Mother–offspring association in the humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae: following behaviour in an aquatic mammal

Szabo, Andy; Duffus, David A.

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.08.019

Cited by 47 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…independent foraging behaviour; Whiten & Ham 1992, Whiten 2001, Fellner et al 2006, Bender et al 2009, Sargeant & Mann 2009). Synchronised behaviours observed in mother−calf southern right whale Eubalaena australis and humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae pairs have provided evidence to suggest that mysticetes (baleen whales) and other cetaceans exhibit 'following' behaviour (Taber & Thomas 1982, Thomas & Taber 1984, Szabo & Duffus 2008: a strategy for offspring protection in which the offspring accompany their mother soon after parturition and are rarely more than several body lengths from her until they separate permanently (Lent 1974). 'Following' benefits the mother by not requiring her to return to her offspring, and benefits the offspring by gaining maternal vigilance and defence as a means of predator avoidance and protection (Espmark 1971, Lent 1974, Estes 1976, Fisher et al 2002.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synchronous mother and calf foraging behaviour in humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae: insights from multi-sensor suction cup tags

Tyson¹,

Friedlaender²,

Ware³

et al. 2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Previously, all inferences regarding fine-scale baleen whale mother−calf relationships have come from surface observations, aerial surveys, or underwater video recordings. On May 19, 2010, we attached high-resolution digital acoustic recording tags (Dtags) to an adult female humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae and her calf in Wilhelmina Bay (Western Antarctic Peninsula) to examine their concurrent diving and foraging behaviour. The Dtags logged ~20 h of concurrent recordings. We used cross-correlation analyses to quantify synchrony between the pair. Dive depth was positively correlated for the duration of the concurrent record and was highest when the calf's track lagged behind the mother's by 4.5 s, suggesting that the calf was 'following' its mother. Pitch and heading were positively correlated but to a lesser degree. Both animals executed feeding lunges; however, the mother foraged more intensively than the calf (792 and 118 lunges over 246 and 30 feeding dives, respectively). Also, the mother fed consistently once she initiated feeding at 16:22:00 h until the tag came off, whereas the calf executed 95.76% of its lunges between 17:00:08 and 19:28:21 h, local time. Correlation coefficients calculated per dive were highest when both animals were feeding and lowest when only the mother was feeding. In addition, 84.26 and 79.63% of the calf's lunges were performed within ± 20 s and ± 20 m of its mother's lunges, respectively. Our work describes the first record of a long-term continuous underwater relationship and foraging behaviour of a humpback mother−calf pair.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synchronous mother and calf foraging behaviour in humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae: insights from multi-sensor suction cup tags

Tyson¹,

Friedlaender²,

Ware³

et al. 2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…Studies of different species of cetaceans -e.g., E. glacialis (HAMILTON & COOPER 2010), T. aduncus (MANN & SMUTS 1999) and M. novaeangliae (SZABO & DUFFUS 2008) -have reported that behavior in which (the adults locate themselves ahead of the offspring is a common strategy, suggesting that the benefits received by the offspring are high enough to be maintained. However, the costs imposed on adults as a result of this position may directly affect the fitness of the adults.…”

Section: Offspring Carementioning

confidence: 99%

“…MANN & SMUTS (1999) reported that such differences in care were in accordance with maturational processes for T. aduncus in Shark Bay, Australia. SZABO & DUFFUS (2008), working with humpback whales in Alaska, reported that the time spent by adults with offspring during intervals of diving became less as the calves grew older. This paper is the first study to quantify and test hypotheses about parental care in S. guianensis.…”

Section: Parent-offspring Conflictmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this taxon, care is extended beyond gestation. As a result of postgestational parental care, females may lose weight (MILLAR 1978) and modify their behavior (SZABO & DUFFUS 2008). Parental care in mammals is better studied in terrestrial taxa, such as carnivores (e.g., CLUTTON-BROCK et al 2006), but it is poorly understood for marine mammals, especially for species that spend the majority of the time submerged, as is the case for cetaceans.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most of these studies concentrate on accessible species known through long-term research. These species include the North Atlantic right whale, Eubalaena glacialis (P.S.L Müller, 1776) (HAMILTON & COOPER 2010); the humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781) (SZABO & DUFFUS 2008); the IndoPacific bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops aduncus (Ehrenberg, 1833) (MANN & SMUTS 1999); and the killer whale, Orcinus orca (Linnaeus, 1758). Such studies have focused on infant carrying behavior and the associated infant echelon position (MANN & SMUTS 1999), which is reported to provide hydrodynamic (NOREN 2007) and offspring feeding benefits (MANN & SMUTS 1999).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Parental care behavior in the Guiana dolphin, Sotalia guianensis (Cetacea: Delphinidae), in Ilha Grande Bay, southeastern Brazil

Tardin¹,

Espécie²,

Lodi³

et al. 2013

Zoologia (Curitiba)

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ABSTRACT. Parental care is any form of parental behavior that increases offspring fitness. To the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to analyze the intensity of parental care in the Guiana dolphin, Sotalia guianensis (van Bénéden, 1864). The objectives of this study are as follows: 1) to quantify the degree of parental care in S. guianensis in Ilha Grande Bay, Rio de Janeiro; 2) to investigate the influence of behavioral state and group size on the degree of parental care; and 3) to evaluate the differences between the intensity of parental care provided to calves and juveniles. Our results indicate that the intensity of parental care is high in S. guianensis and that care is more intense in larger groups.It is possible that these differences serve to maximize hydrodynamic gains and to minimize risks. Our results suggest that parental care is more intense during travel. A possible reason for this greater intensity is that the feeding dynamics show a more random pattern than other behavioral states. Moreover, the results indicate that calves receive more intense care than juveniles. These results suggest that parent-offspring conflict is possible in the study population.KEY WORDS. Adult-offspring relationship; parent-offspring conflict.

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Potential ship strikes and density of humpback whales in the Abrolhos Bank breeding ground, Brazil

Bezamat

Wedekin

Simões‐Lopes

2014

Aquatic Conservation

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Ship strikes are one of the major threats to large whales worldwide. The potential impact from increasing vessel traffic therefore is a concern for the future of the Brazilian humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) population. In order to evaluate the risk of collision between large vessels and humpback whales along coastal shipping routes in the region of the Abrolhos Bank – the most important breeding ground for the species in the south‐western Atlantic Ocean – commercial vessels were used as platforms of opportunity to monitor the coastal shipping routes. Humpback whale density along coastal routes was estimated through multiple covariate line‐transect ‘distance sampling’. The number of potential collisions per year was estimated using a model based on vessel size and speed, track lengths, population density and the surfacing behaviour of whales. During the peak of the 2011 breeding season, whale density on the coastal route between Belmonte and Caravelas was estimated to be 0.085 whales km‐2 and between Caravelas and Barra do Riacho, 0.023 whales km‐2. The three commercial vessels operating in coastal waters between Belmonte and Barra do Riacho had the potential to collide with 25 humpback whales in total, and kill 17 of these, during the 2011 breeding season. As vessel traffic increases in the Abrolhos Bank region and humpback whale population grows, the likelihood of a vessel collision will increase. A simple and effective framework to study how changes in whale density will affect their vulnerability to ship strikes, and ensure the suitability of alternative shipping routes is presented, while evaluating whether additional mitigation measures are necessary, such as speed limits in areas or periods with higher densities of whales. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Mother–offspring association in the humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae: following behaviour in an aquatic mammal

Cited by 47 publications

References 52 publications

Synchronous mother and calf foraging behaviour in humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae: insights from multi-sensor suction cup tags

Synchronous mother and calf foraging behaviour in humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae: insights from multi-sensor suction cup tags

Parental care behavior in the Guiana dolphin, Sotalia guianensis (Cetacea: Delphinidae), in Ilha Grande Bay, southeastern Brazil

Potential ship strikes and density of humpback whales in the Abrolhos Bank breeding ground, Brazil

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