Sighting records of “Migaloo” the white humpback whale provide evidence of Australian site fidelity and use of New Zealand waters as a migratory route
Observations of an all-white humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) along the Australian east coast were first made in 1991 off Byron Bay, Australia. Genetic analysis of tissue samples collected from this individual confirmed this whale to be male and lacking pigmentation as a result of albinism. W...
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ftmacquarieunicr:oai:https://researchers.mq.edu.au:publications/172b6218-7ff9-4f7c-8f64-e09e0063840d 2024-06-23T07:52:51+00:00 Sighting records of “Migaloo” the white humpback whale provide evidence of Australian site fidelity and use of New Zealand waters as a migratory route Pirotta, Vanessa Franklin, Wally Mansfield, Leigh Lowe, Jodie Peterson, Oskar 2023 https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/172b6218-7ff9-4f7c-8f64-e09e0063840d https://doi.org/10.7882/AZ.2022.043 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85173833142&partnerID=8YFLogxK eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess Pirotta , V , Franklin , W , Mansfield , L , Lowe , J & Peterson , O 2023 , ' Sighting records of “Migaloo” the white humpback whale provide evidence of Australian site fidelity and use of New Zealand waters as a migratory route ' , Australian Zoologist , vol. 42 , no. 4 , pp. 1014-1028 . https://doi.org/10.7882/AZ.2022.043 white whale albinism humpback whale Migaloo cetacean citizen science article 2023 ftmacquarieunicr https://doi.org/10.7882/AZ.2022.043 2024-06-05T23:47:53Z Observations of an all-white humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) along the Australian east coast were first made in 1991 off Byron Bay, Australia. Genetic analysis of tissue samples collected from this individual confirmed this whale to be male and lacking pigmentation as a result of albinism. While there are observations of other predominately white humpback whales, this individual is the only known true white (albino) humpback whale in the Australian east coast population. Due to his unique appearance, this individual has since become known as “Migaloo”, which is a First Nations meaning for “white fella”. In this short note we present the first extensive sighting history of Migaloo collected via scientific and citizen science efforts. This provides evidence of Migaloo’s presence in both Australian and New Zealand waters confirmed through photographic evidence and genetic testing. We also detail gaps in sighting history and highlight variability in the east Australian humpback whale population migration. The collective annual effort to document Migaloo’s presence along the Australian east coast is a unique opportunity to connect a wide community of scientists and non-scientists through whale research. It also highlights variability in whale movement geographically and the potential impact changing oceans might have on this in the future. Article in Journal/Newspaper First Nations Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae White whale Macquarie University Research Portal Byron Bay ENVELOPE(-108.475,-108.475,68.932,68.932) New Zealand Australian Zoologist 42 4 1014 1028 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Macquarie University Research Portal |
op_collection_id |
ftmacquarieunicr |
language |
English |
topic |
white whale albinism humpback whale Migaloo cetacean citizen science |
spellingShingle |
white whale albinism humpback whale Migaloo cetacean citizen science Pirotta, Vanessa Franklin, Wally Mansfield, Leigh Lowe, Jodie Peterson, Oskar Sighting records of “Migaloo” the white humpback whale provide evidence of Australian site fidelity and use of New Zealand waters as a migratory route |
topic_facet |
white whale albinism humpback whale Migaloo cetacean citizen science |
description |
Observations of an all-white humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) along the Australian east coast were first made in 1991 off Byron Bay, Australia. Genetic analysis of tissue samples collected from this individual confirmed this whale to be male and lacking pigmentation as a result of albinism. While there are observations of other predominately white humpback whales, this individual is the only known true white (albino) humpback whale in the Australian east coast population. Due to his unique appearance, this individual has since become known as “Migaloo”, which is a First Nations meaning for “white fella”. In this short note we present the first extensive sighting history of Migaloo collected via scientific and citizen science efforts. This provides evidence of Migaloo’s presence in both Australian and New Zealand waters confirmed through photographic evidence and genetic testing. We also detail gaps in sighting history and highlight variability in the east Australian humpback whale population migration. The collective annual effort to document Migaloo’s presence along the Australian east coast is a unique opportunity to connect a wide community of scientists and non-scientists through whale research. It also highlights variability in whale movement geographically and the potential impact changing oceans might have on this in the future. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Pirotta, Vanessa Franklin, Wally Mansfield, Leigh Lowe, Jodie Peterson, Oskar |
author_facet |
Pirotta, Vanessa Franklin, Wally Mansfield, Leigh Lowe, Jodie Peterson, Oskar |
author_sort |
Pirotta, Vanessa |
title |
Sighting records of “Migaloo” the white humpback whale provide evidence of Australian site fidelity and use of New Zealand waters as a migratory route |
title_short |
Sighting records of “Migaloo” the white humpback whale provide evidence of Australian site fidelity and use of New Zealand waters as a migratory route |
title_full |
Sighting records of “Migaloo” the white humpback whale provide evidence of Australian site fidelity and use of New Zealand waters as a migratory route |
title_fullStr |
Sighting records of “Migaloo” the white humpback whale provide evidence of Australian site fidelity and use of New Zealand waters as a migratory route |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sighting records of “Migaloo” the white humpback whale provide evidence of Australian site fidelity and use of New Zealand waters as a migratory route |
title_sort |
sighting records of “migaloo” the white humpback whale provide evidence of australian site fidelity and use of new zealand waters as a migratory route |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/172b6218-7ff9-4f7c-8f64-e09e0063840d https://doi.org/10.7882/AZ.2022.043 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85173833142&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-108.475,-108.475,68.932,68.932) |
geographic |
Byron Bay New Zealand |
geographic_facet |
Byron Bay New Zealand |
genre |
First Nations Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae White whale |
genre_facet |
First Nations Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae White whale |
op_source |
Pirotta , V , Franklin , W , Mansfield , L , Lowe , J & Peterson , O 2023 , ' Sighting records of “Migaloo” the white humpback whale provide evidence of Australian site fidelity and use of New Zealand waters as a migratory route ' , Australian Zoologist , vol. 42 , no. 4 , pp. 1014-1028 . https://doi.org/10.7882/AZ.2022.043 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7882/AZ.2022.043 |
container_title |
Australian Zoologist |
container_volume |
42 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
1014 |
op_container_end_page |
1028 |
_version_ |
1802644269739016192 |