Abstract
Eastern South Pacific humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) migrate to three distinct mid- to high-latitude feeding areas. While movements between local breeding sites have been reported, interchange among the feeding areas has not been documented and thus has assumed not to exist. Identifying photographs of 187 humpback whales in the Magellan Strait were compared with 2,553 whales from the Antarctic Peninsula feeding area, resulting in two matches. Additionally, 37 skin samples collected at the Magellan Strait were analyzed for carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes, resulting in evidence that two other individuals traveled to the Antarctic Peninsula. Our findings provide the first known evidence of interchange between two of these feeding areas in the eastern South Pacific. The data suggest a very limited interchange, but demonstrate that some whales may permanently leave the Magellan Strait, or perform short, round-trip movement between these areas. This previously undocumented interchanges do not necessarily change existing management recommendations that the Magellan Strait is a demographically independent feeding area, but does suggest that future abundance estimate models should assume low immigration rates. Further research to better understand the extent and frequency of interchange in the austral region of South America is needed, as this will further clarify the population structure of these whales leading to more accurate scientific knowledge supporting the conservation and management of the species.
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Acknowledgements
The data presented herein are the result of a collaborative effort. We thanks to the Happywhale team and contributors, especially Stephen Anstee and Vicki Beaver who provided the photographs of both whales in the Antarctic Peninsula. We also thank the Grupo de Oceanografia de Altas Latitudes–GOAL/High Latitudes Oceanography Group and the research group Ecologia e Conservação da Megafauna Marinha–EcoMega/CNPq, Brazil for sharing original stable isotope data for the Bransfield and Gerlache Straits. We thank all crew members from the M/V Tanu and M/N Forrest, field assistants and Carlos Valladares from Whalesound L.T.D. for logistical support at sea and at camping site in Carlos III Island along years, and Juan Jose Salas and Francisco Martínez from Fitz Roy Expeditions and our own institutions. We also thank Ana Cypriano and an anonymous reviewer for their constructive comments on a previous draft. The first author thanks to Conicyt Regional grant number R16A10002 for financial support in Chile; as well as to Conacyt (Mexico) for providing the PhD scholarship at the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur.
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TC and KS provided the photo-ID matches in Happywhale web-based platform. JA, AAL and TC conceived the short note. JA and JC provided the data of sightings for the Magellan Strait. JA and PA analyzed the data and created the figures. JA and CM wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.
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The whale studies at Magellan Strait were carried out under Ethical Standards and the Permission No 2757 and 2527 of the Secretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture of Chile.
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Acevedo, J., Capella, J., Cheeseman, T. et al. First evidence of interchange of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) between the Magellan Strait and Antarctic Peninsula feeding grounds. Polar Biol 44, 613–619 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02827-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02827-2