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E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 1993. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Second edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. xviii + 1206 pp. Available online at: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/msw/.","conceptName":"<i>Megaptera novaeangliae</i>","taxonomicComments":"Analyses by McGowen et al. (2020) found that the genus <i>Balaenoptera </i>is polyphyletic with both <i>Eschrichtius </i>and <i>Megaptera</i> nested within the genus.<br/><br/>Clapham et al. (1993) reported that available evidence supports the hypothesis that the western North Atlantic population can be considered a single panmictic population; individuals from different high-latitude feeding areas intermix in the breeding range. However, Allen et al. 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All subpopulations (except the one in the Arabian Sea) migrate between mating and calving grounds in tropical/subtropical waters, usually near continental coastlines or island groups, and productive colder waters in temperate and high latitudes (Reilly et al. 2008).","areaOfOccupancy":null,"areaOfOccupancyComments":null,"numberEosComments":null,"popSizeComments":"Population size based on counts in breeding areas is greater than 66,600. North Pacific: ~18,300 (2004-2006; Calambokidis et al. 2008); North Atlantic: 10,290-13,990 (early 1990s; Stevick et al. 2003); Southern Hemisphere: at least 36,763 (Reilly et al. 2008).","viabilityComments":null,"threatImpactComments":"Historically, populations were greatly reduced by commercial whaling. Humpback whales have been protected from commercial whaling worldwide since 1966, and there have been few catches since 1968 (Reilly et al. 2008). The species remains vulnerable to marine pollution, disturbance by boat traffic, mortality from boat collisions, and entanglement in fishing gear (e.g., Volgenau et al. 1995 Todd et al. 1996, Mazzuca et al. 1998), but these factors currently are not significantly interfering with population recovery.","shortTermTrendComments":"Populations have increased in the North Pacific, North Atlantic, and Southern Hemisphere over the past several decades (Stevick et al. 2003, Calambokidis et al. 2008, Reilly et al. 2008).","longTermTrendComments":"Population size was reduced by a very large proportion (perhaps 90 percent) by commercial whaling but has increased substantially in recent decades; some regions may now have populations that are similar to pre-whaling levels.","inventoryNeeds":null,"numberProtEosComments":null,"protectionNeeds":"In waters off northeastern North America, more effective entanglement reporting and assisting systems are needed, and increased efforts are needed to decrease entanglements in fishing gear (Volgenau et al. 1995). Protection could be enhanced by establishement of additional marine sanctuaries in areas where the species congregates.","otherConsiderations":null,"intrinsicVulnerabilityComments":null,"enviromentalSpecificityComments":null},"animalCharacteristics":{"elementGlobalId":105599,"majorHabitat":{"id":1,"majorHabitatDescEn":"Marine","majorHabitatDescEs":"Marino","majorHabitatDescFr":"Marine"},"nonMigrant":false,"localMigrant":false,"longDistanceMigrant":true,"mobilityMigrationComments":"In the western North Atlantic, most humpbacks depart breeding areas in late winter-early spring. They arrive in northern feeding areas in 1-2 months; in the southern Gulf of Maine, they commonly return to the same area in successive years (Clapham et al., 1993, Can. J. Zool. 71:440-443). Southward migration occurs in fall; individuals arrive in breeding areas in 1-2 months. This species occurs off Hawaii mainly January-March. <br><br>Resightings of photoidentified individuals indicate that individuals may winter in widely separated areas in different years; at least some individuals may occupy widely separated areas in a single spring-summer season (e.g., Hawaii and Mexico, Hawaii and Japan, Japan and British Columbia) (see Darling and Mori 1993; Marine Mammal Sci. 12:281-287, [1996]; Salden et al. 1999). The fastest documented migration from southeastern Alaska to Hawaii took 39 days (Marine Mammal Sci. 12:457-464).","foodHabitsComments":"This species is primarily dependent upon schooling fishes and krill (essentially krill only in the Southern Hemisphere). Feeding occurs singly or in groups, at the surface or while submerged, mainly in high latitudes, though stranded individuals in Virginia and Georgia had eaten sciaenid fishes (Laerm et al. 19970. <br><br>Humpback whales employ a wide variety of foraging methods, including cooperative feeding on prey enclosed in \"nets\" of exhaled air bubbles.","animalPhenologyComments":"Active day/night.","colonialBreeder":false,"length":1300,"width":null,"weight":30000000,"animalPhenologies":[{"animalCagPhenologyId":100743,"animalPhenology":{"id":2,"animalPhenologyDescEn":"Circadian","animalPhenologyDescEs":"Circadiano","animalPhenologyDescFr":"Circadien","displayOrder":2},"adult":true,"immature":true}],"animalFoodHabits":[{"animalCagFoodHabitsId":101524,"foodHabits":{"id":2,"foodHabitsDescEn":"Piscivore","foodHabitsDescEs":"Piscivore","foodHabitsDescFr":"Piscivore","displayOrder":2},"adult":true,"immature":true},{"animalCagFoodHabitsId":101525,"foodHabits":{"id":3,"foodHabitsDescEn":"Invertivore","foodHabitsDescEs":"Invertívoro","foodHabitsDescFr":"Invertivore","displayOrder":3},"adult":true,"immature":true},{"animalCagFoodHabitsId":106443,"foodHabits":{"id":14,"foodHabitsDescEn":"Planktivore","foodHabitsDescEs":"Planctívoro","foodHabitsDescFr":"Planctonivore","displayOrder":13},"adult":true,"immature":true}]},"occurrenceDelineations":[{"eoSpecsDetailId":1535,"locationUseClass":{"id":2,"locationUseClassDescEn":"Breeding","locationUseClassDescEs":"En reproducción","locationUseClassDescFr":"Reproduction","displayOrder":2},"eoSpecGroupName":null,"subtypes":"Male singing area","inferredExtentDistance":null,"inferredExtentNotes":"Not applicable.","minimumEoCriteria":"An area that  is, or was, occupied by a recurring population for the purposes of courting and mating. Includes the lek-like areas occupied by singing males and by 'competitive groups' of females and attendant males. Minimally, at least two and preferably several years of observation should be used to reliably identify significant, persistent occurrences.","mappingGuidance":"All known sightings over a period of time in an area should be collectively mapped as a single polygon feature, or multiple polygons if there are individual areas separated by more than 5 km. Individual sightings could also be mapped as source feature points within this principal EO, although this may be impractical over time.  If useful, year-to-year variation in areas could be mapped as separate source feature polygons within a larger multi-year principal EO.","separationBarriers":"None.","separationDistanceUnsuitableHabitatat":50.0,"separationDistanceSuitableHabitatat":50.0,"altSeparationProcedure":null,"separationJustification":"Separation distance somewhat arbitrary; set at 50 kilometers to create occurrences that are manageable for conservation purposes.","versionDate":"2002-02-05","versionAuthor":"Cannings, S.","versionNotes":null,"lastModified":"2020-02-25T18:13:09.257877Z"},{"eoSpecsDetailId":1534,"locationUseClass":{"id":3,"locationUseClassDescEn":"Nonbreeding","locationUseClassDescEs":"No reproducción","locationUseClassDescFr":"Non-reproduction","displayOrder":3},"eoSpecGroupName":null,"subtypes":"Foraging concentration area","inferredExtentDistance":null,"inferredExtentNotes":null,"minimumEoCriteria":"An area that  is, or was, occupied by a recurring population during the nonbreeding season. Minimally, at least two and preferably several years of observation should be used to reliably identify significant, recurrent foraging concentrations, i. e. those occupied by feeding whales more than 10 days per year.  In most cases, occurrences should not be extensive areas, but rather portions of such areas that stand out as strongly meeting the occurrence criteria. Year-to-year changes in prey distribution (e.g. spawning areas of small marine fish) may mean that some key sites are not be occupied every year; however, occurrences should still be delineated where data indicates that the sites are important over the longer term.","mappingGuidance":"All known sightings over a period of time in an area should be collectively mapped as a single polygon feature, or multiple polygons if there are individual areas separated by more than 5 km. Individual sightings could also be mapped as source feature points within this principal EO, although this may be impractical over time.  If useful, year-to-year variation in areas could be mapped as separate source feature polygons within a larger multi-year principal EO.","separationBarriers":"None.","separationDistanceUnsuitableHabitatat":20.0,"separationDistanceSuitableHabitatat":20.0,"altSeparationProcedure":null,"separationJustification":"Humpback Whales can travel significant distances daily. However, occurrences are defined primarily on the basis of areas predictably supporting concentrations of prey (e.g. small fish) and feeding whales, rather than on the basis of distinct whale populations or specific feeding groups. Separation distance similarly refers to areas of concentrated foraging; arbitrarily set to 20 kilometers in order to delineate occurrences that are manageable for conservation of prey resource.","versionDate":"2002-04-05","versionAuthor":"Cannings, S.","versionNotes":null,"lastModified":"2020-02-25T18:13:09.257877Z"},{"eoSpecsDetailId":1536,"locationUseClass":{"id":18,"locationUseClassDescEn":"Calving area","locationUseClassDescEs":"Zona de parto","locationUseClassDescFr":"Aire de mise bas","displayOrder":18},"eoSpecGroupName":null,"subtypes":"Calving area","inferredExtentDistance":null,"inferredExtentNotes":null,"minimumEoCriteria":"An area that  is, or was, occupied by a recurring population for females for the purpose of calving, if this is different than the area used for courting and mating. Minimally, at least two and preferably several years of observation should be used to reliably identify significant, persistent occurrences.","mappingGuidance":"All known sightings over a period of time in an area should be collectively mapped as a single polygon feature, or multiple polygons if there are individual areas separated by more than 5 km. Individual sightings could also be mapped as source feature points within this principal EO, although this may be impractical over time.  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Gestation lasts 11-12 months. Most adult females bear a calf every 2-3 years (sometimes 1 or 4 years). Young are weaned in 5-12 months. Twelve females that were monitored since first being observed as calves produced their first calves at ages of 5-7 years (Can. J. Zool. 70:1470). In Alaska, the age of first calving is 8-16 years (average 11.8 years).","ecologyComments":"Humpback whales travel singly, in pairs or trios, or in groups of usually about 10-15. They may form stable feeding groups that stay together throughout the summer and that reform in subsequent summers. <br><br>This species sometimes has succumbed to local die-offs off the northeastern United States, due apparently to ingestion of prey containing red tide toxins (IUCN 1991).","habitatComments":"Habitat includes the open ocean and coastal waters, sometimes including inshore areas such as bays. Summer distribution is in temperate and subpolar waters. In winter, most humpbacks are in tropical/subtropical waters near islands or coasts.<br><br>In the western North Atlantic, humpbacks give birth mainly over shallow wide banks near islands. In Hawaii, they concentrate over shallower waters near islands (Tomich 1986); groups including a calf tend to occur in shallower waters than do groups lacking a calf (Smultea 1994).","generalDescription":"This is a mostly black or gray baleen whale with very long (up to one-third of body length) flippers that often are white or partly white. In front of the paired nostrils the head is flat and covered with knobs. The rear edge of the flippers and fluke is scalloped. The dorsal fin is variable but often has a hump or step along the front edge. The throat has about 14-35 longitudinal grooves. The baleen generally is all black, up to 70 cm long. Maximum length is around 52 feet (16 meters). The blow is bushy and V-shaped. Humpbacks often raise the tail above the water when starting a deep dive. Source: Leatherwood and Reeves (1983).","diagnosticCharacteristics":"Differs from all other large whales in the very large and often white or partially white flippers, the knobs on the head, and the irregular rather than smooth rear margin of the tail fluke (Leatherwood and Reeves 1983). 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Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10595931. Online. 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