Seasonal and diel patterns in singing activity of humpback whales migrating through Bermuda

• Published in: Frontiers in Marine Science
• Main Authors: Narganes Homfeldt, Tamara, Risch, Denise, Stevenson, Andrew, Henry, Lea-anne
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: North Atlantic humpback whale; Bermuda; song; seasonality; diel pattern; passive acoustic monitoring; management; Humpback Whale; Megaptera novaeangliae; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/publications/6c64568e-6a48-4382-a505-72217e3c1697; https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.941793; https://pureadmin.uhi.ac.uk/ws/files/27517326/fmars_09_941793.pdf; https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.941793/full

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) produce song and non-song vocalisations, which allows their presence to be detected through passive acoustic monitoring. To determine the seasonal and diel acoustic presence and acoustic behaviour of humpback whales at the migratory stopover site off Bermuda, three hydrophones were deployed between March 2018 and April 2019 on Challenger Bank and the Bermuda platform. Song was the predominant vocalisation type encountered, with 65% of song recordings containing whale chorus and a clear seasonal trend of humpback whale occurrence in the spring and winter months from late December to mid-May. A strong diel pattern in singing activity was detected. Singing activity significantly increased at night relative to the daytime (p