Humpback whale song occurrence reflects ecosystem variability in feeding and migratory habitat of the northeast Pacific.
This study examines the occurrence of humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) song in the northeast Pacific from three years of continuous recordings off central California (36.713°N, 122.186°W). Song is prevalent in this feeding and migratory habitat, spanning nine months of the year (September-May...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222456 https://doaj.org/article/7e443e07e55d4b4f8e6ab25061199bff |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:7e443e07e55d4b4f8e6ab25061199bff 2023-05-15T16:35:58+02:00 Humpback whale song occurrence reflects ecosystem variability in feeding and migratory habitat of the northeast Pacific. John P Ryan Danelle E Cline John E Joseph Tetyana Margolina Jarrod A Santora Raphael M Kudela Francisco P Chavez J Timothy Pennington Christopher Wahl Reiko Michisaki Kelly Benoit-Bird Karin A Forney Alison K Stimpert Andrew DeVogelaere Nancy Black Mark Fischer 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222456 https://doaj.org/article/7e443e07e55d4b4f8e6ab25061199bff EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222456 https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0222456 https://doaj.org/article/7e443e07e55d4b4f8e6ab25061199bff PLoS ONE, Vol 14, Iss 9, p e0222456 (2019) Medicine R Science Q article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222456 2022-12-30T23:50:16Z This study examines the occurrence of humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) song in the northeast Pacific from three years of continuous recordings off central California (36.713°N, 122.186°W). Song is prevalent in this feeding and migratory habitat, spanning nine months of the year (September-May), peaking in winter (November-January), and reaching a maximum of 86% temporal coverage (during November 2017). From the rise of song in fall through the end of peak occurrence in winter, song length increases significantly from month to month. The seasonal peak in song coincides with the seasonal trough in day length and sighting-based evidence of whales leaving Monterey Bay, consistent with seasonal migration. During the seasonal song peak, diel variation shows maximum occurrence at night (69% of the time), decreasing during dawn and dusk (52%), and further decreasing with increasing solar elevation during the day, reaching a minimum near solar noon (30%). Song occurrence increased 44% and 55% between successive years. Sighting data within the acoustic detection range of the hydrophone indicate that variation in local population density was an unlikely cause of this large interannual variation. Hydrographic data and modeling of acoustic transmission indicate that changes in neither habitat occupancy nor acoustic transmission were probable causes. Conversely, the positive interannual trend in song paralleled major ecosystem variations, including similarly large positive trends in wind-driven upwelling, primary productivity, and krill abundance. Further, the lowest song occurrence during the first year coincided with anomalously warm ocean temperatures and an extremely toxic harmful algal bloom that affected whales and other marine mammals in the region. These major ecosystem variations may have influenced the health and behavior of humpback whales during the study period. Article in Journal/Newspaper Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Pacific PLOS ONE 14 9 e0222456 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q John P Ryan Danelle E Cline John E Joseph Tetyana Margolina Jarrod A Santora Raphael M Kudela Francisco P Chavez J Timothy Pennington Christopher Wahl Reiko Michisaki Kelly Benoit-Bird Karin A Forney Alison K Stimpert Andrew DeVogelaere Nancy Black Mark Fischer Humpback whale song occurrence reflects ecosystem variability in feeding and migratory habitat of the northeast Pacific. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
This study examines the occurrence of humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) song in the northeast Pacific from three years of continuous recordings off central California (36.713°N, 122.186°W). Song is prevalent in this feeding and migratory habitat, spanning nine months of the year (September-May), peaking in winter (November-January), and reaching a maximum of 86% temporal coverage (during November 2017). From the rise of song in fall through the end of peak occurrence in winter, song length increases significantly from month to month. The seasonal peak in song coincides with the seasonal trough in day length and sighting-based evidence of whales leaving Monterey Bay, consistent with seasonal migration. During the seasonal song peak, diel variation shows maximum occurrence at night (69% of the time), decreasing during dawn and dusk (52%), and further decreasing with increasing solar elevation during the day, reaching a minimum near solar noon (30%). Song occurrence increased 44% and 55% between successive years. Sighting data within the acoustic detection range of the hydrophone indicate that variation in local population density was an unlikely cause of this large interannual variation. Hydrographic data and modeling of acoustic transmission indicate that changes in neither habitat occupancy nor acoustic transmission were probable causes. Conversely, the positive interannual trend in song paralleled major ecosystem variations, including similarly large positive trends in wind-driven upwelling, primary productivity, and krill abundance. Further, the lowest song occurrence during the first year coincided with anomalously warm ocean temperatures and an extremely toxic harmful algal bloom that affected whales and other marine mammals in the region. These major ecosystem variations may have influenced the health and behavior of humpback whales during the study period. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
John P Ryan Danelle E Cline John E Joseph Tetyana Margolina Jarrod A Santora Raphael M Kudela Francisco P Chavez J Timothy Pennington Christopher Wahl Reiko Michisaki Kelly Benoit-Bird Karin A Forney Alison K Stimpert Andrew DeVogelaere Nancy Black Mark Fischer |
author_facet |
John P Ryan Danelle E Cline John E Joseph Tetyana Margolina Jarrod A Santora Raphael M Kudela Francisco P Chavez J Timothy Pennington Christopher Wahl Reiko Michisaki Kelly Benoit-Bird Karin A Forney Alison K Stimpert Andrew DeVogelaere Nancy Black Mark Fischer |
author_sort |
John P Ryan |
title |
Humpback whale song occurrence reflects ecosystem variability in feeding and migratory habitat of the northeast Pacific. |
title_short |
Humpback whale song occurrence reflects ecosystem variability in feeding and migratory habitat of the northeast Pacific. |
title_full |
Humpback whale song occurrence reflects ecosystem variability in feeding and migratory habitat of the northeast Pacific. |
title_fullStr |
Humpback whale song occurrence reflects ecosystem variability in feeding and migratory habitat of the northeast Pacific. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Humpback whale song occurrence reflects ecosystem variability in feeding and migratory habitat of the northeast Pacific. |
title_sort |
humpback whale song occurrence reflects ecosystem variability in feeding and migratory habitat of the northeast pacific. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222456 https://doaj.org/article/7e443e07e55d4b4f8e6ab25061199bff |
geographic |
Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Pacific |
genre |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae |
genre_facet |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 14, Iss 9, p e0222456 (2019) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222456 https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0222456 https://doaj.org/article/7e443e07e55d4b4f8e6ab25061199bff |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222456 |
container_title |
PLOS ONE |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
e0222456 |
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