Humpback whales in the Panamanian Pacific
Researchers make use of photos, transmitters and biological samples to study the health of populations and whales.
TAMARA'S MORAL
tdelmoral@prensa.com
BEHAVIOR. Jumping, flapping songs are some habits that are not yet fully understood. EFE
13/07/2013 - Every year, hundreds of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) migrate from the northern and southern hemispheres to breed in the Pacific waters of Panama.
During the winter, humpbacks migrate north Pacific and warm shallow waters of tropical and subtropical areas to mate and give birth while in the southern hemisphere's summer and humpback populations are found in the Antarctic Peninsula they are feeding.
When the seasons change and summer comes to the northern hemisphere and winter in the south, the north Pacific humpback return to their feeding grounds in the waters of the United States and Canada and Antarctic populations migrate through the Pacific coast and arrive to Panama.
The archipelago of Las Perlas is an ideal site for the reproduction of this species. Annually arrive here between 100 and 300 humpback, also known as humpbacks. On average, the breeding season for the whales that come to Panama northern hemisphere is from December to March, and for those coming from the south, between June and December. The greater abundance of whales is between August and September.
The scientific Betzi Pérez-Ortega, the Smithsonian Institute of Tropical Research (Stri) explains that although it is difficult to distinguish the colors of the whales in the water, they do have a slight difference: the North Pacific are blacker and pectoral Also, those of the Antarctic are much whiter and North Atlantic have the black body, but their pectoral fins tend to be more white.
Humpbacks have two nostrils and protuberances with hair on his face, believed used to obtain information from their environment while swimming.
They also have ventral grooves that expand to get big gulps of water they filter their food using the language and their beards. Whales of the Atlantic and North Pacific feeding generally fish and the Antarctic krill over.
No one knows for sure why these marine mammals jump, but is believed to be a way to communicate or to remove ectoparasites. Some form a spiral alignment to corral the fish and ascending as they produce bubbles and sounds that stun the fish. Then fall into a sort of net around the school of fish, and all out almost in unison with their mouths open to catch them. This strategy applies mainly the North Atlantic population, says Pérez-Ortega.
The flippers of the humpback can measure the third of its size (approximately 5m in length) and, with them, usually give flapping on the surface of the water. The dorsal fin is mounted on a hump. Both the dorsal fin and the flow (queue) are useful for identification.
In the past, commercial whaling decimated the populations of these whales, but are recovering.
In Panama, Dr. Hector Guzman, Stri, has studied the population and humpback migration routes in the archipelago of Las Perlas, where about 250 have been identified, using photos of their tails. It has also proposed a traffic separation strategy to reduce collisions between whales and ships passing through the Panama Canal, which involves the drawing of "lanes" in and out of the channel and reduced speed.
According to Guzman, an official delegation to London art will represent Panama at the International Maritime Organization in September, which will review the proposal to recommend its implementation.
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