Humpback whales wintering at Pitcairn Island, South Pacific
| Autor: | Catharine Horswill, Jennifer A. Jackson |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2012 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Ecology biology Range (biology) 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology Pitcairn Island Aquatic Science Oceanography biology.organism_classification 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Pacific ocean Humpback whale Fishery Geography 14. Life underwater Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics |
| Zdroj: | Marine Biodiversity Records. 5 |
| ISSN: | 1755-2672 |
| Popis: | Here we present the first documentation of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Pitcairn Island region. Land-based surveys were conducted from Pitcairn Island from June 2007 to August 2007 in order to monitor the presence of humpback whales in the surrounding near-shore waters. The highest sighting frequencies occurred in late August, with mother and calf pairs also becoming more prevalent during this period. Observation effort lasted 80.56 hours, totalling 35 sightings of 49 whales. There is no anecdotal history of humpback whales at Pitcairn Island previous to 1990 which may suggest a recent geographical shift in the easterly range of Oceania humpbacks. Our findings extend the known easterly range of humpbacks within Oceania (western South Pacific Ocean). |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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