Social structure in migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae)
Although largely solitary, humpback whales exhibit a number of behaviours where individuals co-operate with one another, for example during bubble net feeding. Such cases could be due to reciprocal altruism brought on by exceptional circumstances, for example the presence of abundant shoaling fish....
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2002
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ftunivqespace:oai:espace.library.uq.edu.au:UQ:62820 2023-05-15T16:36:10+02:00 Social structure in migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) Valsecchi, E. Hale, P. T. Corkeron, P. Amos, W. 2002-03-01 https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:62820 eng eng Blackwell Scientific doi:10.1046/j.0962-1083.2001.01459.x issn:0962-1083 Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Ecology Evolutionary Biology Cetaceans Kinship Microsatellites Migration Relatedness Social Behaviour Population-structure Halichoerus-grypus Genetic Diversity Dna Variation Bay Association Movements Evolution Patterns 270203 Population and Ecological Genetics C1 770302 Living resources (incl. impacts of fishing on non-target species) Journal Article 2002 ftunivqespace https://doi.org/10.1046/j.0962-1083.2001.01459.x 2020-08-04T01:30:58Z Although largely solitary, humpback whales exhibit a number of behaviours where individuals co-operate with one another, for example during bubble net feeding. Such cases could be due to reciprocal altruism brought on by exceptional circumstances, for example the presence of abundant shoaling fish. An alternative explanation is that these behaviours have evolved through kin selection. With little restriction to either communication or movement, diffuse groups of relatives could maintain some form of social organization without the need to travel in tight-nit units. To try to distinguish between these hypotheses, we took advantage of the fact that migrating humpback whales often swim together in small groups. If kin selection is important in humpback whale biology, these groups should be enriched for relatives. Consequently, we analysed biopsy samples from 57 groups of humpback whales migrating off Eastern Australia in 1992. A total of 142 whales were screened for eight microsatellite markers. Mitochondrial DNA sequences (371 bp) were also used to verify and assist kinship identification. Our data add support to the notion that mothers travel with their offspring for the first year of the calf's life. However, beyond the presence of mother-calf/yearling pairs, no obvious relatedness pattern was found among whales sampled either in the same pod or on the same day. Levels of relatedness did not vary between migratory phases (towards or away from the breeding ground), nor between the two sexes considered either overall or in the north or south migrations separately. These findings suggest that, if any social organization does exist, it is formed transiently when needed rather than being a constant feature of the population, and hence is more likely based on reciprocal altruism than kin selection. Article in Journal/Newspaper Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae The University of Queensland: UQ eSpace Molecular Ecology 11 3 507 518 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The University of Queensland: UQ eSpace |
op_collection_id |
ftunivqespace |
language |
English |
topic |
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Ecology Evolutionary Biology Cetaceans Kinship Microsatellites Migration Relatedness Social Behaviour Population-structure Halichoerus-grypus Genetic Diversity Dna Variation Bay Association Movements Evolution Patterns 270203 Population and Ecological Genetics C1 770302 Living resources (incl. impacts of fishing on non-target species) |
spellingShingle |
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Ecology Evolutionary Biology Cetaceans Kinship Microsatellites Migration Relatedness Social Behaviour Population-structure Halichoerus-grypus Genetic Diversity Dna Variation Bay Association Movements Evolution Patterns 270203 Population and Ecological Genetics C1 770302 Living resources (incl. impacts of fishing on non-target species) Valsecchi, E. Hale, P. T. Corkeron, P. Amos, W. Social structure in migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) |
topic_facet |
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Ecology Evolutionary Biology Cetaceans Kinship Microsatellites Migration Relatedness Social Behaviour Population-structure Halichoerus-grypus Genetic Diversity Dna Variation Bay Association Movements Evolution Patterns 270203 Population and Ecological Genetics C1 770302 Living resources (incl. impacts of fishing on non-target species) |
description |
Although largely solitary, humpback whales exhibit a number of behaviours where individuals co-operate with one another, for example during bubble net feeding. Such cases could be due to reciprocal altruism brought on by exceptional circumstances, for example the presence of abundant shoaling fish. An alternative explanation is that these behaviours have evolved through kin selection. With little restriction to either communication or movement, diffuse groups of relatives could maintain some form of social organization without the need to travel in tight-nit units. To try to distinguish between these hypotheses, we took advantage of the fact that migrating humpback whales often swim together in small groups. If kin selection is important in humpback whale biology, these groups should be enriched for relatives. Consequently, we analysed biopsy samples from 57 groups of humpback whales migrating off Eastern Australia in 1992. A total of 142 whales were screened for eight microsatellite markers. Mitochondrial DNA sequences (371 bp) were also used to verify and assist kinship identification. Our data add support to the notion that mothers travel with their offspring for the first year of the calf's life. However, beyond the presence of mother-calf/yearling pairs, no obvious relatedness pattern was found among whales sampled either in the same pod or on the same day. Levels of relatedness did not vary between migratory phases (towards or away from the breeding ground), nor between the two sexes considered either overall or in the north or south migrations separately. These findings suggest that, if any social organization does exist, it is formed transiently when needed rather than being a constant feature of the population, and hence is more likely based on reciprocal altruism than kin selection. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Valsecchi, E. Hale, P. T. Corkeron, P. Amos, W. |
author_facet |
Valsecchi, E. Hale, P. T. Corkeron, P. Amos, W. |
author_sort |
Valsecchi, E. |
title |
Social structure in migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) |
title_short |
Social structure in migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) |
title_full |
Social structure in migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) |
title_fullStr |
Social structure in migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Social structure in migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) |
title_sort |
social structure in migrating humpback whales (megaptera novaeangliae) |
publisher |
Blackwell Scientific |
publishDate |
2002 |
url |
https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:62820 |
genre |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae |
genre_facet |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae |
op_relation |
doi:10.1046/j.0962-1083.2001.01459.x issn:0962-1083 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1046/j.0962-1083.2001.01459.x |
container_title |
Molecular Ecology |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
507 |
op_container_end_page |
518 |
_version_ |
1766026467977723904 |