THE NATURAL HISTORY OF WHALEBONE WHALES

• Published in: Biological Reviews
• Main Author: MACKINTOSH, N. A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1946
• Subjects: Antarctic; Arctic; Greenland; Pacific; Rorqual; The Antarctic; The Shoals; Antarc*; Euphausia superba; Meganyctiphanes norvegica; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-185x.1946.tb00453.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1469-185X.1946.tb00453.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1469-185X.1946.tb00453.x

Summary (1) The whaling industry has provided both the facilities and the stimulus for modern research on the general biology of whales. The principal methods of investigation are ( a ) anatomical examination, ( b ) observations at sea, ( c ) the marking of whales, ( d ) analysis of the statistics of the whaling industry, (a) The whalebone whales are migratory animals, inhabiting high latitudes in summer where food is plentiful, and moving into warmer waters in winter where there is little or no food, but where breeding takes place. The Greenland right whale does not move far from the Arctic regions and is not found in the southern hemisphere. The black right whales of the north and south do not migrate far and are separated by a wide tropical belt. The humpback migrates from the polar ice to the equator, and frequents tropical coastal waters in the winter months. In the southern hemisphere it is segregated into several communities which have separate migration routes, and between which there can be little interchange. Blue and fin whales undertake less regular and extensive migrations. They are not segregated like the humpbacks, but show a slight tendency to concentrate in the same regions. Grey whales inhabit the North Pacific and undertake regular migrations along the coasts of North America and in Japanese waters. There is less information on the distribution of the sei, lesser rorqual, pigmy right, and Bryde's whale. (3).Certain planktonic Crustacea form the principal food of the whalebone whales. In the Antarctic they feed virtually exclusively on the shoals of Euphausia superba. In the northern seas the diet seems to be more varied. Meganyctiphanes norvegica is probably the most important food organism in the North Atlantic, but further investigations are needed. Little food is taken in winter, though fish and small quantities of other Crustacea are sometimes eaten. (4) Examination of the reproductive organs and measurements of foetuses at different times of year show that breeding mainly takes place in ...