Evidence for a widely expanded humpback whale calving range along the Western Australian coast
Abstract The recognized calving grounds of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) that breed along the Western Australian coast (Breeding Stock D) extend along the Kimberley coast between Camden Sound and Broome (15°–18°S). However, there are reports of neonates further south, suggesting that th...
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crwiley:10.1111/mms.12456 2024-09-15T18:11:12+00:00 Evidence for a widely expanded humpback whale calving range along the Western Australian coast Irvine, Lyn G. Thums, Michele Hanson, Christine E. McMahon, Clive R. Hindell, Mark A. University of Tasmania 2017 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mms.12456 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fmms.12456 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/mms.12456 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Marine Mammal Science volume 34, issue 2, page 294-310 ISSN 0824-0469 1748-7692 journal-article 2017 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12456 2024-07-25T04:21:44Z Abstract The recognized calving grounds of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) that breed along the Western Australian coast (Breeding Stock D) extend along the Kimberley coast between Camden Sound and Broome (15°–18°S). However, there are reports of neonates further south, suggesting that the calving areas may be poorly defined. During aerial photogrammetric research in 2013 and 2015, we sighted large numbers of humpback whale calves along North West Cape (21°47′–22°43′S). We estimated the minimum relative calf abundance to be 463–603 in 2013 and 557–725 in 2015. We categorized the calves as either neonate or post neonate according to their color and size. The majority of calves sighted in both years (85% in 2013; 94% in 2015) were neonates. Our observations indicate that a minimum of approximately 20% (17.1%–24.3%) of the expected number of calves of this population are born near, or south of, North West Cape. We thus demonstrate that the calving grounds for the Breeding Stock D population extend south from Camden Sound in the Kimberley (15°S) to at least North West Cape (22°43′S), 1,000 km southwest of the currently recognized calving area. Article in Journal/Newspaper Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Wiley Online Library Marine Mammal Science 34 2 294 310 |
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English |
description |
Abstract The recognized calving grounds of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) that breed along the Western Australian coast (Breeding Stock D) extend along the Kimberley coast between Camden Sound and Broome (15°–18°S). However, there are reports of neonates further south, suggesting that the calving areas may be poorly defined. During aerial photogrammetric research in 2013 and 2015, we sighted large numbers of humpback whale calves along North West Cape (21°47′–22°43′S). We estimated the minimum relative calf abundance to be 463–603 in 2013 and 557–725 in 2015. We categorized the calves as either neonate or post neonate according to their color and size. The majority of calves sighted in both years (85% in 2013; 94% in 2015) were neonates. Our observations indicate that a minimum of approximately 20% (17.1%–24.3%) of the expected number of calves of this population are born near, or south of, North West Cape. We thus demonstrate that the calving grounds for the Breeding Stock D population extend south from Camden Sound in the Kimberley (15°S) to at least North West Cape (22°43′S), 1,000 km southwest of the currently recognized calving area. |
author2 |
University of Tasmania |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Irvine, Lyn G. Thums, Michele Hanson, Christine E. McMahon, Clive R. Hindell, Mark A. |
spellingShingle |
Irvine, Lyn G. Thums, Michele Hanson, Christine E. McMahon, Clive R. Hindell, Mark A. Evidence for a widely expanded humpback whale calving range along the Western Australian coast |
author_facet |
Irvine, Lyn G. Thums, Michele Hanson, Christine E. McMahon, Clive R. Hindell, Mark A. |
author_sort |
Irvine, Lyn G. |
title |
Evidence for a widely expanded humpback whale calving range along the Western Australian coast |
title_short |
Evidence for a widely expanded humpback whale calving range along the Western Australian coast |
title_full |
Evidence for a widely expanded humpback whale calving range along the Western Australian coast |
title_fullStr |
Evidence for a widely expanded humpback whale calving range along the Western Australian coast |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evidence for a widely expanded humpback whale calving range along the Western Australian coast |
title_sort |
evidence for a widely expanded humpback whale calving range along the western australian coast |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mms.12456 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fmms.12456 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/mms.12456 |
genre |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae |
genre_facet |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae |
op_source |
Marine Mammal Science volume 34, issue 2, page 294-310 ISSN 0824-0469 1748-7692 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12456 |
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Marine Mammal Science |
container_volume |
34 |
container_issue |
2 |
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294 |
op_container_end_page |
310 |
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1810448786576637952 |