Site-specific female-biased sex ratio of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) during a stopover early in the southern migration
Previous research on humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781)), in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres, has reported site-specific male-biased sex ratios in breeding grounds and along migratory corridors. However, one recent Southern Hemisphere study reported a female-biased s...
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/cjz-2017-0086 2023-12-17T10:33:19+01:00 Site-specific female-biased sex ratio of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) during a stopover early in the southern migration Franklin, Trish Franklin, Wally Brooks, Lyndon Harrison, Peter 2018 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2017-0086 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cjz-2017-0086 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cjz-2017-0086 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 96, issue 6, page 533-544 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics journal-article 2018 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2017-0086 2023-11-19T13:38:24Z Previous research on humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781)), in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres, has reported site-specific male-biased sex ratios in breeding grounds and along migratory corridors. However, one recent Southern Hemisphere study reported a female-biased sex ratio in a feeding area within a coastal migratory corridor, indicating that females may preferentially occupy some habitats. We investigated the classes and relative seasonal timing of humpback whales using Hervey Bay (Queensland, Australia) as a stopover early in the southern migration. Modeling and analyzes were undertaken using data from resighting histories of 361 individually identified whales between 1992 and 2009. The data consisted of 2131 sightings categorized by either sex, age, reproductive status, or maturational status. A female-biased sex ratio of 2.94:1 indicates that Hervey Bay is a preferential stopover for females. The data revealed that the bay is important for mature females who co-occur with immature males and females during August. During September and October, mothers with calves accompanied by a few escorts dominate the Bay. Immature males and females socialize with mature females during August and September. The data support the hypothesis that habitat preferences and differential migration of females and males provide a plausible explanation for site-specific sex-bias in breeding grounds, migratory stopovers, and along migratory corridors. Article in Journal/Newspaper Megaptera novaeangliae Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) Queensland Canadian Journal of Zoology 96 6 533 544 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
spellingShingle |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Franklin, Trish Franklin, Wally Brooks, Lyndon Harrison, Peter Site-specific female-biased sex ratio of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) during a stopover early in the southern migration |
topic_facet |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
description |
Previous research on humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781)), in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres, has reported site-specific male-biased sex ratios in breeding grounds and along migratory corridors. However, one recent Southern Hemisphere study reported a female-biased sex ratio in a feeding area within a coastal migratory corridor, indicating that females may preferentially occupy some habitats. We investigated the classes and relative seasonal timing of humpback whales using Hervey Bay (Queensland, Australia) as a stopover early in the southern migration. Modeling and analyzes were undertaken using data from resighting histories of 361 individually identified whales between 1992 and 2009. The data consisted of 2131 sightings categorized by either sex, age, reproductive status, or maturational status. A female-biased sex ratio of 2.94:1 indicates that Hervey Bay is a preferential stopover for females. The data revealed that the bay is important for mature females who co-occur with immature males and females during August. During September and October, mothers with calves accompanied by a few escorts dominate the Bay. Immature males and females socialize with mature females during August and September. The data support the hypothesis that habitat preferences and differential migration of females and males provide a plausible explanation for site-specific sex-bias in breeding grounds, migratory stopovers, and along migratory corridors. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Franklin, Trish Franklin, Wally Brooks, Lyndon Harrison, Peter |
author_facet |
Franklin, Trish Franklin, Wally Brooks, Lyndon Harrison, Peter |
author_sort |
Franklin, Trish |
title |
Site-specific female-biased sex ratio of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) during a stopover early in the southern migration |
title_short |
Site-specific female-biased sex ratio of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) during a stopover early in the southern migration |
title_full |
Site-specific female-biased sex ratio of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) during a stopover early in the southern migration |
title_fullStr |
Site-specific female-biased sex ratio of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) during a stopover early in the southern migration |
title_full_unstemmed |
Site-specific female-biased sex ratio of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) during a stopover early in the southern migration |
title_sort |
site-specific female-biased sex ratio of humpback whales ( megaptera novaeangliae ) during a stopover early in the southern migration |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2017-0086 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cjz-2017-0086 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cjz-2017-0086 |
geographic |
Queensland |
geographic_facet |
Queensland |
genre |
Megaptera novaeangliae |
genre_facet |
Megaptera novaeangliae |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 96, issue 6, page 533-544 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2017-0086 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
96 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
533 |
op_container_end_page |
544 |
_version_ |
1785587287457792000 |