Data from: Influence of environmental parameters on movements and habitat utilization of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Madagascar breeding ground ...

• Main Authors: Trudelle, Laurène, Cerchio, Salvatore, Zerbini, Alexandre N., Geyer, Ygor, Mayer, Francois-Xavier, Jung, Jean-Luc, Hervé, Maxime R., Pous, Stéphane, Sallée, Jean-Baptiste, Rosenbaum, Howard C., Adam, Olivier, Charrassin, Jean-Benoit
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2016
• Subjects: movement patterns; satellite telemetry; Megaptera novaeangliae; Breeding; Humpback Whale
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.73h36; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.73h36

Assessing the movement patterns and key habitat features of breeding humpback whales is a prerequisite for the conservation management of this philopatric species. To investigate the interactions between humpback whale movements and environmental conditions off Madagascar, we deployed 25 satellite tags in the northeast and southwest coast of Madagascar. For each recorded position, we collated estimates of environmental variables and computed two behavioural metrics: behavioural state of ‘transiting’ (consistent/directional) versus ‘localized’ (variable/non-directional), and active swimming speed (i.e. speed relative to the current). On coastal habitats (i.e. bathymetry < 200 m and in adjacent areas), females showed localized behaviour in deep waters (191 ± 20 m) and at large distances (14 ± 0.6 km) from shore, suggesting that their breeding habitat extends beyond the shallowest waters available close to the coastline. Males' active swimming speed decreased in shallow waters, but environmental parameters ... : Trudelle_et_al_data ...