Humpback whale song recordings suggest common feeding ground occupation by multiple populations
Abstract Humpback whale males are known to sing on their low-latitude breeding grounds, but it is well established that songs are also commonly produced ‘off-season’ on the feeding grounds or during migration. This opens exciting opportunities to investigate migratory aggregations, study humpback wh...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-98295-z |
| _version_ | 1818754336255115264 |
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| author | Elena Schall Karolin Thomisch Olaf Boebel Gabriele Gerlach Sari Mangia Woods Irene T. Roca Ilse Van Opzeeland |
| author_facet | Elena Schall Karolin Thomisch Olaf Boebel Gabriele Gerlach Sari Mangia Woods Irene T. Roca Ilse Van Opzeeland |
| author_sort | Elena Schall |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Humpback whale males are known to sing on their low-latitude breeding grounds, but it is well established that songs are also commonly produced ‘off-season’ on the feeding grounds or during migration. This opens exciting opportunities to investigate migratory aggregations, study humpback whale behavioral plasticity and potentially even assign individual singers to specific breeding grounds. In this study, we analyzed passive acoustic data from 13 recording positions and multiple years (2011–2018) within the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean (ASSO). Humpback whale song was detected at nine recording positions in five years. Most songs were recorded in May, austral fall, coinciding with the rapid increase in sea ice concentration at most recording positions. The spatio-temporal pattern in humpback whale singing activity on Southern Ocean feeding grounds is most likely shaped by local prey availability and humpback whale migratory strategies. Furthermore, the comparative analyses of song structures clearly show a differentiation of two song groups, of which one was solely recorded at the western edge of the ASSO and the other song group was recorded throughout the ASSO. This new finding suggests a common feeding ground occupation by multiple humpback whale populations in the ASSO, allowing for cultural and potentially even genetic exchange among populations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-18T05:21:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8cec17f4cb35408c96fc94f52bf8cced |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-18T05:21:38Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-8cec17f4cb35408c96fc94f52bf8cced2022-12-21T21:19:38ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222021-09-0111111310.1038/s41598-021-98295-zHumpback whale song recordings suggest common feeding ground occupation by multiple populationsElena Schall0Karolin Thomisch1Olaf Boebel2Gabriele Gerlach3Sari Mangia Woods4Irene T. Roca5Ilse Van Opzeeland6Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine ResearchAlfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine ResearchAlfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine ResearchHelmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity, Carl Von Ossietzky University OldenburgAlfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine ResearchAlfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine ResearchAlfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine ResearchAbstract Humpback whale males are known to sing on their low-latitude breeding grounds, but it is well established that songs are also commonly produced ‘off-season’ on the feeding grounds or during migration. This opens exciting opportunities to investigate migratory aggregations, study humpback whale behavioral plasticity and potentially even assign individual singers to specific breeding grounds. In this study, we analyzed passive acoustic data from 13 recording positions and multiple years (2011–2018) within the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean (ASSO). Humpback whale song was detected at nine recording positions in five years. Most songs were recorded in May, austral fall, coinciding with the rapid increase in sea ice concentration at most recording positions. The spatio-temporal pattern in humpback whale singing activity on Southern Ocean feeding grounds is most likely shaped by local prey availability and humpback whale migratory strategies. Furthermore, the comparative analyses of song structures clearly show a differentiation of two song groups, of which one was solely recorded at the western edge of the ASSO and the other song group was recorded throughout the ASSO. This new finding suggests a common feeding ground occupation by multiple humpback whale populations in the ASSO, allowing for cultural and potentially even genetic exchange among populations.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-98295-z |
| spellingShingle | Elena Schall Karolin Thomisch Olaf Boebel Gabriele Gerlach Sari Mangia Woods Irene T. Roca Ilse Van Opzeeland Humpback whale song recordings suggest common feeding ground occupation by multiple populations Scientific Reports |
| title | Humpback whale song recordings suggest common feeding ground occupation by multiple populations |
| title_full | Humpback whale song recordings suggest common feeding ground occupation by multiple populations |
| title_fullStr | Humpback whale song recordings suggest common feeding ground occupation by multiple populations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Humpback whale song recordings suggest common feeding ground occupation by multiple populations |
| title_short | Humpback whale song recordings suggest common feeding ground occupation by multiple populations |
| title_sort | humpback whale song recordings suggest common feeding ground occupation by multiple populations |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-98295-z |
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