What’s at Play: Humpback Whale Interaction with Seaweed Is a Global Phenomenon
The use of objects by cetaceans is well known, and their ability to interact with their environment in complex behaviours has been demonstrated previously. However, baleen whales, including humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ), are less often observed to perform object use, but this behaviour...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:a4507d1a4ad244daaed974ade9f98dbb 2023-10-29T02:35:14+01:00 What’s at Play: Humpback Whale Interaction with Seaweed Is a Global Phenomenon Jan-Olaf Meynecke Hilla Kela 2023-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11091802 https://doaj.org/article/a4507d1a4ad244daaed974ade9f98dbb EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/11/9/1802 https://doaj.org/toc/2077-1312 doi:10.3390/jmse11091802 2077-1312 https://doaj.org/article/a4507d1a4ad244daaed974ade9f98dbb Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, Vol 11, Iss 1802, p 1802 (2023) whales seaweed kelping humpback whales novel behaviour self-medication Naval architecture. Shipbuilding. Marine engineering VM1-989 Oceanography GC1-1581 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11091802 2023-10-01T00:37:55Z The use of objects by cetaceans is well known, and their ability to interact with their environment in complex behaviours has been demonstrated previously. However, baleen whales, including humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ), are less often observed to perform object use, but this behaviour might be more common than previously thought. Only a few isolated observations of interactions with seaweed have been reported in the scientific literature to date. The recovery of humpback whale populations, as well as the rise of technology such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and the use of social media, allow for a new assessment of this object interaction. Here, we describe in detail three instances of “kelping” on the east coast of Australia derived from aerial observations. A summary of over 100 separate and unrelated events drawn from social media, documented by photographs and videos, suggests that this form of interaction with seaweed is observed across different populations. The form of interaction with seaweed is similar between regions, predominantly displayed between the rostrum and dorsal fin. This behaviour may be playful but could also serve additional benefits in the context of learning and socializing, as well as ectoparasite removal and skin treatment by utilizing brown algae’s antibacterial properties. Establishing this type of behaviour as distributed across different populations is important to better understand the species’ habitat preferences. Article in Journal/Newspaper baleen whales Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 11 9 1802 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
whales seaweed kelping humpback whales novel behaviour self-medication Naval architecture. Shipbuilding. Marine engineering VM1-989 Oceanography GC1-1581 |
spellingShingle |
whales seaweed kelping humpback whales novel behaviour self-medication Naval architecture. Shipbuilding. Marine engineering VM1-989 Oceanography GC1-1581 Jan-Olaf Meynecke Hilla Kela What’s at Play: Humpback Whale Interaction with Seaweed Is a Global Phenomenon |
topic_facet |
whales seaweed kelping humpback whales novel behaviour self-medication Naval architecture. Shipbuilding. Marine engineering VM1-989 Oceanography GC1-1581 |
description |
The use of objects by cetaceans is well known, and their ability to interact with their environment in complex behaviours has been demonstrated previously. However, baleen whales, including humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ), are less often observed to perform object use, but this behaviour might be more common than previously thought. Only a few isolated observations of interactions with seaweed have been reported in the scientific literature to date. The recovery of humpback whale populations, as well as the rise of technology such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and the use of social media, allow for a new assessment of this object interaction. Here, we describe in detail three instances of “kelping” on the east coast of Australia derived from aerial observations. A summary of over 100 separate and unrelated events drawn from social media, documented by photographs and videos, suggests that this form of interaction with seaweed is observed across different populations. The form of interaction with seaweed is similar between regions, predominantly displayed between the rostrum and dorsal fin. This behaviour may be playful but could also serve additional benefits in the context of learning and socializing, as well as ectoparasite removal and skin treatment by utilizing brown algae’s antibacterial properties. Establishing this type of behaviour as distributed across different populations is important to better understand the species’ habitat preferences. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jan-Olaf Meynecke Hilla Kela |
author_facet |
Jan-Olaf Meynecke Hilla Kela |
author_sort |
Jan-Olaf Meynecke |
title |
What’s at Play: Humpback Whale Interaction with Seaweed Is a Global Phenomenon |
title_short |
What’s at Play: Humpback Whale Interaction with Seaweed Is a Global Phenomenon |
title_full |
What’s at Play: Humpback Whale Interaction with Seaweed Is a Global Phenomenon |
title_fullStr |
What’s at Play: Humpback Whale Interaction with Seaweed Is a Global Phenomenon |
title_full_unstemmed |
What’s at Play: Humpback Whale Interaction with Seaweed Is a Global Phenomenon |
title_sort |
what’s at play: humpback whale interaction with seaweed is a global phenomenon |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11091802 https://doaj.org/article/a4507d1a4ad244daaed974ade9f98dbb |
genre |
baleen whales Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae |
genre_facet |
baleen whales Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae |
op_source |
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, Vol 11, Iss 1802, p 1802 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/11/9/1802 https://doaj.org/toc/2077-1312 doi:10.3390/jmse11091802 2077-1312 https://doaj.org/article/a4507d1a4ad244daaed974ade9f98dbb |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11091802 |
container_title |
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
1802 |
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1781058302263689216 |