Fine-scale habitat use by humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Zavora Bay, Mozambique
Little is known about the humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) of the East-African Coast genetic sub-unit (C1). With an estimated population size of 7000 whales, they demonstrate the resilience of the species after commercial whaling caused population numbers to decline drastically. Zavora Bay,...
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ftunivgent:oai:archive.ugent.be:8759552 2024-02-11T10:04:37+01:00 Fine-scale habitat use by humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Zavora Bay, Mozambique Van Driessche, Charlotte Cullain, Nakia Tibiriçá, Yara O'Connor, Ian 2020 application/pdf https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8759552 http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8759552 https://doi.org/10.4314/wiojms.v19i2.10 https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8759552/file/8759555 eng eng https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8759552 http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8759552 http://doi.org/10.4314/wiojms.v19i2.10 https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8759552/file/8759555 No license (in copyright) info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE ISSN: 0856-860X Biology and Life Sciences occupancy breeding ground geospatial GIS modelling probabilities habitat use journalArticle info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2020 ftunivgent https://doi.org/10.4314/wiojms.v19i2.10 2024-01-24T23:08:52Z Little is known about the humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) of the East-African Coast genetic sub-unit (C1). With an estimated population size of 7000 whales, they demonstrate the resilience of the species after commercial whaling caused population numbers to decline drastically. Zavora Bay, Mozambique offers an ideal observation point of the passage of the whales during their annual migration towards the breeding ground of southern Africa and serves as an operating base to monitor this population. This study aimed at identifying the importance of Zavora Bay as part of this breeding ground and the core regions for humpback whale use within the study area. Results showed the waters off the coast of Zavora are actively used for breeding and do not merely serve as passage towards the wintering habitats. A mother-calf pair separation with a preference for shallower waters closer to shore was observed. Besides depth and distance to shore, slope also proved to have a significant influence on the distribution of adult humpback whales. Increased survey effort and more detailed investigation of the threats to humpback whales within the waters of Zavora are recommended. Article in Journal/Newspaper Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Ghent University Academic Bibliography Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science 19 2 131 147 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Ghent University Academic Bibliography |
op_collection_id |
ftunivgent |
language |
English |
topic |
Biology and Life Sciences occupancy breeding ground geospatial GIS modelling probabilities habitat use |
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Biology and Life Sciences occupancy breeding ground geospatial GIS modelling probabilities habitat use Van Driessche, Charlotte Cullain, Nakia Tibiriçá, Yara O'Connor, Ian Fine-scale habitat use by humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Zavora Bay, Mozambique |
topic_facet |
Biology and Life Sciences occupancy breeding ground geospatial GIS modelling probabilities habitat use |
description |
Little is known about the humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) of the East-African Coast genetic sub-unit (C1). With an estimated population size of 7000 whales, they demonstrate the resilience of the species after commercial whaling caused population numbers to decline drastically. Zavora Bay, Mozambique offers an ideal observation point of the passage of the whales during their annual migration towards the breeding ground of southern Africa and serves as an operating base to monitor this population. This study aimed at identifying the importance of Zavora Bay as part of this breeding ground and the core regions for humpback whale use within the study area. Results showed the waters off the coast of Zavora are actively used for breeding and do not merely serve as passage towards the wintering habitats. A mother-calf pair separation with a preference for shallower waters closer to shore was observed. Besides depth and distance to shore, slope also proved to have a significant influence on the distribution of adult humpback whales. Increased survey effort and more detailed investigation of the threats to humpback whales within the waters of Zavora are recommended. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Van Driessche, Charlotte Cullain, Nakia Tibiriçá, Yara O'Connor, Ian |
author_facet |
Van Driessche, Charlotte Cullain, Nakia Tibiriçá, Yara O'Connor, Ian |
author_sort |
Van Driessche, Charlotte |
title |
Fine-scale habitat use by humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Zavora Bay, Mozambique |
title_short |
Fine-scale habitat use by humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Zavora Bay, Mozambique |
title_full |
Fine-scale habitat use by humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Zavora Bay, Mozambique |
title_fullStr |
Fine-scale habitat use by humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Zavora Bay, Mozambique |
title_full_unstemmed |
Fine-scale habitat use by humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Zavora Bay, Mozambique |
title_sort |
fine-scale habitat use by humpback whales (megaptera novaeangliae) in zavora bay, mozambique |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8759552 http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8759552 https://doi.org/10.4314/wiojms.v19i2.10 https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8759552/file/8759555 |
genre |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae |
genre_facet |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae |
op_source |
WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE ISSN: 0856-860X |
op_relation |
https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8759552 http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8759552 http://doi.org/10.4314/wiojms.v19i2.10 https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8759552/file/8759555 |
op_rights |
No license (in copyright) info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.4314/wiojms.v19i2.10 |
container_title |
Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science |
container_volume |
19 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
131 |
op_container_end_page |
147 |
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1790601291996594176 |