Evidence of molting and the function of "rock-nosing" behavior in bowhead whales in the eastern Canadian Arctic.
Bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) have a nearly circumpolar distribution, and occasionally occupy warmer shallow coastal areas during summertime that may facilitate molting. However, relatively little is known about the occurrence of molting and associated behaviors in bowhead whales. We opportuni...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:ac64b17e4f4e4ae3ba725b77b84e9465 2023-05-15T14:57:40+02:00 Evidence of molting and the function of "rock-nosing" behavior in bowhead whales in the eastern Canadian Arctic. Sarah M E Fortune William R Koski Jeff W Higdon Andrew W Trites Mark F Baumgartner Steven H Ferguson 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0186156 https://doaj.org/article/ac64b17e4f4e4ae3ba725b77b84e9465 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5699794?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0186156 https://doaj.org/article/ac64b17e4f4e4ae3ba725b77b84e9465 PLoS ONE, Vol 12, Iss 11, p e0186156 (2017) Medicine R Science Q article 2017 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0186156 2022-12-31T03:38:42Z Bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) have a nearly circumpolar distribution, and occasionally occupy warmer shallow coastal areas during summertime that may facilitate molting. However, relatively little is known about the occurrence of molting and associated behaviors in bowhead whales. We opportunistically observed whales in Cumberland Sound, Nunavut, Canada with skin irregularities consistent with molting during August 2014, and collected a skin sample from a biopsied whale that revealed loose epidermis and sloughing. During August 2016, we flew a small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) over whales to take video and still images to: 1) determine unique individuals; 2) estimate the proportion of the body of unique individuals that exhibited sloughing skin; 3) determine the presence or absence of superficial lines representative of rock-rubbing behavior; and 4) measure body lengths to infer age-class. The still images revealed that all individuals (n = 81 whales) were sloughing skin, and that nearly 40% of them had mottled skin over more than two-thirds of their bodies. The video images captured bowhead whales rubbing on large rocks in shallow, coastal areas-likely to facilitate molting. Molting and rock rubbing appears to be pervasive during late summer for whales in the eastern Canadian Arctic. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Balaena mysticetus Cumberland Sound Nunavut Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Nunavut Canada Cumberland Sound ENVELOPE(-66.014,-66.014,65.334,65.334) PLOS ONE 12 11 e0186156 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q Sarah M E Fortune William R Koski Jeff W Higdon Andrew W Trites Mark F Baumgartner Steven H Ferguson Evidence of molting and the function of "rock-nosing" behavior in bowhead whales in the eastern Canadian Arctic. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) have a nearly circumpolar distribution, and occasionally occupy warmer shallow coastal areas during summertime that may facilitate molting. However, relatively little is known about the occurrence of molting and associated behaviors in bowhead whales. We opportunistically observed whales in Cumberland Sound, Nunavut, Canada with skin irregularities consistent with molting during August 2014, and collected a skin sample from a biopsied whale that revealed loose epidermis and sloughing. During August 2016, we flew a small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) over whales to take video and still images to: 1) determine unique individuals; 2) estimate the proportion of the body of unique individuals that exhibited sloughing skin; 3) determine the presence or absence of superficial lines representative of rock-rubbing behavior; and 4) measure body lengths to infer age-class. The still images revealed that all individuals (n = 81 whales) were sloughing skin, and that nearly 40% of them had mottled skin over more than two-thirds of their bodies. The video images captured bowhead whales rubbing on large rocks in shallow, coastal areas-likely to facilitate molting. Molting and rock rubbing appears to be pervasive during late summer for whales in the eastern Canadian Arctic. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Sarah M E Fortune William R Koski Jeff W Higdon Andrew W Trites Mark F Baumgartner Steven H Ferguson |
author_facet |
Sarah M E Fortune William R Koski Jeff W Higdon Andrew W Trites Mark F Baumgartner Steven H Ferguson |
author_sort |
Sarah M E Fortune |
title |
Evidence of molting and the function of "rock-nosing" behavior in bowhead whales in the eastern Canadian Arctic. |
title_short |
Evidence of molting and the function of "rock-nosing" behavior in bowhead whales in the eastern Canadian Arctic. |
title_full |
Evidence of molting and the function of "rock-nosing" behavior in bowhead whales in the eastern Canadian Arctic. |
title_fullStr |
Evidence of molting and the function of "rock-nosing" behavior in bowhead whales in the eastern Canadian Arctic. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evidence of molting and the function of "rock-nosing" behavior in bowhead whales in the eastern Canadian Arctic. |
title_sort |
evidence of molting and the function of "rock-nosing" behavior in bowhead whales in the eastern canadian arctic. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0186156 https://doaj.org/article/ac64b17e4f4e4ae3ba725b77b84e9465 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-66.014,-66.014,65.334,65.334) |
geographic |
Arctic Nunavut Canada Cumberland Sound |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Nunavut Canada Cumberland Sound |
genre |
Arctic Balaena mysticetus Cumberland Sound Nunavut |
genre_facet |
Arctic Balaena mysticetus Cumberland Sound Nunavut |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 12, Iss 11, p e0186156 (2017) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5699794?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0186156 https://doaj.org/article/ac64b17e4f4e4ae3ba725b77b84e9465 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0186156 |
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PLOS ONE |
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12 |
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11 |
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