Southern Hemisphere Humpback Whales Wintering Off Central America: Insights from Water Temperature into the Longest Mammalian Migration
We report on a wintering area off the Pacific coast of Central America for humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) migrating from feeding areas off Antarctica. We document seven individuals, including a mother/calf pair, that made this migration (approx. 8300 km), the longest movement undertaken by...
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ftdtic:ADA592029 2023-05-15T13:55:47+02:00 Southern Hemisphere Humpback Whales Wintering Off Central America: Insights from Water Temperature into the Longest Mammalian Migration Rasmussen, Kristin Palacios, Daniel M Calambokidis, John Saborio, Marco T Dalla Rosa, Luciano Secchi, Eduardo R Steiger, Gretchen H Allen, Judith M Stone, Gregory S CASCADIA RESEARCH COLLECTIVE OLYMPIA WA 2007-01 text/html http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA592029 http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA592029 en eng http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA592029 Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. DTIC Biology Biological Oceanography *MIGRATION *WHALES *WINTER ANTARCTIC REGIONS CENTRAL AMERICA PACIFIC OCEAN ANTARCTICA HUMPBACK WHALES MEGAPTERA NOVAEANGLIAE SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE WARM WATER WATER TEMPERATURE Text 2007 ftdtic 2016-02-24T13:24:37Z We report on a wintering area off the Pacific coast of Central America for humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) migrating from feeding areas off Antarctica. We document seven individuals, including a mother/calf pair, that made this migration (approx. 8300 km), the longest movement undertaken by any mammal. Whales were observed as far north as 11 deg. N off Costa Rica, in an area also used by a boreal population during the opposite winter season, resulting in unique spatial overlap between Northern and Southern Hemisphere populations. The occurrence of such a northerly wintering area is coincident with the development of an equatorial tongue of cold water in the eastern South Pacific, a pattern that is repeated in the eastern South Atlantic. A survey of location and water temperature at the wintering areas worldwide indicates that they are found in warm waters (21.1-28.38 deg. C), irrespective of latitude. We contend that while availability of suitable reproductive habitat in the wintering areas is important at the fine scale, water temperature influences whale distribution at the basin scale. Calf development in warm water may lead to larger adult size and increased reproductive success, a strategy that supports the energy conservation hypothesis as a reason for migration. Published in Biology Letters, 2007. Text Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Megaptera novaeangliae Defense Technical Information Center: DTIC Technical Reports database Antarctic Pacific |
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Defense Technical Information Center: DTIC Technical Reports database |
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ftdtic |
language |
English |
topic |
Biology Biological Oceanography *MIGRATION *WHALES *WINTER ANTARCTIC REGIONS CENTRAL AMERICA PACIFIC OCEAN ANTARCTICA HUMPBACK WHALES MEGAPTERA NOVAEANGLIAE SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE WARM WATER WATER TEMPERATURE |
spellingShingle |
Biology Biological Oceanography *MIGRATION *WHALES *WINTER ANTARCTIC REGIONS CENTRAL AMERICA PACIFIC OCEAN ANTARCTICA HUMPBACK WHALES MEGAPTERA NOVAEANGLIAE SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE WARM WATER WATER TEMPERATURE Rasmussen, Kristin Palacios, Daniel M Calambokidis, John Saborio, Marco T Dalla Rosa, Luciano Secchi, Eduardo R Steiger, Gretchen H Allen, Judith M Stone, Gregory S Southern Hemisphere Humpback Whales Wintering Off Central America: Insights from Water Temperature into the Longest Mammalian Migration |
topic_facet |
Biology Biological Oceanography *MIGRATION *WHALES *WINTER ANTARCTIC REGIONS CENTRAL AMERICA PACIFIC OCEAN ANTARCTICA HUMPBACK WHALES MEGAPTERA NOVAEANGLIAE SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE WARM WATER WATER TEMPERATURE |
description |
We report on a wintering area off the Pacific coast of Central America for humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) migrating from feeding areas off Antarctica. We document seven individuals, including a mother/calf pair, that made this migration (approx. 8300 km), the longest movement undertaken by any mammal. Whales were observed as far north as 11 deg. N off Costa Rica, in an area also used by a boreal population during the opposite winter season, resulting in unique spatial overlap between Northern and Southern Hemisphere populations. The occurrence of such a northerly wintering area is coincident with the development of an equatorial tongue of cold water in the eastern South Pacific, a pattern that is repeated in the eastern South Atlantic. A survey of location and water temperature at the wintering areas worldwide indicates that they are found in warm waters (21.1-28.38 deg. C), irrespective of latitude. We contend that while availability of suitable reproductive habitat in the wintering areas is important at the fine scale, water temperature influences whale distribution at the basin scale. Calf development in warm water may lead to larger adult size and increased reproductive success, a strategy that supports the energy conservation hypothesis as a reason for migration. Published in Biology Letters, 2007. |
author2 |
CASCADIA RESEARCH COLLECTIVE OLYMPIA WA |
format |
Text |
author |
Rasmussen, Kristin Palacios, Daniel M Calambokidis, John Saborio, Marco T Dalla Rosa, Luciano Secchi, Eduardo R Steiger, Gretchen H Allen, Judith M Stone, Gregory S |
author_facet |
Rasmussen, Kristin Palacios, Daniel M Calambokidis, John Saborio, Marco T Dalla Rosa, Luciano Secchi, Eduardo R Steiger, Gretchen H Allen, Judith M Stone, Gregory S |
author_sort |
Rasmussen, Kristin |
title |
Southern Hemisphere Humpback Whales Wintering Off Central America: Insights from Water Temperature into the Longest Mammalian Migration |
title_short |
Southern Hemisphere Humpback Whales Wintering Off Central America: Insights from Water Temperature into the Longest Mammalian Migration |
title_full |
Southern Hemisphere Humpback Whales Wintering Off Central America: Insights from Water Temperature into the Longest Mammalian Migration |
title_fullStr |
Southern Hemisphere Humpback Whales Wintering Off Central America: Insights from Water Temperature into the Longest Mammalian Migration |
title_full_unstemmed |
Southern Hemisphere Humpback Whales Wintering Off Central America: Insights from Water Temperature into the Longest Mammalian Migration |
title_sort |
southern hemisphere humpback whales wintering off central america: insights from water temperature into the longest mammalian migration |
publishDate |
2007 |
url |
http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA592029 http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA592029 |
geographic |
Antarctic Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Pacific |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Megaptera novaeangliae |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Megaptera novaeangliae |
op_source |
DTIC |
op_relation |
http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA592029 |
op_rights |
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. |
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1766262628094574592 |