Mayaud Raphael, Smith Joshua N, Peel David, Wilson Craig, Franklin Wally, Stevens Tim, Bengtson Nash Susan
Griffith School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
PLoS One. 2025 May 14;20(5):e0321010. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0321010. eCollection 2025.
Humpback whale migration between tropical breeding grounds and polar feeding grounds is an energy-intensive activity undertaken on finite energy stores. The use of stopover sites to rest reduces energetic expenditure and provides enhanced opportunity for calves to nurse during migration. Moreton Bay is a newly identified migratory stopover for Australia's east coast humpback whale population. Understanding the functional roles of stopovers is essential for a holistic understanding of population dynamics and connectivity. Therefore, contextualising the significance of Moreton Bay relative to a well-established stopover like Hervey Bay, can provide valuable insights into their functional roles within the broader migratory network, helping to inform targeted conservation efforts. To investigate this, we conducted a total of 865km of systematic, boat-based line transects across the two distinct geographical regions during temporally staggered periods (August and September - October) of the 2021 humpback whale migration. We examined population structure, behaviour, and habitat segregation, and developed spatial density surface models to predict density distribution patterns at each respective site. Our results show that Hervey Bay supports a more heterogenous mix of demographic groups, while Moreton Bay had a significantly greater number of calf-groups (z = 4.53, p = 0.017). Both bays exhibited similar resting behaviours, but social interactions among juveniles were unique to Hervey Bay. These findings suggest Moreton Bay serves a more utilitarian role as a stopover, functioning primarily as a resting site for mother-calf pairs, rather than the multifaceted use described in Hervey Bay. As lactating females and their calves are particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic threats like vessel strike, it is imperative to understand how different habitats contribute to the success of migration and ensure adequate protection is maintained.
座头鲸在热带繁殖地和极地觅食地之间的迁徙是一项在有限能量储备下进行的能量密集型活动。利用中途停留地休息可减少能量消耗，并为幼鲸在迁徙过程中哺乳提供更多机会。莫顿湾是澳大利亚东海岸座头鲸种群新发现的迁徙中途停留地。了解中途停留地的功能作用对于全面理解种群动态和连通性至关重要。因此，将莫顿湾相对于像赫维湾这样成熟的中途停留地的重要性进行背景化，可以为它们在更广泛的迁徙网络中的功能作用提供有价值的见解，有助于为有针对性的保护工作提供信息。为了对此进行调查，我们在2021年座头鲸迁徙的不同时间段（8月和9月至10月），在这两个不同的地理区域进行了总共865公里的系统的、基于船只的航线断面调查。我们研究了种群结构、行为和栖息地隔离，并开发了空间密度表面模型来预测每个地点各自的密度分布模式。我们的结果表明，赫维湾支持更多样化的人口统计群体组合，而莫顿湾的幼鲸群体数量明显更多（z = 4.53，p = 0.017）。两个海湾都表现出相似的休息行为，但幼鲸之间的社交互动是赫维湾独有的。这些发现表明，莫顿湾作为中途停留地发挥着更具实用性的作用，主要作为母婴对的休息场所，而不是像赫维湾那样具有多方面的用途。由于哺乳期的雌性及其幼鲸特别容易受到船只撞击等人为威胁，因此必须了解不同栖息地如何促进迁徙成功，并确保维持足够的保护。
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