Publicación del proyecto de Cetácea con la colaboración de expertos de Chile, México, Colombia, Perú, Panamá, Costa Rica y Ecuador, representado por Judith Denkinger.
Abstract
Latitudinal preferences within the breeding range have been suggested for Breeding
Stock G humpback whales that summer in different feeding areas of the eastern
South Pacific. To address this hypothesis, humpback whales photo-identified from
the Antarctic Peninsula and the Fueguian Archipelago (southern Chile) were compared
with whales photo-identified from lower latitudes extending from northern
Peru to Costa Rica. This comparison was performed over a time span that includes
18 austral seasons. A total of 238 whales identified from the Antarctic Peninsula and
25 whales from the Fueguian Archipelago were among those photo-identified at the
breeding grounds. Our findings showed that humpback whales from each feeding
area were resighted unevenly across the breeding grounds, which suggests a degree
of spatial
structuring in the migratory pathway. Humpback whales that feed at the
Antarctic Peninsula were more likely to migrate to the southern breeding range
between northern Peru and Colombia, whereas whales that feed at the Fueguian
Archipelago were more likely to be found in the northern range of the breeding
ground off Panama. Further photo-identification efforts and genetic sampling from
poorly sampled or unsampled areas are recommended to confirm these reported connectivity
patterns.
