Fabietti Ylenia, Spadaro Chiara, Tigani Agnese, Giglio Gianni, Barbuto Gianpiero, Romano Viviana, Fedele Giorgio, Leonetti Francesco Luigi, Venanzi Emanuele, Barba Carlotta, Sperone Emilio
Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy.
Department of Earth and Marine Sciences (DiSTEM), University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 22, 90123 Palermo, Italy.
Biology (Basel). 2024 Nov 29;13(12):996. doi: 10.3390/biology13120996.
The surface behaviours of humpback whales were studied in the presence of a whale-watching vessel at Nosy Be (Madagascar) during whale-watching activities, in order to characterise the ethogram of these animals. Data were collected from July to October 2018. Of the 75 total trips, humpback whales were observed 68 times and different types of aggregations were observed: Groups (33.82%), Mother-calf pairs (30.88%), Singles (27.94%), and Mother-calf and Escorts (7.35%). Individuals exhibited the following behaviours: Spouting, Breaching, Head Slap, Tail Throw, Tail Slap, Peck Slap, Spy-hopping, and Logging. Sighting data were evaluated by comparing the observed aggregations with reported behaviours, and vice versa. Among the most commonly observed behaviours, Spouting and Peck Slap were exhibited more in Groups, while Breaching was exhibited by all of the associations, with the exception of Singles. In Groups of more than two individuals, little or no social nor aggressive behaviours were observed, probably due to a lack of needing to attract the attention of other individuals. This suggests that, during the breeding season, Nosy Be could represent a wintering and weaning ground for calves.
在马达加斯加的诺西贝岛观鲸活动期间，在一艘观鲸船附近对座头鲸的水面行为进行了研究，以便描绘这些动物的行为图谱。数据收集于2018年7月至10月。在总共75次出海行程中，有68次观察到了座头鲸，并观察到了不同类型的聚集情况：群体（33.82%）、母鲸-幼鲸对（30.88%）、单独个体（27.94%）以及母鲸-幼鲸和护卫鲸（7.35%）。个体表现出以下行为：喷水、跃出水面、拍击头部、甩尾、拍击尾部、啄击拍打、观察、以及静止不动。通过将观察到的聚集情况与报告的行为进行比较来评估目击数据，反之亦然。在最常观察到的行为中，喷水和啄击拍打在群体中表现得更多，而跃出水面在除单独个体外的所有组合中都有出现。在两个以上个体的群体中，几乎没有观察到社交或攻击行为，这可能是因为不需要吸引其他个体的注意。这表明，在繁殖季节，诺西贝岛可能是幼鲸的越冬和断奶地。
