Feeding grounds of the eastern South Pacific humpback whale population include the South Orkney Islands

• Published in: Polar Research
• Main Authors: Dalla Rosa, Luciano, Félix, Fernando, Stevick, Peter T., Secchi, Eduardo R., Allen, Judith M., Chater, Kim, Martin, Anthony R., Basso, Manuela
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Norwegian Polar Institute 2012
• Subjects: Humpback whale; photo-identification; breeding stocks; migration; South Orkney Islands; Southern Ocean; Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Bransfield Strait; Pacific; Weddell; Antarc*; Humpback Whale; Megaptera novaeangliae; Polar Research
• Online Access: https://polarresearch.net/index.php/polar/article/view/2607; https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v31i0.17324

This paper reports on two photo-identified humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) that were sighted in different years in the proximity of the South Orkney Islands, at the boundary between the Scotia and Weddell seas (60o54.5’S – 46o40.4’W and 60o42.6’S – 45o33’W). One of the whales had been previously sighted off Ecuador, a breeding ground for the eastern South Pacific population. The other whale was subsequently resighted in Bransfield Strait, off the western Antarctic Peninsula, a well-documented feeding ground for the same population. These matches give support to a hypothesis that the area south of the South Orkney Islands is occupied by whales from the eastern South Pacific breeding stock. Consequently, we propose 40oW as a new longitudinal boundary between the feeding grounds associated with the eastern South Pacific and western South Atlantic breeding stocks.Keywords: Humpback whale; photo-identification; breeding stocks; migration; South Orkney Islands; Southern Ocean(Published: 20 March 2012)Citation: Polar Research 2012, 31, 17324, DOI:10.3402/polar.v31i0.17324