Influence of environmental parameters on movements and habitat utilization of humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) in the Madagascar breeding ground

• Published in: Royal Society Open Science
• Main Authors: Trudelle, Laurène, Cerchio, Salvatore, Zerbini, Alexandre N., Geyer, Ygor, Mayer, François-Xavier, Jung, Jean-Luc, Hervé, Maxime R., Pous, Stéphane, Sallée, Jean-Baptiste, Rosenbaum, Howard C., Adam, Olivier, Charrassin, Jean-Benoit
• Other Authors: Biotope Mèze, Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay (NeuroPSI), Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), New England Aquarium, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Cascadia Research Collective, Instituto Aqualie, Cetamada Madagascar, Laboratoire de Biologie et génétique des mammifères marins dans leur environnement (BioGEMME), Université de Brest (UBO), Institute of Plant Sciences Berne, Universität Bern = University of Bern = Université de Berne (UNIBE), Institut de Génétique, Environnement et Protection des Plantes (IGEPP), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Rennes (UR)-AGROCAMPUS OUEST, Department of Oceanography Cape Town, University of Cape Town, Processus de couplage à Petite Echelle, Ecosystèmes et Prédateurs Supérieurs (PEPS), Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat : Expérimentations et Approches Numériques (LOCEAN), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)), École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-École polytechnique (X), Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris)-Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-École polytechnique (X), Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris)-Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut Pierre-Simon-Laplace (IPSL (FR_636)), Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris)-Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Institut Jean Le Rond d'Alembert (DALEMBERT), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Ocean Giants Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, Total Foundation to NeuroPSI
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2016
• Subjects: environmental parameters; habitat use; humpback whales; movement patterns; satellite telemetry; Madagascar; [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology; [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology; environment; Humpback Whale; Megaptera novaeangliae
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-01449123; https://hal.science/hal-01449123/document; https://hal.science/hal-01449123/file/160616.full.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.160616

International audience Assessing the movement patterns and key habitat features of breeding humpback whales is a prerequisite for the conservation management of this philopatric species. To investigate the interactions between humpback whale movements and environmental conditions off Madagascar, we deployed 25 satellite tags in the northeast and southwest coast of Madagascar. For each recorded position, we collated estimates of environmental variables and computed two behavioural metrics: behavioural state of ‘transiting’ (consistent/directional) versus ‘localized’ (variable/non-directional), and active swimming speed (i.e. speed relative to the current). On coastal habitats (i.e. bathymetry < 200 m and in adjacent areas), females showed localized behaviour in deep waters (191 ± 20 m) and at large distances (14 ± 0.6 km) from shore, suggesting that their breeding habitat extends beyond the shallowest waters available close to the coastline. Males' active swimming speed decreased in shallow waters, but environmental parameters did not influence their likelihood to exhibit localized movements, which was probably dominated by social factors instead. In oceanic habitats, both males and females showed localized behaviours in shallow waters and favoured high chlorophyll-a concentrations. Active swimming speed accounts for a large proportion of observed movement speed; however, breeding humpback whales probably exploit prevailing ocean currents to maximize displacement. This study provides evidence that coastal areas, generally subject to strong human pressure, remain the core habitat of humpback whales off Madagascar. Our results expand the knowledge of humpback whale habitat use in oceanic habitat and response to variability of environmental factors such as oceanic current and chlorophyll level.