Between a rock and a hard place: habitat selection in female-calf humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) Pairs on the Hawaiian breeding grounds.
The Au'au Channel between the islands of Maui and Lanai, Hawaii comprises critical breeding habitat for humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) of the Central North Pacific stock. However, like many regions where marine mega-fauna gather, these waters are also the focus of a flourishing local...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:4b99fd78333a4c9f80f86b891e99741c 2023-05-15T16:35:54+02:00 Between a rock and a hard place: habitat selection in female-calf humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) Pairs on the Hawaiian breeding grounds. Rachel Cartwright Blake Gillespie Kristen Labonte Terence Mangold Amy Venema Kevin Eden Matthew Sullivan 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0038004 https://doaj.org/article/4b99fd78333a4c9f80f86b891e99741c EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3362540?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0038004 https://doaj.org/article/4b99fd78333a4c9f80f86b891e99741c PLoS ONE, Vol 7, Iss 5, p e38004 (2012) Medicine R Science Q article 2012 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0038004 2022-12-31T06:05:16Z The Au'au Channel between the islands of Maui and Lanai, Hawaii comprises critical breeding habitat for humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) of the Central North Pacific stock. However, like many regions where marine mega-fauna gather, these waters are also the focus of a flourishing local eco-tourism and whale watching industry. Our aim was to establish current trends in habitat preference in female-calf humpback whale pairs within this region, focusing specifically on the busy, eastern portions of the channel. We used an equally-spaced zigzag transect survey design, compiled our results in a GIS model to identify spatial trends and calculated Neu's Indices to quantify levels of habitat use. Our study revealed that while mysticete female-calf pairs on breeding grounds typically favor shallow, inshore waters, female-calf pairs in the Au'au Channel avoided shallow waters (<20 m) and regions within 2 km of the shoreline. Preferred regions for female-calf pairs comprised water depths between 40-60 m, regions of rugged bottom topography and regions that lay between 4 and 6 km from a small boat harbor (Lahaina Harbor) that fell within the study area. In contrast to other humpback whale breeding grounds, there was only minimal evidence of typical patterns of stratification or segregation according to group composition. A review of habitat use by maternal females across Hawaiian waters indicates that maternal habitat choice varies between localities within the Hawaiian Islands, suggesting that maternal females alter their use of habitat according to locally varying pressures. This ability to respond to varying environments may be the key that allows wildlife species to persist in regions where human activity and critical habitat overlap. Article in Journal/Newspaper Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Pacific Boat Harbor ENVELOPE(-36.600,-36.600,-54.200,-54.200) PLoS ONE 7 5 e38004 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q Rachel Cartwright Blake Gillespie Kristen Labonte Terence Mangold Amy Venema Kevin Eden Matthew Sullivan Between a rock and a hard place: habitat selection in female-calf humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) Pairs on the Hawaiian breeding grounds. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
The Au'au Channel between the islands of Maui and Lanai, Hawaii comprises critical breeding habitat for humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) of the Central North Pacific stock. However, like many regions where marine mega-fauna gather, these waters are also the focus of a flourishing local eco-tourism and whale watching industry. Our aim was to establish current trends in habitat preference in female-calf humpback whale pairs within this region, focusing specifically on the busy, eastern portions of the channel. We used an equally-spaced zigzag transect survey design, compiled our results in a GIS model to identify spatial trends and calculated Neu's Indices to quantify levels of habitat use. Our study revealed that while mysticete female-calf pairs on breeding grounds typically favor shallow, inshore waters, female-calf pairs in the Au'au Channel avoided shallow waters (<20 m) and regions within 2 km of the shoreline. Preferred regions for female-calf pairs comprised water depths between 40-60 m, regions of rugged bottom topography and regions that lay between 4 and 6 km from a small boat harbor (Lahaina Harbor) that fell within the study area. In contrast to other humpback whale breeding grounds, there was only minimal evidence of typical patterns of stratification or segregation according to group composition. A review of habitat use by maternal females across Hawaiian waters indicates that maternal habitat choice varies between localities within the Hawaiian Islands, suggesting that maternal females alter their use of habitat according to locally varying pressures. This ability to respond to varying environments may be the key that allows wildlife species to persist in regions where human activity and critical habitat overlap. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Rachel Cartwright Blake Gillespie Kristen Labonte Terence Mangold Amy Venema Kevin Eden Matthew Sullivan |
author_facet |
Rachel Cartwright Blake Gillespie Kristen Labonte Terence Mangold Amy Venema Kevin Eden Matthew Sullivan |
author_sort |
Rachel Cartwright |
title |
Between a rock and a hard place: habitat selection in female-calf humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) Pairs on the Hawaiian breeding grounds. |
title_short |
Between a rock and a hard place: habitat selection in female-calf humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) Pairs on the Hawaiian breeding grounds. |
title_full |
Between a rock and a hard place: habitat selection in female-calf humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) Pairs on the Hawaiian breeding grounds. |
title_fullStr |
Between a rock and a hard place: habitat selection in female-calf humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) Pairs on the Hawaiian breeding grounds. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Between a rock and a hard place: habitat selection in female-calf humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) Pairs on the Hawaiian breeding grounds. |
title_sort |
between a rock and a hard place: habitat selection in female-calf humpback whale (megaptera novaeangliae) pairs on the hawaiian breeding grounds. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0038004 https://doaj.org/article/4b99fd78333a4c9f80f86b891e99741c |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-36.600,-36.600,-54.200,-54.200) |
geographic |
Pacific Boat Harbor |
geographic_facet |
Pacific Boat Harbor |
genre |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae |
genre_facet |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 7, Iss 5, p e38004 (2012) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3362540?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0038004 https://doaj.org/article/4b99fd78333a4c9f80f86b891e99741c |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0038004 |
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PLoS ONE |
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7 |
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5 |
container_start_page |
e38004 |
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