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Long‐term survival of humpback whales radio‐tagged in Alaska from 1976 through 1978 |
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| Authors: | Sally A. Mizroch Michael F. Tillman Susan Jurasz Janice M. Straley Olga Von Ziegesar Louis M. Herman Adam A. Pack Scott Baker Jim Darling Debbie Glockner‐Ferrari Mark Ferrari Dan R. Salden Phillip J. Clapham |
| Affiliation: | 1. National Marine Mammal Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, Washington 98115, U.S.A. E‐mail: sally.mizroch@noaa.gov;2. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 8750 Biological Grade, La Jolla, California 92037‐0202, U.S.A.;3. SeaSearch and Sea Reach Ltd., 146 NE Yamhill Street, Sheridan, Oregon 97378, U.S.A.;4. University of Alaska Southeast, 1332 Seward Avenue, Sitka, Alaska 99835, U.S.A.;5. North Gulf Oceanic Society/Eye of the Whale, P. O. Box 15191, Fritz Creek, Alaska 99603, U.S.A.;6. Kewalo Basin Marine Mammal Laboratory, The Dolphin Institute, 420 Ward Avenue, Suite 212, Honolulu, Hawaii 96814, U.S.A. and University of Hawai‘i at Hilo (AAP), 200 W. Kawili Street, Hilo, Hawaii 96720, U.S.A.;7. Oregon State University, Hatfield Marine Science Center, 2030 SE Marine Science Drive, Newport, Oregon 97365, U.S.A.;8. West Coast Whale Research Foundation, 2155 W. 13th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia V6K 2S2, Canada;9. Center for Whale Studies, P. O. Box 1539, Lahaina, Hawaii 96767, U.S.A.;10. Hawaii Whale Research Foundation, P. O. Box 1296, Lahaina, Hawaii 96767, U.S.A.;11. National Marine Mammal Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, Washington 98115, U.S.A. |
| Abstract: | Invasive tags designed to provide information on animal movements through radio or satellite monitoring have tremendous potential for the study of whales and other cetaceans. However, to date there have been no published studies on the survival of tagged animals over periods of years or decades. Researchers from the National Marine Mammal Laboratory and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution tracked five humpback whales with implanted radio tags in southeastern Alaska in August 1976 and July 1977, and tracked two humpback whales in Prince William Sound, Alaska, in June 1978. All seven of these individually identified humpback whales were resighted at least 20 yr after first being tagged, and five of the seven have been observed for more than 30 yr; some of them are among the most resighted humpback whales in the North Pacific. Photos of tagging sites taken during and subsequent to tagging operations show persistent but superficial scarring and no indication of infection. These pioneering field studies demonstrated both long‐term survival of the whales and the short‐term effects of deploying radio tags, which at the time were larger and more invasive than those typically used today. |
| Keywords: | humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae approach methodology habitat use longevity survival migratory destination photo‐identification wound healing |