Hidden in Plain Sight: Biologists Say Southern Right Whale Habitat Choice is Key to Keeping Young Calves Safe
Published:22 Jun.2022 Source:Syracuse University
Sitting on a beach looking out to sea, it may seem unusual to spot one of the world's largest animals swimming in shallow, coastal, 30-foot-deep waters. But each winter, female southern right whales migrate thousands of miles to bay habitats to give birth and care for their young. So why do they choose such shallow nursery grounds that may be within dangerous proximity to human activity and where food supply is scarce?
While researchers have speculated that the up to 50-foot-long whales choose these locations for lack of predators and warmer and calmer waters, a team of biologists from Syracuse University's Bioacoustics and Behavioral Ecology Lab recently uncovered a new potential motive. They hypothesize that shallow, sandy, near-shore waters are a prime spot for whales to birth and raise their young because those areas have reduced acoustic propagation, meaning vocal signals don't travel as far at these sites, allowing whale mothers to communicate with their nearby young, while not being heard by predators off in the distance.