First it was a sandy pores and skin scrub, now it’s been reported that migrating humpback whales are utilizing seaweed to play with and roll in, in response to new analysis.
Griffith College’s Dr. Olaf Meynecke, from the Coastal and Marine Analysis Middle and Supervisor of the Whales and Local weather Program, has beforehand documented whales rolling in sandy substrates off the Gold Coast, Australian shoreline as a potential approach of eradicating useless pores and skin cells and parasites throughout their migrations.
Nevertheless, a brand new paper from Dr. Meynecke has analyzed one other understudied habits in baleen (filter-feeding) whales equivalent to humpback whales in numerous populations throughout the northern and southern hemispheres. They appeared to roll round and “play” with clumps of kelp and seaweed on the water’s floor.
The examine, “What’s at Play: Humpback Whale Interplay with Seaweed Is a International Phenomenon,” printed within the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, additionally emphasizes that the habits was related in numerous people, no matter the place on the earth it occurred.
Dr. Meynecke analyzed three cases of “kelping” on the east coast of Australia derived from aerial observations, in addition to 100 documented interactions with seaweed from around the globe.
These interactions included 163 baleen whales, with humpback whales probably the most prevalent (95 separate occasions), grey whales (2), southern proper whales (2) and northern proper whales (1).
Adults fashioned the most important group of documented interactions (53%), then calves (14%), subadults (1%), and unidentified sizes (32%).
“The usage of objects by cetaceans like baleen whales is well-known, and their capacity to work together with their atmosphere in advanced behaviors has been beforehand reported on,” Dr. Meynecke stated.
“However baleen whales, together with humpback whales, are much less usually noticed to carry out object use, and this habits is perhaps extra frequent than beforehand thought.
“There are two believable theories: play and/or self-medication with seaweed. This habits could also be playful however may additionally serve further advantages within the context of studying and socializing, in addition to ectoparasite removing and pores and skin remedy by utilizing brown algae’s antibacterial properties.”
Dr. Meynecke stated figuring out this sort of habits throughout totally different populations was essential to higher perceive the species’ habitat preferences and underlined the advanced behaviors whales displayed that scientists nonetheless had a lot to find out about.
Quotation:
Jan-Olaf Meynecke et al, What’s at Play: Humpback Whale Interplay with Seaweed Is a International Phenomenon, Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (2023). DOI: 10.3390/jmse11091802
Journal data: Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
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This text by Carley Rosengreen, Griffith College was first printed by Phys.org on 27 September 2023. Lead Picture: Credit score: Lorinnah Hesper.