Silver gull harassment of humpback whales in Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia
We share observations of silver gulls (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) harassing humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia, between August and October in 2018 and 2019. Sixteen events were recorded of gulls pecking at the skin of 16 mothers and 2 calves resting on...
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2020
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ftmurdochuniv:oai:researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au:58209 2023-05-15T17:10:50+02:00 Silver gull harassment of humpback whales in Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia Harkness, P. Sprogis, K.R. 2020 https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/58209/ eng eng Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization Publishing https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/58209/ full_text_status:none © 2020 CSIRO Harkness, P. and Sprogis, K.R. <https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/view/author/Sprogis, Kate.html> (2020) Silver gull harassment of humpback whales in Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research . Online Early. Journal Article 2020 ftmurdochuniv 2020-10-19T22:26:28Z We share observations of silver gulls (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) harassing humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia, between August and October in 2018 and 2019. Sixteen events were recorded of gulls pecking at the skin of 16 mothers and 2 calves resting on the surface. Data were collected opportunistically from a research vessel covering 5474.2 km (565 h). Events were documented through photographs and unmanned aerial vehicle video recordings and persisted for an average minimum time of 20.73 min (range 2.50–46.85 min). At least one event of a gull consistently gouging in a pre-existing lesion was recorded on a mother. Changes in behavioural activity from the whales, which varied from slipping under the surface to travelling and performing instantaneous behavioural events, were observed in 94% (15/16) of events. These are the first known records of birds attacking humpback whales. The results are comparable to early events of kelp gull (Larus dominicanus) harassment of southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) off Península Valdés, Argentina, where events have escalated over the past 50 years to consistent attacks on the whales’ skin and blubber. Future research is required to monitor the trajectory of these interactions to inform management. Article in Journal/Newspaper Megaptera novaeangliae Murdoch University: Murdoch Research Repository Argentina |
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Murdoch University: Murdoch Research Repository |
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ftmurdochuniv |
language |
English |
description |
We share observations of silver gulls (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) harassing humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia, between August and October in 2018 and 2019. Sixteen events were recorded of gulls pecking at the skin of 16 mothers and 2 calves resting on the surface. Data were collected opportunistically from a research vessel covering 5474.2 km (565 h). Events were documented through photographs and unmanned aerial vehicle video recordings and persisted for an average minimum time of 20.73 min (range 2.50–46.85 min). At least one event of a gull consistently gouging in a pre-existing lesion was recorded on a mother. Changes in behavioural activity from the whales, which varied from slipping under the surface to travelling and performing instantaneous behavioural events, were observed in 94% (15/16) of events. These are the first known records of birds attacking humpback whales. The results are comparable to early events of kelp gull (Larus dominicanus) harassment of southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) off Península Valdés, Argentina, where events have escalated over the past 50 years to consistent attacks on the whales’ skin and blubber. Future research is required to monitor the trajectory of these interactions to inform management. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Harkness, P. Sprogis, K.R. |
spellingShingle |
Harkness, P. Sprogis, K.R. Silver gull harassment of humpback whales in Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia |
author_facet |
Harkness, P. Sprogis, K.R. |
author_sort |
Harkness, P. |
title |
Silver gull harassment of humpback whales in Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia |
title_short |
Silver gull harassment of humpback whales in Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia |
title_full |
Silver gull harassment of humpback whales in Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia |
title_fullStr |
Silver gull harassment of humpback whales in Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Silver gull harassment of humpback whales in Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia |
title_sort |
silver gull harassment of humpback whales in exmouth gulf, western australia |
publisher |
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization Publishing |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/58209/ |
geographic |
Argentina |
geographic_facet |
Argentina |
genre |
Megaptera novaeangliae |
genre_facet |
Megaptera novaeangliae |
op_source |
Harkness, P. and Sprogis, K.R. <https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/view/author/Sprogis, Kate.html> (2020) Silver gull harassment of humpback whales in Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research . Online Early. |
op_relation |
https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/58209/ full_text_status:none |
op_rights |
© 2020 CSIRO |
_version_ |
1766067495482949632 |