Site Fidelity of southern right (Eubalaena australis) and humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Algoa Bay, South Africa

• Main Author: Drost, Eduard F
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University 2016
• Subjects: Marine mammals > South Africa > Algoa Bay Southern right whale > South Africa > Algoa Bay Humpback whale > South Africa > Algoa Bay; Carnaby; Nares; baleen whales; Humpback Whale; Megaptera novaeangliae; Southern Right Whale
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/21735; https://corycommons.ru.ac.za/vital/access/manager/Repository/vital:29742

Mysticetes, or baleen whales, make up one of two sub-orders of the Order Cetacea within the Class Mammalia (Drikamer et al, 2013). It contains three families, each characterized by baleen plates (Drikamer et al, 2013). These baleen plates consist of keratin that replaced the tooth structures for feeding in these mammals (Drikamer et al, 2013). Other biological characteristics of these animals include paired external nares (blowholes), a sternum consisting of a single bone, symmetrical skull and the most conspicuous of all, the body length of between ten to thirty metres (Drikamer et al, 2013). It is thought that the size characteristic was probably the main factor when categorising them as cetaceans, with the Latin word ‘Cetus’ referring to ‘sea monster’ (Carnaby, 2006). In this literature review, the focus will fall on two species of mysticetes from separate families, namely that of the southern right whale, Eubalaena australis of the Balaenidae family, and the humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae of the Balaenopteridae family. Emphasis in this review will fall on the aspect of site fidelity of the mother-calf pairs.