Found: a missing breeding ground for endangered western North Pacific humpback whales in the Mariana Archipelago
Humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae that breed in the western North Pacific (WNP) are listed as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act. Previous research in the WNP concluded that the full extent of humpback whale breeding areas is unknown. Recovering this endangered population requires i...
Published in: | Endangered Species Research |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Inter-Research
2020
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01010 https://doaj.org/article/0ef3f1e11ec5480cb9c2a6ee267e5795 |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:0ef3f1e11ec5480cb9c2a6ee267e5795 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:0ef3f1e11ec5480cb9c2a6ee267e5795 2023-05-15T16:35:58+02:00 Found: a missing breeding ground for endangered western North Pacific humpback whales in the Mariana Archipelago Hill, MC Bradford, AL Steel, D Baker, CS Ligon, AD Ü, AC Acebes, JMV Filatova, OA Hakala, S Kobayashi, N Morimoto, Y Okabe, H Okamoto, R Rivers, J Sato, T Titova, OV Uyeyama, RK Oleson, EM 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01010 https://doaj.org/article/0ef3f1e11ec5480cb9c2a6ee267e5795 EN eng Inter-Research https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v41/p91-103/ https://doaj.org/toc/1863-5407 https://doaj.org/toc/1613-4796 1863-5407 1613-4796 doi:10.3354/esr01010 https://doaj.org/article/0ef3f1e11ec5480cb9c2a6ee267e5795 Endangered Species Research, Vol 41, Pp 91-103 (2020) Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01010 2022-12-31T13:55:19Z Humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae that breed in the western North Pacific (WNP) are listed as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act. Previous research in the WNP concluded that the full extent of humpback whale breeding areas is unknown. Recovering this endangered population requires identifying all associated breeding grounds and potential threats in those locations. Prior to 2015, humpback whales were known to occur in the Mariana Archipelago (within the WNP), but their population identity and habitat use there were unknown. To determine the population identity of humpback whales in the Mariana Archipelago and whether the area serves as a breeding ground for these whales, small-boat photo-identification and biopsy sampling surveys were conducted in the southern portion of the archipelago during February and March 2015-2018. A total of 14 mother-calf pairs and 27 other non-calf whales were encountered. Seven non-calves were re-sighted in multiple years, including 4 females associated with calves in one or more years. Competitive behavior was observed in multiple years. Comparisons with other North Pacific humpback whale catalogs resulted in matches to breeding (Japan and Philippines) and feeding (Russia) grounds in the WNP. DNA profiling of 28 biopsy samples identified 24 individuals (14 females, 10 males) representing 7 mitochondrial DNA haplotypes. The haplotype frequencies from the Mariana Archipelago showed the greatest identity with the Ogasawara breeding ground and Commander Islands feeding ground in the WNP. This study establishes the Mariana Archipelago as a breeding area for endangered WNP humpback whales, which should be considered in ongoing research and conservation efforts. Article in Journal/Newspaper Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Pacific Endangered Species Research 41 91 103 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 |
spellingShingle |
Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 Hill, MC Bradford, AL Steel, D Baker, CS Ligon, AD Ü, AC Acebes, JMV Filatova, OA Hakala, S Kobayashi, N Morimoto, Y Okabe, H Okamoto, R Rivers, J Sato, T Titova, OV Uyeyama, RK Oleson, EM Found: a missing breeding ground for endangered western North Pacific humpback whales in the Mariana Archipelago |
topic_facet |
Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 |
description |
Humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae that breed in the western North Pacific (WNP) are listed as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act. Previous research in the WNP concluded that the full extent of humpback whale breeding areas is unknown. Recovering this endangered population requires identifying all associated breeding grounds and potential threats in those locations. Prior to 2015, humpback whales were known to occur in the Mariana Archipelago (within the WNP), but their population identity and habitat use there were unknown. To determine the population identity of humpback whales in the Mariana Archipelago and whether the area serves as a breeding ground for these whales, small-boat photo-identification and biopsy sampling surveys were conducted in the southern portion of the archipelago during February and March 2015-2018. A total of 14 mother-calf pairs and 27 other non-calf whales were encountered. Seven non-calves were re-sighted in multiple years, including 4 females associated with calves in one or more years. Competitive behavior was observed in multiple years. Comparisons with other North Pacific humpback whale catalogs resulted in matches to breeding (Japan and Philippines) and feeding (Russia) grounds in the WNP. DNA profiling of 28 biopsy samples identified 24 individuals (14 females, 10 males) representing 7 mitochondrial DNA haplotypes. The haplotype frequencies from the Mariana Archipelago showed the greatest identity with the Ogasawara breeding ground and Commander Islands feeding ground in the WNP. This study establishes the Mariana Archipelago as a breeding area for endangered WNP humpback whales, which should be considered in ongoing research and conservation efforts. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hill, MC Bradford, AL Steel, D Baker, CS Ligon, AD Ü, AC Acebes, JMV Filatova, OA Hakala, S Kobayashi, N Morimoto, Y Okabe, H Okamoto, R Rivers, J Sato, T Titova, OV Uyeyama, RK Oleson, EM |
author_facet |
Hill, MC Bradford, AL Steel, D Baker, CS Ligon, AD Ü, AC Acebes, JMV Filatova, OA Hakala, S Kobayashi, N Morimoto, Y Okabe, H Okamoto, R Rivers, J Sato, T Titova, OV Uyeyama, RK Oleson, EM |
author_sort |
Hill, MC |
title |
Found: a missing breeding ground for endangered western North Pacific humpback whales in the Mariana Archipelago |
title_short |
Found: a missing breeding ground for endangered western North Pacific humpback whales in the Mariana Archipelago |
title_full |
Found: a missing breeding ground for endangered western North Pacific humpback whales in the Mariana Archipelago |
title_fullStr |
Found: a missing breeding ground for endangered western North Pacific humpback whales in the Mariana Archipelago |
title_full_unstemmed |
Found: a missing breeding ground for endangered western North Pacific humpback whales in the Mariana Archipelago |
title_sort |
found: a missing breeding ground for endangered western north pacific humpback whales in the mariana archipelago |
publisher |
Inter-Research |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01010 https://doaj.org/article/0ef3f1e11ec5480cb9c2a6ee267e5795 |
geographic |
Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Pacific |
genre |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae |
genre_facet |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae |
op_source |
Endangered Species Research, Vol 41, Pp 91-103 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v41/p91-103/ https://doaj.org/toc/1863-5407 https://doaj.org/toc/1613-4796 1863-5407 1613-4796 doi:10.3354/esr01010 https://doaj.org/article/0ef3f1e11ec5480cb9c2a6ee267e5795 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01010 |
container_title |
Endangered Species Research |
container_volume |
41 |
container_start_page |
91 |
op_container_end_page |
103 |
_version_ |
1766026278424543232 |