Pectoral herding: an innovative tactic for humpback whale foraging

• Published in: Royal Society Open Science
• Main Authors: Kosma, Madison M., Werth, Alexander J., Szabo, Andrew R., Straley, Janice M.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: The Royal Society 2019
• Subjects: Biology (Whole Organism); Corral; Humpback Whale; Megaptera novaeangliae; Alaska
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6837203/; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31824717; https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.191104

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) have exceptionally long pectorals (i.e. flippers) that aid in shallow water navigation, rapid acceleration and increased manoeuvrability. The use of pectorals to herd or manipulate prey has been hypothesized since the 1930s. We combined new technology and a u...