First documented movement of a humpback whale between the Cape Verde Islands and West Greenland

Abstract The endangered population of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) breeding and calving off the Cape Verde Islands (CVI) are known to migrate to feeding areas located along the eastern margin of the North Atlantic Ocean (Iceland, and Norway). Here, we report for the first time a confir...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecology and Evolution
Main Authors: Chosson, Valerie, Wyss, Virginie, Jann, Beatrice, Wenzel, Frederick W., Sigurðsson, Guðjón Már, Simon, Malene, Hansen, Rikke Guldborg, Jones, Lindsey S.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024
Subjects:
Greenland
Norway
Humpback Whale
Iceland
Megaptera novaeangliae
North Atlantic
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11152
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.11152
Description
Summary:Abstract The endangered population of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) breeding and calving off the Cape Verde Islands (CVI) are known to migrate to feeding areas located along the eastern margin of the North Atlantic Ocean (Iceland, and Norway). Here, we report for the first time a confirmed migration of an individual humpback whale from CVI breeding ground to a western North Atlantic feeding ground of West Greenland. This individual humpback, which was photographed and identified off the coast of West Greenland in 2021, was previously documented in CVI 22 years before (1999). An annual subsistence hunt for humpbacks occurs in West Greenland and the resighting at this location with a humpback whale from CVI has strong implications for the conservation efforts of the small CVI population.

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