Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) behaviour determines habitat use in two Australian bays
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Author(s)
McCulloch, S
Meynecke, JO
Franklin, T
Franklin, W
Chauvenet, ALM
Year published
2021
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Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) require a suite of essential habitats during their long migration. Therefore, the identification of critical habitats is important for continuation of their successful recovery. In this study we investigated the behaviours and habitat usage exhibited by humpback whales in two known aggregation sites on the east coast of Australia. Using a combined 5400 humpback whale records collected from Hervey Bay between 1999 and 2009 and from the Gold Coast Bay between 2011 and 2018, we analysed different types of behavioural categories. We found that humpback whales in Hervey Bay primarily ...
View more >Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) require a suite of essential habitats during their long migration. Therefore, the identification of critical habitats is important for continuation of their successful recovery. In this study we investigated the behaviours and habitat usage exhibited by humpback whales in two known aggregation sites on the east coast of Australia. Using a combined 5400 humpback whale records collected from Hervey Bay between 1999 and 2009 and from the Gold Coast Bay between 2011 and 2018, we analysed different types of behavioural categories. We found that humpback whales in Hervey Bay primarily exhibited surface travel and non-aggressive social behaviour, whereas both sites appeared to be similarly important for resting. Our results suggest that the Gold Coast Bay provides habitat for a wide range of critical humpback whale activities, in particular for resting mother-calf pairs, mature males seeking copulation and socialising immature whales. Hervey Bay had a higher number of mother-calf pair sightings, confirming the area as an important resting site. This study demonstrates that the two regions are critical habitats for humpback whales during their annual migration, but for different essential activities, and should be considered as a whale protection area.
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View more >Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) require a suite of essential habitats during their long migration. Therefore, the identification of critical habitats is important for continuation of their successful recovery. In this study we investigated the behaviours and habitat usage exhibited by humpback whales in two known aggregation sites on the east coast of Australia. Using a combined 5400 humpback whale records collected from Hervey Bay between 1999 and 2009 and from the Gold Coast Bay between 2011 and 2018, we analysed different types of behavioural categories. We found that humpback whales in Hervey Bay primarily exhibited surface travel and non-aggressive social behaviour, whereas both sites appeared to be similarly important for resting. Our results suggest that the Gold Coast Bay provides habitat for a wide range of critical humpback whale activities, in particular for resting mother-calf pairs, mature males seeking copulation and socialising immature whales. Hervey Bay had a higher number of mother-calf pair sightings, confirming the area as an important resting site. This study demonstrates that the two regions are critical habitats for humpback whales during their annual migration, but for different essential activities, and should be considered as a whale protection area.
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Journal Title
Marine and Freshwater Research
Volume
72
Issue
9
Copyright Statement
© CSIRO 2021. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Subject
Biological oceanography
Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology)