WHY DO BALEEN WHALES MIGRATE? 1
A bstract The annual migrations of baleen whales are a conspicuous but unexplained feature of their behavioral repertoire. Some hypotheses offered to explain whale migration focus on direct benefits to the calf (thermoregulation, calm water) and some do not (resource tracking, and the “evolutionary...
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Language: | English |
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crwiley:10.1111/j.1748-7692.1999.tb00887.x 2024-09-15T17:57:24+00:00 WHY DO BALEEN WHALES MIGRATE? 1 Corkeron, Peter J. Connor, Richard C. 1999 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1999.tb00887.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1748-7692.1999.tb00887.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1999.tb00887.x en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Marine Mammal Science volume 15, issue 4, page 1228-1245 ISSN 0824-0469 1748-7692 journal-article 1999 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1999.tb00887.x 2024-08-09T04:26:59Z A bstract The annual migrations of baleen whales are a conspicuous but unexplained feature of their behavioral repertoire. Some hypotheses offered to explain whale migration focus on direct benefits to the calf (thermoregulation, calm water) and some do not (resource tracking, and the “evolutionary holdover” hypothesis). Here, we suggest that a major selective advantage to migrating pregnant female baleen whales is a reduced risk of killer whale ( Orcinus orca ) predation on their newborn calves in low‐latitude waters. Killer whale abundance in high latitudes is substantially greater than that in lower latitudes, and most killer whales do not appear to migrate with baleen whales. We suggest that the distribution of killer whales is determined more by their primary marine mammal prey, pinnipeds, and that following the baleen whale migrations would remove them from their pinniped prey. There are problems with all current hypotheses, most of which stem from a lack of directed research. We explore variation in migratory habits between species, populations, and individuals that may provide a “natural laboratory” for discriminating among the competing hypotheses. Article in Journal/Newspaper baleen whale baleen whales Killer Whale Orca Orcinus orca Killer whale Wiley Online Library Marine Mammal Science 15 4 1228 1245 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
A bstract The annual migrations of baleen whales are a conspicuous but unexplained feature of their behavioral repertoire. Some hypotheses offered to explain whale migration focus on direct benefits to the calf (thermoregulation, calm water) and some do not (resource tracking, and the “evolutionary holdover” hypothesis). Here, we suggest that a major selective advantage to migrating pregnant female baleen whales is a reduced risk of killer whale ( Orcinus orca ) predation on their newborn calves in low‐latitude waters. Killer whale abundance in high latitudes is substantially greater than that in lower latitudes, and most killer whales do not appear to migrate with baleen whales. We suggest that the distribution of killer whales is determined more by their primary marine mammal prey, pinnipeds, and that following the baleen whale migrations would remove them from their pinniped prey. There are problems with all current hypotheses, most of which stem from a lack of directed research. We explore variation in migratory habits between species, populations, and individuals that may provide a “natural laboratory” for discriminating among the competing hypotheses. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Corkeron, Peter J. Connor, Richard C. |
spellingShingle |
Corkeron, Peter J. Connor, Richard C. WHY DO BALEEN WHALES MIGRATE? 1 |
author_facet |
Corkeron, Peter J. Connor, Richard C. |
author_sort |
Corkeron, Peter J. |
title |
WHY DO BALEEN WHALES MIGRATE? 1 |
title_short |
WHY DO BALEEN WHALES MIGRATE? 1 |
title_full |
WHY DO BALEEN WHALES MIGRATE? 1 |
title_fullStr |
WHY DO BALEEN WHALES MIGRATE? 1 |
title_full_unstemmed |
WHY DO BALEEN WHALES MIGRATE? 1 |
title_sort |
why do baleen whales migrate? 1 |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
1999 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1999.tb00887.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1748-7692.1999.tb00887.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1999.tb00887.x |
genre |
baleen whale baleen whales Killer Whale Orca Orcinus orca Killer whale |
genre_facet |
baleen whale baleen whales Killer Whale Orca Orcinus orca Killer whale |
op_source |
Marine Mammal Science volume 15, issue 4, page 1228-1245 ISSN 0824-0469 1748-7692 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1999.tb00887.x |
container_title |
Marine Mammal Science |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
1228 |
op_container_end_page |
1245 |
_version_ |
1810433561863389184 |