The conspecific avoidance strategies of adult female-calf humpback whales
Abstract During migration, humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) adult females and their calves use acoustic calling to help maintain contact. The signals produced by these pairs, however, may unintentionally attract nearby breeding males, which can result in interactions that have negative physic...
Published in: | Behavioral Ecology |
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Oxford University Press (OUP)
2021
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arab031 http://academic.oup.com/beheco/article-pdf/32/5/845/40787195/arab031.pdf |
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croxfordunivpr:10.1093/beheco/arab031 2024-06-23T07:53:36+00:00 The conspecific avoidance strategies of adult female-calf humpback whales Indeck, Katherine L Noad, Michael J Dunlop, Rebecca A Ridley, Amanda Joint Industry Programme on E&P Sound and Marine Life International Association of Oil & Gas Producers BG group BHP Billiton Chevron ConocoPhillips Eni ExxonMobil IAGC Santos Statoil and Woodside United States Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Origin Energy Beach Energy AWE 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arab031 http://academic.oup.com/beheco/article-pdf/32/5/845/40787195/arab031.pdf en eng Oxford University Press (OUP) https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model Behavioral Ecology volume 32, issue 5, page 845-855 ISSN 1045-2249 1465-7279 journal-article 2021 croxfordunivpr https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arab031 2024-06-04T06:11:37Z Abstract During migration, humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) adult females and their calves use acoustic calling to help maintain contact. The signals produced by these pairs, however, may unintentionally attract nearby breeding males, which can result in interactions that have negative physical and physiological effects on the calf. Therefore, maternal females must choose the vocal and/or behavioral strategy that most effectively balances intra-pair communication with male avoidance. Here, we analyzed differences in adult female-calf vocal activity and movement behavior according to the presence of, and distance to, singing whales and other groups likely to contain males. The results of this study found that these pairs make only minimal changes to their vocal behavior in response to nearby males, suggesting that they have instead evolved calls that are naturally difficult to detect (i.e., produced at significantly lower rates and acoustic levels than other whale groups, resulting in a restricted active space). In addition, they maintain spatial separation from nearby groups by moving to shallower, inshore waters, increasing their proportion of time spent near the surface, and favoring a direct migratory course. This combination of cryptic strategies balances avoidance of unwanted conspecific interaction with the necessity of continued contact between maternal female humpback whales and their calves. Article in Journal/Newspaper Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Oxford University Press Behavioral Ecology |
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Open Polar |
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Oxford University Press |
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croxfordunivpr |
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English |
description |
Abstract During migration, humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) adult females and their calves use acoustic calling to help maintain contact. The signals produced by these pairs, however, may unintentionally attract nearby breeding males, which can result in interactions that have negative physical and physiological effects on the calf. Therefore, maternal females must choose the vocal and/or behavioral strategy that most effectively balances intra-pair communication with male avoidance. Here, we analyzed differences in adult female-calf vocal activity and movement behavior according to the presence of, and distance to, singing whales and other groups likely to contain males. The results of this study found that these pairs make only minimal changes to their vocal behavior in response to nearby males, suggesting that they have instead evolved calls that are naturally difficult to detect (i.e., produced at significantly lower rates and acoustic levels than other whale groups, resulting in a restricted active space). In addition, they maintain spatial separation from nearby groups by moving to shallower, inshore waters, increasing their proportion of time spent near the surface, and favoring a direct migratory course. This combination of cryptic strategies balances avoidance of unwanted conspecific interaction with the necessity of continued contact between maternal female humpback whales and their calves. |
author2 |
Ridley, Amanda Joint Industry Programme on E&P Sound and Marine Life International Association of Oil & Gas Producers BG group BHP Billiton Chevron ConocoPhillips Eni ExxonMobil IAGC Santos Statoil and Woodside United States Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Origin Energy Beach Energy AWE |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Indeck, Katherine L Noad, Michael J Dunlop, Rebecca A |
spellingShingle |
Indeck, Katherine L Noad, Michael J Dunlop, Rebecca A The conspecific avoidance strategies of adult female-calf humpback whales |
author_facet |
Indeck, Katherine L Noad, Michael J Dunlop, Rebecca A |
author_sort |
Indeck, Katherine L |
title |
The conspecific avoidance strategies of adult female-calf humpback whales |
title_short |
The conspecific avoidance strategies of adult female-calf humpback whales |
title_full |
The conspecific avoidance strategies of adult female-calf humpback whales |
title_fullStr |
The conspecific avoidance strategies of adult female-calf humpback whales |
title_full_unstemmed |
The conspecific avoidance strategies of adult female-calf humpback whales |
title_sort |
conspecific avoidance strategies of adult female-calf humpback whales |
publisher |
Oxford University Press (OUP) |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arab031 http://academic.oup.com/beheco/article-pdf/32/5/845/40787195/arab031.pdf |
genre |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae |
genre_facet |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae |
op_source |
Behavioral Ecology volume 32, issue 5, page 845-855 ISSN 1045-2249 1465-7279 |
op_rights |
https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arab031 |
container_title |
Behavioral Ecology |
_version_ |
1802645330326454272 |