Influence of environmental parameters on movements and habitat utilization of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Madagascar breeding ground
Assessing the movement patterns and key habitat features of breeding humpback whales is a prerequisite for the conservation management of this philopatric species. To investigate the interactions between humpback whale movements and environmental conditions off Madagascar, we deployed 25 satellite t...
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ftinraparis:oai:prodinra.inra.fr:389914 2023-05-15T16:35:58+02:00 Influence of environmental parameters on movements and habitat utilization of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Madagascar breeding ground Trudelle, Laurène Cerchio, Salvatore Zerbini, Alexandre N. Geyer, Ygor Mayer, Francois-Xavier Jung, Jean-Luc Hervé, Maxime R. Pous, Stéphane Sallée, Jean-Baptiste Rosenbaum, Howard C. Adam, Olivier Charrassin, Jean-Benoit 2016 application/pdf http://prodinra.inra.fr/ft/E1F1A060-1C3B-4A2D-B389-A11161227AEC http://prodinra.inra.fr/record/389914 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.160616 eng eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd-nc/1.0/ CC-BY-ND-NC Royal Society Open Science 12 (3), 1-22. (2016) humpback whales;satellite telemetry;Madagascar;movement patterns;environmental parameters;habitat use madagascar Megaptera Novaeangliae habitat effet de l'environnement ARTICLE 2016 ftinraparis https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.160616 2017-04-11T22:23:41Z Assessing the movement patterns and key habitat features of breeding humpback whales is a prerequisite for the conservation management of this philopatric species. To investigate the interactions between humpback whale movements and environmental conditions off Madagascar, we deployed 25 satellite tags in the northeast and southwest coast of Madagascar. For each recorded position, we collated estimates of environmental variables and computed two behavioural metrics: behavioural state of 'transiting' (consistent/directional) versus `localized' (variable/nondirectional), and active swimming speed (i.e. speed relative to the current). On coastal habitats (i.e. bathymetry<200m and in adjacent areas), females showed localized behaviour in deep waters (191 +/- 20 m) and at large distances (14 +/- 0.6 km) from shore, suggesting that their breeding habitat extends beyond the shallowest waters available close to the coastline. Males' active swimming speed decreased in shallow waters, but environmental parameters did not influence their likelihood to exhibit localized movements, which was probably dominated by social factors instead. In oceanic habitats, both males and females showed localized behaviours in shallow waters and favoured high chlorophyll-a concentrations. Active swimming speed accounts for a large proportion of observed movement speed; however, breeding humpback whales probably exploit prevailing ocean currents to maximize displacement. This study provides evidence that coastal areas, generally subject to strong human pressure, remain the core habitat of humpback whales off Madagascar. Our results expand the knowledge of humpback whale habitat use in oceanic habitat and response to variability of environmental factors such as oceanic current and chlorophyll level. Article in Journal/Newspaper Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique: ProdINRA Royal Society Open Science 3 12 160616 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique: ProdINRA |
op_collection_id |
ftinraparis |
language |
English |
topic |
humpback whales;satellite telemetry;Madagascar;movement patterns;environmental parameters;habitat use madagascar Megaptera Novaeangliae habitat effet de l'environnement |
spellingShingle |
humpback whales;satellite telemetry;Madagascar;movement patterns;environmental parameters;habitat use madagascar Megaptera Novaeangliae habitat effet de l'environnement Trudelle, Laurène Cerchio, Salvatore Zerbini, Alexandre N. Geyer, Ygor Mayer, Francois-Xavier Jung, Jean-Luc Hervé, Maxime R. Pous, Stéphane Sallée, Jean-Baptiste Rosenbaum, Howard C. Adam, Olivier Charrassin, Jean-Benoit Influence of environmental parameters on movements and habitat utilization of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Madagascar breeding ground |
topic_facet |
humpback whales;satellite telemetry;Madagascar;movement patterns;environmental parameters;habitat use madagascar Megaptera Novaeangliae habitat effet de l'environnement |
description |
Assessing the movement patterns and key habitat features of breeding humpback whales is a prerequisite for the conservation management of this philopatric species. To investigate the interactions between humpback whale movements and environmental conditions off Madagascar, we deployed 25 satellite tags in the northeast and southwest coast of Madagascar. For each recorded position, we collated estimates of environmental variables and computed two behavioural metrics: behavioural state of 'transiting' (consistent/directional) versus `localized' (variable/nondirectional), and active swimming speed (i.e. speed relative to the current). On coastal habitats (i.e. bathymetry<200m and in adjacent areas), females showed localized behaviour in deep waters (191 +/- 20 m) and at large distances (14 +/- 0.6 km) from shore, suggesting that their breeding habitat extends beyond the shallowest waters available close to the coastline. Males' active swimming speed decreased in shallow waters, but environmental parameters did not influence their likelihood to exhibit localized movements, which was probably dominated by social factors instead. In oceanic habitats, both males and females showed localized behaviours in shallow waters and favoured high chlorophyll-a concentrations. Active swimming speed accounts for a large proportion of observed movement speed; however, breeding humpback whales probably exploit prevailing ocean currents to maximize displacement. This study provides evidence that coastal areas, generally subject to strong human pressure, remain the core habitat of humpback whales off Madagascar. Our results expand the knowledge of humpback whale habitat use in oceanic habitat and response to variability of environmental factors such as oceanic current and chlorophyll level. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Trudelle, Laurène Cerchio, Salvatore Zerbini, Alexandre N. Geyer, Ygor Mayer, Francois-Xavier Jung, Jean-Luc Hervé, Maxime R. Pous, Stéphane Sallée, Jean-Baptiste Rosenbaum, Howard C. Adam, Olivier Charrassin, Jean-Benoit |
author_facet |
Trudelle, Laurène Cerchio, Salvatore Zerbini, Alexandre N. Geyer, Ygor Mayer, Francois-Xavier Jung, Jean-Luc Hervé, Maxime R. Pous, Stéphane Sallée, Jean-Baptiste Rosenbaum, Howard C. Adam, Olivier Charrassin, Jean-Benoit |
author_sort |
Trudelle, Laurène |
title |
Influence of environmental parameters on movements and habitat utilization of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Madagascar breeding ground |
title_short |
Influence of environmental parameters on movements and habitat utilization of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Madagascar breeding ground |
title_full |
Influence of environmental parameters on movements and habitat utilization of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Madagascar breeding ground |
title_fullStr |
Influence of environmental parameters on movements and habitat utilization of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Madagascar breeding ground |
title_full_unstemmed |
Influence of environmental parameters on movements and habitat utilization of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Madagascar breeding ground |
title_sort |
influence of environmental parameters on movements and habitat utilization of humpback whales (megaptera novaeangliae) in the madagascar breeding ground |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://prodinra.inra.fr/ft/E1F1A060-1C3B-4A2D-B389-A11161227AEC http://prodinra.inra.fr/record/389914 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.160616 |
genre |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae |
genre_facet |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae |
op_source |
Royal Society Open Science 12 (3), 1-22. (2016) |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd-nc/1.0/ |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY-ND-NC |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.160616 |
container_title |
Royal Society Open Science |
container_volume |
3 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
160616 |
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1766026284477972480 |