No abstract

Samples of skin tissue were collected by biopsy darting from humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in six seasonal habitats representing three stocks and four regions: Groups IV (western Australia), V western component (eastern Australia), V eastern component (New Zealand and Tonga) and VI (the Antarctic Peninsula and Gorgona Island, Colombia, South America) of the Southern Hemisphere. A variable section of the mitochondrial DNA control region was amplified and sequenced from 84 of these individuals, distinguishing a total of 48 unique sequences (i. e., mtDNA nucleotypes). Phylogenetic reconstructions suggested that these nucleotypes form three clades, corresponding to those previously described in a world‐wide survey of humpback whale mtDNA variation, although bootstrap support for two of the clades was relatively low (<50%). An analysis of variance adapted for molecular information showed significant differentiation of nucleotypes among the three Groups (Stocks) and heterogeneity of haplotype diversity among the four regions. A pattern of interchange within and between oceanic basins was demonstrated by the presence of shared identical nucleotypes among humpback whales in regions of the Southern and Northern Hemispheres.

No abstract

No abstract

Latitudinal preferences within the breeding range have been suggested for Breeding Stock G humpback whales that summer in different feeding areas of the eastern South Pacific. To address this hypothesis, humpback whales photo‐identified from the Antarctic Peninsula and the Fueguian Archipelago (southern Chile) were compared with whales photo‐identified from lower latitudes extending from northern Peru to Costa Rica. This comparison was performed over a time span that includes 18 austral seasons. A total of 238 whales identified from the Antarctic Peninsula and 25 whales from the Fueguian Archipelago were among those photo‐identified at the breeding grounds. Our findings showed that humpback whales from each feeding area were resighted unevenly across the breeding grounds, which suggests a degree of spatial structuring in the migratory pathway. Humpback whales that feed at the Antarctic Peninsula were more likely to migrate to the southern breeding range between northern Peru and Colombia, whereas whales that feed at the Fueguian Archipelago were more likely to be found in the northern range of the breeding ground off Panama. Further photo‐identification efforts and genetic sampling from poorly sampled or unsampled areas are recommended to confirm these reported connectivity patterns.