Skip to main content
Journal cover image

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

Publication ,  Journal Article
Tyson, RB; Friedlaender, AS; Ware, C; Stimpert, AK; Nowacek, DP
Published in: Marine Ecology Progress Series
June 21, 2012

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. © Inter-Research 2012.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Marine Ecology Progress Series

DOI

ISSN

0171-8630

Publication Date

June 21, 2012

Volume

457

Start / End Page

209 / 220

Related Subject Headings

  • Marine Biology & Hydrobiology
  • 4102 Ecological applications
  • 3109 Zoology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0608 Zoology
  • 0602 Ecology
  • 0405 Oceanography
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Tyson, R. B., Friedlaender, A. S., Ware, C., Stimpert, A. K., & Nowacek, D. P. (2012). Synchronous mother and calf foraging behaviour in humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae: Insights from multi-sensor suction cup tags. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 457, 209–220. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09708
Tyson, R. B., A. S. Friedlaender, C. Ware, A. K. Stimpert, and D. P. Nowacek. “Synchronous mother and calf foraging behaviour in humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae: Insights from multi-sensor suction cup tags.” Marine Ecology Progress Series 457 (June 21, 2012): 209–20. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09708.
Tyson RB, Friedlaender AS, Ware C, Stimpert AK, Nowacek DP. Synchronous mother and calf foraging behaviour in humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae: Insights from multi-sensor suction cup tags. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 2012 Jun 21;457:209–20.
Tyson, R. B., et al. “Synchronous mother and calf foraging behaviour in humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae: Insights from multi-sensor suction cup tags.” Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 457, June 2012, pp. 209–20. Scopus, doi:10.3354/meps09708.
Tyson RB, Friedlaender AS, Ware C, Stimpert AK, Nowacek DP. Synchronous mother and calf foraging behaviour in humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae: Insights from multi-sensor suction cup tags. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 2012 Jun 21;457:209–220.
Journal cover image

Published In

Marine Ecology Progress Series

DOI

ISSN

0171-8630

Publication Date

June 21, 2012

Volume

457

Start / End Page

209 / 220

Related Subject Headings

  • Marine Biology & Hydrobiology
  • 4102 Ecological applications
  • 3109 Zoology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0608 Zoology
  • 0602 Ecology
  • 0405 Oceanography