Individual and joint estimation of humpback whale migratory patterns and their environmental drivers in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean
Abstract Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) perform seasonal migrations from high latitude feeding grounds to low latitude breeding and calving grounds. Feeding grounds at polar regions are currently experiencing major ecosystem modifications, therefore, quantitatively assessing species respon...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:1c34bf11b1284b13a4cc57412c797f77 2023-05-15T16:35:59+02:00 Individual and joint estimation of humpback whale migratory patterns and their environmental drivers in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean Luis Bedriñana-Romano Alexandre N. Zerbini Artur Andriolo Daniel Danilewicz Federico Sucunza 2022-05-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-11536-7 https://doaj.org/article/1c34bf11b1284b13a4cc57412c797f77 EN eng Nature Portfolio https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-11536-7 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322 doi:10.1038/s41598-022-11536-7 2045-2322 https://doaj.org/article/1c34bf11b1284b13a4cc57412c797f77 Scientific Reports, Vol 12, Iss 1, Pp 1-16 (2022) Medicine R Science Q article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-11536-7 2022-12-31T02:21:22Z Abstract Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) perform seasonal migrations from high latitude feeding grounds to low latitude breeding and calving grounds. Feeding grounds at polar regions are currently experiencing major ecosystem modifications, therefore, quantitatively assessing species responses to habitat characteristics is crucial for understanding how whales might respond to such modifications. We analyzed satellite telemetry data from 22 individual humpback whales in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean (SWA). Tagging effort was divided in two periods, 2003–2012 and 2016–2019. Correlations between whale’s movement parameters and environmental variables were used as proxy for inferring behavioral responses to environmental variation. Two versions of a covariate-driven continuous-time correlated random-walk state-space model, were fitted to the data: i) Population-level models (P-models), which assess correlation parameters pooling data across all individuals or groups, and ii) individual-level models (I-models), fitted independently for each tagged whale. Area of Restricted Search behavior (slower and less directionally persistent movement, ARS) was concentrated at cold waters south of the Polar Front (~ 50°S). The best model showed that ARS was expected to occur in coastal areas and over ridges and seamounts. Ice coverage during August of each year was a consistent predictor of ARS across models. Wind stress curl and sea surface temperature anomalies were also correlated with movement parameters but elicited larger inter-individual variation. I-models were consistent with P-models’ predictions for the case of females accompanied by calves (mothers), while males and those of undetermined sex (males +) presented more variability as a group. Spatial predictions of humpback whale behavioral responses showed that feeding grounds for this population are concentrated in the complex system of islands, ridges, and rises of the Scotia Sea and the northern Weddell Ridge. More southernly incursions were observed in ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Scotia Sea Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Scotia Sea Weddell Curl ENVELOPE(-63.071,-63.071,-70.797,-70.797) Scientific Reports 12 1 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
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Medicine R Science Q |
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Medicine R Science Q Luis Bedriñana-Romano Alexandre N. Zerbini Artur Andriolo Daniel Danilewicz Federico Sucunza Individual and joint estimation of humpback whale migratory patterns and their environmental drivers in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Abstract Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) perform seasonal migrations from high latitude feeding grounds to low latitude breeding and calving grounds. Feeding grounds at polar regions are currently experiencing major ecosystem modifications, therefore, quantitatively assessing species responses to habitat characteristics is crucial for understanding how whales might respond to such modifications. We analyzed satellite telemetry data from 22 individual humpback whales in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean (SWA). Tagging effort was divided in two periods, 2003–2012 and 2016–2019. Correlations between whale’s movement parameters and environmental variables were used as proxy for inferring behavioral responses to environmental variation. Two versions of a covariate-driven continuous-time correlated random-walk state-space model, were fitted to the data: i) Population-level models (P-models), which assess correlation parameters pooling data across all individuals or groups, and ii) individual-level models (I-models), fitted independently for each tagged whale. Area of Restricted Search behavior (slower and less directionally persistent movement, ARS) was concentrated at cold waters south of the Polar Front (~ 50°S). The best model showed that ARS was expected to occur in coastal areas and over ridges and seamounts. Ice coverage during August of each year was a consistent predictor of ARS across models. Wind stress curl and sea surface temperature anomalies were also correlated with movement parameters but elicited larger inter-individual variation. I-models were consistent with P-models’ predictions for the case of females accompanied by calves (mothers), while males and those of undetermined sex (males +) presented more variability as a group. Spatial predictions of humpback whale behavioral responses showed that feeding grounds for this population are concentrated in the complex system of islands, ridges, and rises of the Scotia Sea and the northern Weddell Ridge. More southernly incursions were observed in ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Luis Bedriñana-Romano Alexandre N. Zerbini Artur Andriolo Daniel Danilewicz Federico Sucunza |
author_facet |
Luis Bedriñana-Romano Alexandre N. Zerbini Artur Andriolo Daniel Danilewicz Federico Sucunza |
author_sort |
Luis Bedriñana-Romano |
title |
Individual and joint estimation of humpback whale migratory patterns and their environmental drivers in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean |
title_short |
Individual and joint estimation of humpback whale migratory patterns and their environmental drivers in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean |
title_full |
Individual and joint estimation of humpback whale migratory patterns and their environmental drivers in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean |
title_fullStr |
Individual and joint estimation of humpback whale migratory patterns and their environmental drivers in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean |
title_full_unstemmed |
Individual and joint estimation of humpback whale migratory patterns and their environmental drivers in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean |
title_sort |
individual and joint estimation of humpback whale migratory patterns and their environmental drivers in the southwest atlantic ocean |
publisher |
Nature Portfolio |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-11536-7 https://doaj.org/article/1c34bf11b1284b13a4cc57412c797f77 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-63.071,-63.071,-70.797,-70.797) |
geographic |
Scotia Sea Weddell Curl |
geographic_facet |
Scotia Sea Weddell Curl |
genre |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Scotia Sea |
genre_facet |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Scotia Sea |
op_source |
Scientific Reports, Vol 12, Iss 1, Pp 1-16 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-11536-7 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322 doi:10.1038/s41598-022-11536-7 2045-2322 https://doaj.org/article/1c34bf11b1284b13a4cc57412c797f77 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-11536-7 |
container_title |
Scientific Reports |
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12 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1766026301827710976 |