeangliaeoff the west coast of South Africa

Barendse

Best

Thornton

et al. 2010

African Journal of Marine Science

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“…For instance, blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) and fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) dive deeper and longer when feeding 57 . Although humpback whales are generally expected to fast during the breeding season 58,59 , occasional feeding outside feeding grounds has been reported in a few locations: in Samana Bay, Dominican Republic 60 (19°N), off the coast of Brazil 61,62 (19.5°S), in the Gulf of California 63 (24.5°N), off the coast of Eden, east Australia 36 (37°S) and in the New Caledonia South Lagoon (22°S, C. Garrigue pers. obs., a humpback whale was feeding at the surface on a fish school).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Horizontal and vertical movements of humpback whales inform the use of critical pelagic habitats in the western South Pacific

Derville

Torres

Zerbini

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are known for their nearshore distribution during the breeding season, but their pelagic habitat use patterns remain mostly unexplored. From 2016 to 2018, 18 humpback whales were equipped with depth-recording satellite tags (SPLASH10) to shed light on environmental and social drivers of seamount association around new caledonia in the western South Pacific. Movement paths were spatially structured around shallow seamounts (<200 m). Indeed, two males stopped over the Lord Howe seamount chain during the first-ever recorded longitudinal transit between New Caledonia and the east coast of Australia. Residence time significantly increased with proximity to shallow seamounts, while dive depth increased in the vicinity of seafloor ridges. Most of the 7,986 recorded dives occurred above 80 m (88.5%), but deep dives (>80 m, max 616 m) were also recorded (11.5%), including by maternal females. Deep dives often occurred in series and were characterized by U-shapes suggesting high energy expenditure. This study provides new insights into the formerly overlooked use of pelagic habitats by humpback whales during the breeding season. Given increasing anthropogenic threats on deep sea habitats worldwide, this work has implications for the conservation of vulnerable marine ecosystems.

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“…In addition, there are direct observations of migrating whales feeding in areas of high productivity (Baraff & Clapham 1991, Gendon & Urban 1993, Best et al 1995, Stockin & Burgess 2005, Stamation et al 2007, Barendse et al 2010, Visser et al 2011. Many of the records of whales feeding during migration are reported to be of juvenile animals, perhaps due to their smaller body size and reduced ability to store sufficient energy re serves (Salden 1989, Swingle et al 1993, Gill et al 1998, de Sá Alves et al 2009, Silva et al 2010. A female bias at one previously identified stopover site suggests that feeding while migrating may also be important for females (Barendse et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of prey type on the fine-scale feeding behaviour of migrating east Australian humpback whales

Owen¹,

Warren²,

Noad³

et al. 2015

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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For terrestrial migrants, feeding at migratory stopover sites is important, with prey quality linked to future survival and reproductive success. In contrast, the importance of this behaviour to marine species is unknown. The humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae is a marine migrant that is thought to fast while migrating; however, recent studies suggest that feeding may occur during this time. The aims of this study were to determine how the prey type available on a migratory route off Eden, New South Wales, Australia, influenced whether whales fed or not, and to study the fine-scale behaviour of the whales. Digital acoustic recording tags (DTAGs) and focal follows were used to record whale behaviour. A larger proportion of groups were determined to be feeding when krill was observed at the surface. Whales encountering fish spent a small percentage (28%) of time feeding, behaving similarly to non-feeding whales on migration, with small groups, a higher proportion of males sampled, and relatively straight tracks. In contrast, whales encountering surface swarms of krill spent significantly more time feeding (92%) and behaved similarly to whales on feeding grounds, with larger groups, more females sampled, and tracks with high turning angles. Therefore, changes in the available prey type influenced the amount of time spent feeding and the social dynamics of groups. Given the link between the amount of feeding completed on migration and the future survival and reproductive success of individuals in terrestrial species, the impact of such fluctuations on marine species such as the humpback whale deserves more attention.

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Record of feeding by humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in tropical waters off Brazil

Cited by 31 publications

References 11 publications

Migration redefined? Seasonality, movements and group composition of humpback whalesMegaptera novaeangliaeoff the west coast of South Africa

Migration redefined? Seasonality, movements and group composition of humpback whalesMegaptera novaeangliaeoff the west coast of South Africa

Horizontal and vertical movements of humpback whales inform the use of critical pelagic habitats in the western South Pacific

Effect of prey type on the fine-scale feeding behaviour of migrating east Australian humpback whales

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