Stable social associations among humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae) in the southern Gulf of Maine
Groups of humpack whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) were observed from 1980 to 1987 on their feeding grounds in the southern Gulf of Maine. Although most groups were together for only brief periods, two types of stable association were found: 'continuous' (individual whales associated for at...
Published in: | Canadian Journal of Zoology |
---|---|
Main Author: | |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Canadian Science Publishing
1991
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z91-425 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z91-425 |
id |
crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z91-425 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z91-425 2024-09-15T18:18:26+00:00 Stable social associations among humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae) in the southern Gulf of Maine Weinrich, Mason T. 1991 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z91-425 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z91-425 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 69, issue 12, page 3012-3019 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 journal-article 1991 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/z91-425 2024-08-01T04:10:04Z Groups of humpack whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) were observed from 1980 to 1987 on their feeding grounds in the southern Gulf of Maine. Although most groups were together for only brief periods, two types of stable association were found: 'continuous' (individual whales associated for at least 7 consecutive days; n = 30) or 'recurring' (individuals associated at least five times in a 6-week period; n = 21). Thirty-seven stable pairs and 3 stable trios involving 56 individual whales were recorded; 11 stable pairs re-associated during more than 1 year. Continuous associations lasted up to 79 days (mean 29.65). Thirty of the 40 associations (75.0%) contained only adults. Females were present in 22 adult associations (73.3%), whereas males were present in only 8 (26.6%). Females sighted with a calf the following year, and therefore pregnant, were members of 6 of the 11 (54.5%) associations that reformed. It is hypothesized that stable associations allow adult females to maximize their net energy gain through cooperative feeding, and may be comprised of closely related animals or individuals with compatible feeding styles. Article in Journal/Newspaper Megaptera novaeangliae Canadian Science Publishing Canadian Journal of Zoology 69 12 3012 3019 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
Groups of humpack whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) were observed from 1980 to 1987 on their feeding grounds in the southern Gulf of Maine. Although most groups were together for only brief periods, two types of stable association were found: 'continuous' (individual whales associated for at least 7 consecutive days; n = 30) or 'recurring' (individuals associated at least five times in a 6-week period; n = 21). Thirty-seven stable pairs and 3 stable trios involving 56 individual whales were recorded; 11 stable pairs re-associated during more than 1 year. Continuous associations lasted up to 79 days (mean 29.65). Thirty of the 40 associations (75.0%) contained only adults. Females were present in 22 adult associations (73.3%), whereas males were present in only 8 (26.6%). Females sighted with a calf the following year, and therefore pregnant, were members of 6 of the 11 (54.5%) associations that reformed. It is hypothesized that stable associations allow adult females to maximize their net energy gain through cooperative feeding, and may be comprised of closely related animals or individuals with compatible feeding styles. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Weinrich, Mason T. |
spellingShingle |
Weinrich, Mason T. Stable social associations among humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae) in the southern Gulf of Maine |
author_facet |
Weinrich, Mason T. |
author_sort |
Weinrich, Mason T. |
title |
Stable social associations among humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae) in the southern Gulf of Maine |
title_short |
Stable social associations among humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae) in the southern Gulf of Maine |
title_full |
Stable social associations among humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae) in the southern Gulf of Maine |
title_fullStr |
Stable social associations among humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae) in the southern Gulf of Maine |
title_full_unstemmed |
Stable social associations among humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae) in the southern Gulf of Maine |
title_sort |
stable social associations among humpback whales ( megaptera novaeangliae) in the southern gulf of maine |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
1991 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z91-425 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z91-425 |
genre |
Megaptera novaeangliae |
genre_facet |
Megaptera novaeangliae |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 69, issue 12, page 3012-3019 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/z91-425 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
69 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
3012 |
op_container_end_page |
3019 |
_version_ |
1810456559419916288 |