Recent observations of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) in Japanese waters off Ogasawara and Okinawa
The current status of humpback whales in waters off Ogasawara and Okinawa islands, Japan, and the relationship of these populations to each other and to humpback whales in the central-eastern North Pacific were investigated. Fluke-identification photographs collected from 1987 to 1990 were analyzed...
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1993
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z93-045 2023-12-17T10:33:20+01:00 Recent observations of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) in Japanese waters off Ogasawara and Okinawa Darling, J. D. Mori, K. 1993 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z93-045 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z93-045 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 71, issue 2, page 325-333 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics journal-article 1993 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/z93-045 2023-11-19T13:39:32Z The current status of humpback whales in waters off Ogasawara and Okinawa islands, Japan, and the relationship of these populations to each other and to humpback whales in the central-eastern North Pacific were investigated. Fluke-identification photographs collected from 1987 to 1990 were analyzed to estimate abundance and determine individual behavior patterns, and were compared with humpback photoidentifications from other regions. In total, 177 humpbacks were identified. At the end of the study period the rate of discovery of "new" whales was still high, suggesting a substantially larger overall population. Whales were commonly sighted throughout the Ogasawara archipelago from December to May, and were present during the same period near the Kerama Islands, Okinawa. Humpback whales were not regularly seen near Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, or near Kenting, Taiwan. Repeat sightings of individuals indicate that some whales were present for extended periods off Ogasawara. The predominant behavior patterns were those related to calving and mating. Two whales were identified in both the Okinawa and Ogasawara regions in different years, suggesting that both regions are used by the same population. Identification of one whale in both Japan and Hawaii (reported elsewhere) indicates the potential for mixing of western and eastern North Pacific humpback populations; the overall matching effort to date suggests that this interchange is relatively small. Article in Journal/Newspaper Megaptera novaeangliae Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) Pacific Canadian Journal of Zoology 71 2 325 333 |
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Open Polar |
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Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) |
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crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
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Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Darling, J. D. Mori, K. Recent observations of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) in Japanese waters off Ogasawara and Okinawa |
topic_facet |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
description |
The current status of humpback whales in waters off Ogasawara and Okinawa islands, Japan, and the relationship of these populations to each other and to humpback whales in the central-eastern North Pacific were investigated. Fluke-identification photographs collected from 1987 to 1990 were analyzed to estimate abundance and determine individual behavior patterns, and were compared with humpback photoidentifications from other regions. In total, 177 humpbacks were identified. At the end of the study period the rate of discovery of "new" whales was still high, suggesting a substantially larger overall population. Whales were commonly sighted throughout the Ogasawara archipelago from December to May, and were present during the same period near the Kerama Islands, Okinawa. Humpback whales were not regularly seen near Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, or near Kenting, Taiwan. Repeat sightings of individuals indicate that some whales were present for extended periods off Ogasawara. The predominant behavior patterns were those related to calving and mating. Two whales were identified in both the Okinawa and Ogasawara regions in different years, suggesting that both regions are used by the same population. Identification of one whale in both Japan and Hawaii (reported elsewhere) indicates the potential for mixing of western and eastern North Pacific humpback populations; the overall matching effort to date suggests that this interchange is relatively small. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Darling, J. D. Mori, K. |
author_facet |
Darling, J. D. Mori, K. |
author_sort |
Darling, J. D. |
title |
Recent observations of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) in Japanese waters off Ogasawara and Okinawa |
title_short |
Recent observations of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) in Japanese waters off Ogasawara and Okinawa |
title_full |
Recent observations of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) in Japanese waters off Ogasawara and Okinawa |
title_fullStr |
Recent observations of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) in Japanese waters off Ogasawara and Okinawa |
title_full_unstemmed |
Recent observations of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) in Japanese waters off Ogasawara and Okinawa |
title_sort |
recent observations of humpback whales ( megaptera novaeangliae ) in japanese waters off ogasawara and okinawa |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
1993 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z93-045 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z93-045 |
geographic |
Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Pacific |
genre |
Megaptera novaeangliae |
genre_facet |
Megaptera novaeangliae |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 71, issue 2, page 325-333 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/z93-045 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
71 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
325 |
op_container_end_page |
333 |
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1785587293300457472 |