The enigmatic whale: the North Atlantic humpback
We know more about the North Atlantic humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) than we do for virtually any other cetacean, yet attempts to use this information to describe the status of the populations in this ocean basin have not proven satisfactory. The North Atlantic humpback has been the subject...
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2009
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Online Access: | https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/NAMMCOSP/article/view/2712 https://doi.org/10.7557/3.2712 |
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ftunitroemsoe:oai:ojs.henry.ub.uit.no:article/2712 2023-05-15T16:35:55+02:00 The enigmatic whale: the North Atlantic humpback Smith, Tim D Pike, Daniel G 2009-09-01 application/pdf https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/NAMMCOSP/article/view/2712 https://doi.org/10.7557/3.2712 eng eng Septentrio Academic Publishing https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/NAMMCOSP/article/view/2712/2562 https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/NAMMCOSP/article/view/2712 doi:10.7557/3.2712 Copyright (c) 2009 Tim D Smith, Daniel G Pike http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ CC-BY NAMMCO Scientific Publications; Vol 7: North Atlantic Sightings Surveys: Counting whales in the North Atlantic, 1987-2001; 161-178 2309-2491 1560-2206 10.7557/3.7 North Atlantic humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2009 ftunitroemsoe https://doi.org/10.7557/3.2712 https://doi.org/10.7557/3.7 2021-08-16T16:39:00Z We know more about the North Atlantic humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) than we do for virtually any other cetacean, yet attempts to use this information to describe the status of the populations in this ocean basin have not proven satisfactory. The North Atlantic humpback has been the subject of extensive research over the past few decades, resulting in a substantial amount of knowledge about what has proven to be a species with a very complex life history and population structure. While several population models have been developed to integrate the available information, the data overall are not well described by any of the models. This has left considerable uncertainty about population status, and has raised questions about the interpretation of some of the data. We describe 7 specific areas where puzzling or ambiguous observations have been made; these require closer attention if population status is to be determined. These areas raise several fundamental questions, including: How many breeding populations are there? How much do the populations mix on the feeding grounds? How has the distribution of animals on both feeding and breeding grounds changed? We identify additional research needed to address the 7 areas and these questions in particular, so that population status might be determined. Article in Journal/Newspaper Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae North Atlantic University of Tromsø: Septentrio Academic Publishing NAMMCO Scientific Publications 7 161 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Tromsø: Septentrio Academic Publishing |
op_collection_id |
ftunitroemsoe |
language |
English |
topic |
North Atlantic humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae |
spellingShingle |
North Atlantic humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae Smith, Tim D Pike, Daniel G The enigmatic whale: the North Atlantic humpback |
topic_facet |
North Atlantic humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae |
description |
We know more about the North Atlantic humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) than we do for virtually any other cetacean, yet attempts to use this information to describe the status of the populations in this ocean basin have not proven satisfactory. The North Atlantic humpback has been the subject of extensive research over the past few decades, resulting in a substantial amount of knowledge about what has proven to be a species with a very complex life history and population structure. While several population models have been developed to integrate the available information, the data overall are not well described by any of the models. This has left considerable uncertainty about population status, and has raised questions about the interpretation of some of the data. We describe 7 specific areas where puzzling or ambiguous observations have been made; these require closer attention if population status is to be determined. These areas raise several fundamental questions, including: How many breeding populations are there? How much do the populations mix on the feeding grounds? How has the distribution of animals on both feeding and breeding grounds changed? We identify additional research needed to address the 7 areas and these questions in particular, so that population status might be determined. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Smith, Tim D Pike, Daniel G |
author_facet |
Smith, Tim D Pike, Daniel G |
author_sort |
Smith, Tim D |
title |
The enigmatic whale: the North Atlantic humpback |
title_short |
The enigmatic whale: the North Atlantic humpback |
title_full |
The enigmatic whale: the North Atlantic humpback |
title_fullStr |
The enigmatic whale: the North Atlantic humpback |
title_full_unstemmed |
The enigmatic whale: the North Atlantic humpback |
title_sort |
enigmatic whale: the north atlantic humpback |
publisher |
Septentrio Academic Publishing |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/NAMMCOSP/article/view/2712 https://doi.org/10.7557/3.2712 |
genre |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae North Atlantic |
op_source |
NAMMCO Scientific Publications; Vol 7: North Atlantic Sightings Surveys: Counting whales in the North Atlantic, 1987-2001; 161-178 2309-2491 1560-2206 10.7557/3.7 |
op_relation |
https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/NAMMCOSP/article/view/2712/2562 https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/NAMMCOSP/article/view/2712 doi:10.7557/3.2712 |
op_rights |
Copyright (c) 2009 Tim D Smith, Daniel G Pike http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7557/3.2712 https://doi.org/10.7557/3.7 |
container_title |
NAMMCO Scientific Publications |
container_volume |
7 |
container_start_page |
161 |
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1766026229887008768 |