Social Behaviour of Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Hervey Bay, Eastern Australia, a Preferential Female Stopover During the Southern Migration

Agonistic competitive social behaviour in humpback whales [Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781)] has been extensively studied and reported in previous research. However, non-agonistic social behaviour in humpback whale pods has not been systematically studied. We investigated the social behaviour...

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Autores principales:	Trish Franklin, Wally Franklin, Lyndon Brooks, Peter Harrison, Adam A. Pack, Phillip J. Clapham
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
Materias:	humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae Hervey Bay agonistic and non-agonistic social behaviour pod associations mate competition Science Q General. Including nature conservation, geographical distribution QH1-199.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/df03a9bea9974fcb885ecd2dabee355c
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:df03a9bea9974fcb885ecd2dabee355c2021-12-03T06:29:50ZSocial Behaviour of Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Hervey Bay, Eastern Australia, a Preferential Female Stopover During the Southern Migration2296-774510.3389/fmars.2021.652147https://doaj.org/article/df03a9bea9974fcb885ecd2dabee355c2021-12-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.652147/fullhttps://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745Agonistic competitive social behaviour in humpback whales [Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781)] has been extensively studied and reported in previous research. However, non-agonistic social behaviour in humpback whale pods has not been systematically studied. We investigated the social behaviour of 3,949 humpback whale pods over a period of 14 years during August, September, and October in Hervey Bay (Queensland, eastern Australia), a preferential female stopover early in the southern migration. Modelling and analyses of the data examined the factors influencing the occurrence and timing of non-agonistic social behaviour pods, agonistic competitive pods and newly associated pods. Non-agonistic social behaviour was observed more frequently during August when mature females, including early pregnant and resting females, co-occur and socially interact with immature males and females. Overall, relatively few mature males visit Hervey Bay. Agonistic competitive behaviour was observed with increasing frequency during September and October when mother-calf pods, with few escorts predominated. Mother-calf pods in Hervey Bay spent most of their time alone involved in maternal care. Agonistic competitive behaviour is related to the decreasing numbers of potentially oestrous females toward the end of the season. Non-agonistic social behaviour and agonistic competitive behaviour were more frequently observed in larger and newly associated pods. Overall, non-agonistic social behaviour pods were more prevalent than agonistic competitive social behaviour pods. The results of this study substantiate that non-agonistic social behaviour may be more prevalent than aggressive agonistic social behaviour in site-specific locations and habitats, depending upon the classes and timings of humpback whales using such habitats.Trish FranklinTrish FranklinWally FranklinWally FranklinLyndon BrooksLyndon BrooksPeter HarrisonAdam A. PackAdam A. PackPhillip J. ClaphamFrontiers Media S.A.articlehumpback whaleMegaptera novaeangliaeHervey Bayagonistic and non-agonistic social behaviourpod associationsmate competitionScienceQGeneral. Including nature conservation, geographical distributionQH1-199.5ENFrontiers in Marine Science, Vol 8 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae Hervey Bay agonistic and non-agonistic social behaviour pod associations mate competition Science Q General. Including nature conservation, geographical distribution QH1-199.5
spellingShingle	humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae Hervey Bay agonistic and non-agonistic social behaviour pod associations mate competition Science Q General. Including nature conservation, geographical distribution QH1-199.5 Trish Franklin Trish Franklin Wally Franklin Wally Franklin Lyndon Brooks Lyndon Brooks Peter Harrison Adam A. Pack Adam A. Pack Phillip J. Clapham Social Behaviour of Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Hervey Bay, Eastern Australia, a Preferential Female Stopover During the Southern Migration
description	Agonistic competitive social behaviour in humpback whales [Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781)] has been extensively studied and reported in previous research. However, non-agonistic social behaviour in humpback whale pods has not been systematically studied. We investigated the social behaviour of 3,949 humpback whale pods over a period of 14 years during August, September, and October in Hervey Bay (Queensland, eastern Australia), a preferential female stopover early in the southern migration. Modelling and analyses of the data examined the factors influencing the occurrence and timing of non-agonistic social behaviour pods, agonistic competitive pods and newly associated pods. Non-agonistic social behaviour was observed more frequently during August when mature females, including early pregnant and resting females, co-occur and socially interact with immature males and females. Overall, relatively few mature males visit Hervey Bay. Agonistic competitive behaviour was observed with increasing frequency during September and October when mother-calf pods, with few escorts predominated. Mother-calf pods in Hervey Bay spent most of their time alone involved in maternal care. Agonistic competitive behaviour is related to the decreasing numbers of potentially oestrous females toward the end of the season. Non-agonistic social behaviour and agonistic competitive behaviour were more frequently observed in larger and newly associated pods. Overall, non-agonistic social behaviour pods were more prevalent than agonistic competitive social behaviour pods. The results of this study substantiate that non-agonistic social behaviour may be more prevalent than aggressive agonistic social behaviour in site-specific locations and habitats, depending upon the classes and timings of humpback whales using such habitats.
format	article
author	Trish Franklin Trish Franklin Wally Franklin Wally Franklin Lyndon Brooks Lyndon Brooks Peter Harrison Adam A. Pack Adam A. Pack Phillip J. Clapham
author_facet	Trish Franklin Trish Franklin Wally Franklin Wally Franklin Lyndon Brooks Lyndon Brooks Peter Harrison Adam A. Pack Adam A. Pack Phillip J. Clapham
author_sort	Trish Franklin
title	Social Behaviour of Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Hervey Bay, Eastern Australia, a Preferential Female Stopover During the Southern Migration
title_short	Social Behaviour of Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Hervey Bay, Eastern Australia, a Preferential Female Stopover During the Southern Migration
title_full	Social Behaviour of Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Hervey Bay, Eastern Australia, a Preferential Female Stopover During the Southern Migration
title_fullStr	Social Behaviour of Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Hervey Bay, Eastern Australia, a Preferential Female Stopover During the Southern Migration
title_full_unstemmed	Social Behaviour of Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Hervey Bay, Eastern Australia, a Preferential Female Stopover During the Southern Migration
title_sort	social behaviour of humpback whales (megaptera novaeangliae) in hervey bay, eastern australia, a preferential female stopover during the southern migration
publisher	Frontiers Media S.A.
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/df03a9bea9974fcb885ecd2dabee355c
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Social Behaviour of Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Hervey Bay, Eastern Australia, a Preferential Female Stopover During the Southern Migration

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