Straight as an Arrow: Humpback Whales Swim Constant Course Tracks during Long-distance Migration
Biology Letters, March 28, 2011
Travis W. Horton, Richard N. Holdaway, Alexandre N. Zerbini4, Nan Hauser, Claire Garrigue, Artur Andriolo, and Phillip J. Clapham
“Humpback whale seasonal migrations, spanning greater than 6500 km of open ocean, demonstrate remarkable navigational precision despite following spatially and temporally distinct migration routes. Satellite-monitored radio tag-derived humpback whale migration tracks in both the South Atlantic and South Pacific include constant course segments of greater than 200 km, each spanning several days of continuous movement.
Satellite tag-derived southward migration track maps for seven South Atlantic humpback whales tagged off the coasts of Rarotonga, Cook Islands and New Caledonia in 2007 (circles). Constant course track segments are indicated by the larger symbols.
“The whales studied here maintain these directed movements, often with better than 1° precision, despite the effects of variable sea-surface currents. Such remarkable directional precision is difficult to explain by established models of directional orientation, suggesting that alternative compass mechanisms should be explored.”
