Evidence for a Sex-Segregated Migration in the Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)

Existing population models for humpback whales assume that all individuals within a population undertake the annual migration from feeding areas in high latitudes to breeding areas in tropical waters. An excess of males was recorded in the commercial whaling catches near breeding areas in the southe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Biological sciences, 1995-02, Vol.259 (1355), p.229-234
Main Authors: Brown, Miranda R., Corkeron, Peter J., Hale, Peter T., Schultz, Kenneth W., Bryden, M. M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal fins
Animal migration behavior
Animals
Antarctic Regions
Australia
Base Sequence
Behavior, Animal
Biopsies
Breeding
Breeding sites
DNA Primers - genetics
Female
Male
Maternal Behavior
Molecular Sequence Data
Population Dynamics
Population migration
Pregnancy
Sex Characteristics
Sex Ratio
Southern hemisphere
Whales
Whales - genetics
Whales - physiology
Whales - psychology
Whaling
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Summary:Existing population models for humpback whales assume that all individuals within a population undertake the annual migration from feeding areas in high latitudes to breeding areas in tropical waters. An excess of males was recorded in the commercial whaling catches near breeding areas in the southern hemisphere, but no account of this was taken in developing population models, because it was believed that this bias was a result of whalers selecting against females with young calves. Here we demonstrate that the sex ratio of migrating humpback whales near a breeding area is highly skewed towards males. A biopsy study carried out in 1992 throughout the northward and southward migrations revealed a sex ratio of 2.4 males: 1 female in the population of humpback whales migrating along the east Australian coast (n = 180). A reanalysis of the catches made during commercial whaling in this and other areas of the southern hemisphere gave a sex ratio of the same order. The most plausible explanation, supported by some evidence, is that some females remain in the feeding areas throughout winter. The results reported here show that existing management models require major revision to take account of these findings.
ISSN:0962-8452
1471-2954
DOI:10.1098/rspb.1995.0034