Regional and sexual differences in fluke pigmentation of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) from the North Atlantic Ocean
The relative amount of pigmentation on the flukes of 3812 humpback whales from five feeding and three breeding regions in the western North Atlantic Ocean was ranked subjectively into categories 1 (white) through 5 (black). The distribution of rankings was examined to determine whether differences e...
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1994
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z94-037 2023-12-17T10:30:57+01:00 Regional and sexual differences in fluke pigmentation of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) from the North Atlantic Ocean Allen, Judith M. Rosenbaum, Howard C. Katona, Steven K. Clapham, Philip J. Mattila, David K. 1994 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z94-037 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z94-037 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 72, issue 2, page 274-279 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics journal-article 1994 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/z94-037 2023-11-19T13:39:32Z The relative amount of pigmentation on the flukes of 3812 humpback whales from five feeding and three breeding regions in the western North Atlantic Ocean was ranked subjectively into categories 1 (white) through 5 (black). The distribution of rankings was examined to determine whether differences existed between regions or sexes. Fluke pigmentation differed significantly among whales photographed in the five northern feeding regions (Iceland, southwestern Greenland, Newfoundland (including the Labrador coast), the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the Gulf of Maine). Whales photographed in the Gulf of Maine were characterized by a significantly higher proportion of dark-colored flukes than whales in all feeding regions except Iceland. Whales photographed near Greenland were characterized by significantly more light-colored flukes than other feeding regions. Fluke pigmentation also varied significantly among whales photographed in the three southern breeding regions (Virgin Bank, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic). The flukes of whales photographed near Virgin Bank differed from those of whales near the Dominican Republic and included a higher proportion of light flukes. Fluke pigmentation of males and females differed significantly in the Gulf of Maine and in the Dominican Republic. Both areas showed higher proportions of dark-fluked females and light-fluked males. Sex bias differences in other regions were not examined because sample sizes were small. Fluke pigmentation of whales photographed only on the summer range did not differ significantly from the pigmentation of those photographed only on the winter range, supporting the belief that all northern feeding aggregations mix on the southern breeding grounds. Regional differences in fluke pigmentation suggest that the western North Atlantic humpback whale population includes a number of relatively isolated subunits, as suggested previously by photoidentification and DNA studies. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland Humpback Whale Iceland Megaptera novaeangliae Newfoundland North Atlantic Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) Newfoundland Greenland Canadian Journal of Zoology 72 2 274 279 |
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 Allen, Judith M. Rosenbaum, Howard C. Katona, Steven K. Clapham, Philip J. Mattila, David K. Regional and sexual differences in fluke pigmentation of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) from the North Atlantic Ocean |
topic_facet |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
description |
The relative amount of pigmentation on the flukes of 3812 humpback whales from five feeding and three breeding regions in the western North Atlantic Ocean was ranked subjectively into categories 1 (white) through 5 (black). The distribution of rankings was examined to determine whether differences existed between regions or sexes. Fluke pigmentation differed significantly among whales photographed in the five northern feeding regions (Iceland, southwestern Greenland, Newfoundland (including the Labrador coast), the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the Gulf of Maine). Whales photographed in the Gulf of Maine were characterized by a significantly higher proportion of dark-colored flukes than whales in all feeding regions except Iceland. Whales photographed near Greenland were characterized by significantly more light-colored flukes than other feeding regions. Fluke pigmentation also varied significantly among whales photographed in the three southern breeding regions (Virgin Bank, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic). The flukes of whales photographed near Virgin Bank differed from those of whales near the Dominican Republic and included a higher proportion of light flukes. Fluke pigmentation of males and females differed significantly in the Gulf of Maine and in the Dominican Republic. Both areas showed higher proportions of dark-fluked females and light-fluked males. Sex bias differences in other regions were not examined because sample sizes were small. Fluke pigmentation of whales photographed only on the summer range did not differ significantly from the pigmentation of those photographed only on the winter range, supporting the belief that all northern feeding aggregations mix on the southern breeding grounds. Regional differences in fluke pigmentation suggest that the western North Atlantic humpback whale population includes a number of relatively isolated subunits, as suggested previously by photoidentification and DNA studies. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Allen, Judith M. Rosenbaum, Howard C. Katona, Steven K. Clapham, Philip J. Mattila, David K. |
author_facet |
Allen, Judith M. Rosenbaum, Howard C. Katona, Steven K. Clapham, Philip J. Mattila, David K. |
author_sort |
Allen, Judith M. |
title |
Regional and sexual differences in fluke pigmentation of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) from the North Atlantic Ocean |
title_short |
Regional and sexual differences in fluke pigmentation of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) from the North Atlantic Ocean |
title_full |
Regional and sexual differences in fluke pigmentation of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) from the North Atlantic Ocean |
title_fullStr |
Regional and sexual differences in fluke pigmentation of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) from the North Atlantic Ocean |
title_full_unstemmed |
Regional and sexual differences in fluke pigmentation of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) from the North Atlantic Ocean |
title_sort |
regional and sexual differences in fluke pigmentation of humpback whales ( megaptera novaeangliae ) from the north atlantic ocean |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
1994 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z94-037 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z94-037 |
geographic |
Newfoundland Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Newfoundland Greenland |
genre |
Greenland Humpback Whale Iceland Megaptera novaeangliae Newfoundland North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Greenland Humpback Whale Iceland Megaptera novaeangliae Newfoundland North Atlantic |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 72, issue 2, page 274-279 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/z94-037 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
72 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
274 |
op_container_end_page |
279 |
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1785584066749267968 |