Right Whale Sexual Strategies and Behavior

Abstract North Atlantic and southern right whale social interactions and sexual behavior have been studied for decades. Understanding whale mating systems can inform about many aspects of their biology and even their anatomy. Right whales have a polygynandrous mating strategy where females and males...

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Main Authors: Brown, Moira Wilding, Sironi, Mariano
Format: Book Part
Language:unknown
Published: Springer International Publishing 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35651-3_23
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-3-031-35651-3_23
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spelling crspringernat:10.1007/978-3-031-35651-3_23 2024-03-10T08:36:13+00:00 Right Whale Sexual Strategies and Behavior Brown, Moira Wilding Sironi, Mariano 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35651-3_23 https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-3-031-35651-3_23 unknown Springer International Publishing https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Sex in Cetaceans page 543-570 ISBN 9783031356506 9783031356513 book-chapter 2023 crspringernat https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35651-3_23 2024-02-13T20:43:13Z Abstract North Atlantic and southern right whale social interactions and sexual behavior have been studied for decades. Understanding whale mating systems can inform about many aspects of their biology and even their anatomy. Right whales have a polygynandrous mating strategy where females and males mate with multiple partners within a breeding season. It is hypothesized that this promotes sperm competition among males and likely explains the large testis-to-body-size ratio in Eubalaenids . Surface active groups (SAGs) characterize mating behavior in North Atlantic and southern right whales, where two or more animals are at the surface with frequent physical contact. Observations of copulation in SAGs have led to the hypothesis that conception is the primary function, with females practicing a mating strategy where the chance of conception with the largest and likely healthiest male would be maximized. Right whales produce their entire acoustic repertoire of known calls while in SAGs and sounds are thought to serve a social communication function. In the North Atlantic, surface active behavior is seen in all habitat areas and in all months of the year in which right whales are sighted. SAGs tend to increase in size and vigor as the mating season approaches, resulting in spectacular and highly energetic courtship activity with group sizes numbering 30 animals and more; however, the whereabouts of any breeding ground is unknown. On southern right whale calving grounds, mother-calf pairs use relatively shallow waters along the coastline, and SAGs tend to occur farther from shore: calving and mating occur in winter in largely the same habitat areas. Analyses of seasonal timing and group composition of individually identified animals within SAGs suggest that they may serve multiple other roles, since conceptive and non-conceptive groups have been revealed. SAGs often include pregnant females, juveniles, and occasionally calves. Some groups consist of exclusively same sex individuals. It has been hypothesized that, in ... Book Part North Atlantic Southern Right Whale Springer Nature 543 570 Cham
institution Open Polar
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description Abstract North Atlantic and southern right whale social interactions and sexual behavior have been studied for decades. Understanding whale mating systems can inform about many aspects of their biology and even their anatomy. Right whales have a polygynandrous mating strategy where females and males mate with multiple partners within a breeding season. It is hypothesized that this promotes sperm competition among males and likely explains the large testis-to-body-size ratio in Eubalaenids . Surface active groups (SAGs) characterize mating behavior in North Atlantic and southern right whales, where two or more animals are at the surface with frequent physical contact. Observations of copulation in SAGs have led to the hypothesis that conception is the primary function, with females practicing a mating strategy where the chance of conception with the largest and likely healthiest male would be maximized. Right whales produce their entire acoustic repertoire of known calls while in SAGs and sounds are thought to serve a social communication function. In the North Atlantic, surface active behavior is seen in all habitat areas and in all months of the year in which right whales are sighted. SAGs tend to increase in size and vigor as the mating season approaches, resulting in spectacular and highly energetic courtship activity with group sizes numbering 30 animals and more; however, the whereabouts of any breeding ground is unknown. On southern right whale calving grounds, mother-calf pairs use relatively shallow waters along the coastline, and SAGs tend to occur farther from shore: calving and mating occur in winter in largely the same habitat areas. Analyses of seasonal timing and group composition of individually identified animals within SAGs suggest that they may serve multiple other roles, since conceptive and non-conceptive groups have been revealed. SAGs often include pregnant females, juveniles, and occasionally calves. Some groups consist of exclusively same sex individuals. It has been hypothesized that, in ...
format Book Part
author Brown, Moira Wilding
Sironi, Mariano
spellingShingle Brown, Moira Wilding
Sironi, Mariano
Right Whale Sexual Strategies and Behavior
author_facet Brown, Moira Wilding
Sironi, Mariano
author_sort Brown, Moira Wilding
title Right Whale Sexual Strategies and Behavior
title_short Right Whale Sexual Strategies and Behavior
title_full Right Whale Sexual Strategies and Behavior
title_fullStr Right Whale Sexual Strategies and Behavior
title_full_unstemmed Right Whale Sexual Strategies and Behavior
title_sort right whale sexual strategies and behavior
publisher Springer International Publishing
publishDate 2023
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35651-3_23
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-3-031-35651-3_23
genre North Atlantic
Southern Right Whale
genre_facet North Atlantic
Southern Right Whale
op_source Sex in Cetaceans
page 543-570
ISBN 9783031356506 9783031356513
op_rights https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
op_doi https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35651-3_23
container_start_page 543
op_container_end_page 570
op_publisher_place Cham
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