O presente estudo avaliou a possibilidade de extração e dosagem de esteroides sexuais em amostras de gordura de carcaças e biópsias de baleia jubarte. A progesterona (P4), testosterona (T) e estradiol (E2) puderam ser dosados em todas as amostras pela técnica de enzimaimunoensaio. Amostras de carcaças foram utilizadas para validação da colheita. Uma série de experimentos foi realizada a fim de se avaliar: se o estado de decomposição da amostra altera os níveis hormonais; se os níveis de hormônios são diferentes em diferentes locais amostrados; se a profundidade de colheita (camadas externa, média e interna) altera os níveis hormonais; e finalmente o efeito do tamanho da amostra sobre as dosagens de hormônio. Todos estes elementos podem influenciar de maneira significativa a dosagem final. Também foram realizadas colheitas por meio de biópsias em 2011 e 2012 em área de reprodução no Atlântico Sul o Parque Nacional Marinho de Abrolhos e seu entorno; e em área de alimentação em 2011 e 2012 no Pacífico Sul o Parque Marino Francisco Coloane e seu entorno - localizado na Patagônia chilena. Como esperado, fêmeas apresentaram médias mais elevadas de P4 e E2 que machos, e machos apresentaram médias mais elevadas de T que fêmeas. Também foi observada sazonalidade reprodutiva com níveis mais elevados T em machos adultos em área de reprodução, especialmente nos meses de setembro e outubro. Os níveis de E2 em áreas de alimentação foram mais elevados que em área de reprodução tanto em machos quanto em fêmeas. Esta aparente inversão dos níveis de E2 com relação ao estado reprodutivo deve-se provavelmente ao tempo de metabolização deste hormônio na gordura. Algumas fêmeas adultas acompanhadas e desacompanhadas de filhotes apresentaram nível de P4 compatível com níveis de prenhez em outras espécies de cetáceos. Alguns dos animais biopsados tiveram seu comprimento corporal estimado através de fotogrametria. A menor fêmea acompanhada de filhote mediu 10.21 metros. Machos e fêmeas não apresentaram comprimentos corporais diferentes entre si, 12.96 e 12.04 metros, respectivamente. O tecido adiposo mostrou-se como uma matriz viável para dosagens de esteroides sexuais e estudos acerca da fisiologia reprodutiva de baleias de vida livre. A dosagem de hormônio da camada de gordura tem o potencial de indicar variações sazonais, estados de prenhez, picos de testosterona em machos, e diferenças entre machos e fêmeas. Quando combinada com comprimento corporal e história de vida, a dosagem hormonal pode promover informações ainda mais robustas acerca do estado reprodutivo dos indivíduos de determinada população. / The current study evaluated the possibility of extracting and measuring steroid hormones from the blubber of carcasses and living animals. Progesterone (P4), testosterone (T) and estradiol (E2) were successfully measured trough enzimaimunoassay technique. Stranded animals were sampled to validate the blubber collection. A set of experiments were performed: whether the state of decomposition of fat affects hormone levels; whether the body region from which samples were collected affects the levels of P4, E2, and T; whether the depth of the layer selected (outer, middle, inner) affects hormone levels; and finally the size of sample effect on hormone levels. All of these four elements can potentially alter the measurement final results. Also, biopsy sampling were done at a South Atlantic breeding Area, National Marine Park Abrolhos in 2011 and 2012; and in one feeding area, the Marine Park Francisco Coloane, locate at Chilean Patagonia. As expected females had higher P4 and E2 means compared to males, and males exhibited higher means of T than females. Also a reproductive seasonality was detected in E2 and T levels. T levels were higher in adult males during breeding season, especially in September and October. E2 were higher in both females and males during feeding season. This apparent inversion of E2 level to the reproductive condition is probably a result of the lag of the hormone from blood to blubber and the time for its metabolism to occur. Part of the adult females with calves and without calves had P4 levels similar to some pregnant cetacean species. Some of the biopsied animals had their body length estimated. The smallest female with calf had 10.21 meters. Males and females did not differ in total body length: 12.96 and 12.04 respectively. The bubbler showed to be a feasible biological matrix to measure sex hormones from free ranging humpback whales, and can indicate differences among sexes and reproductive states. When combined with total body length and life history, the hormone measurements can provide robust information on reproductive state of individuals.

O presente estudo avaliou a possibilidade de extração e dosagem de esteroides sexuais em amostras de gordura de carcaças e biópsias de baleia jubarte. A progesterona (P4), testosterona (T) e estradiol (E2) puderam ser dosados em todas as amostras pela técnica de enzimaimunoensaio. Amostras de carcaças foram utilizadas para validação da colheita. Uma série de experimentos foi realizada a fim de se avaliar: se o estado de decomposição da amostra altera os níveis hormonais; se os níveis de hormônios são diferentes em diferentes locais amostrados; se a profundidade de colheita (camadas externa, média e interna) altera os níveis hormonais; e finalmente o efeito do tamanho da amostra sobre as dosagens de hormônio. Todos estes elementos podem influenciar de maneira significativa a dosagem final. Também foram realizadas colheitas por meio de biópsias em 2011 e 2012 em área de reprodução no Atlântico Sul o Parque Nacional Marinho de Abrolhos e seu entorno; e em área de alimentação em 2011 e 2012 no Pacífico Sul o Parque Marino Francisco Coloane e seu entorno - localizado na Patagônia chilena. Como esperado, fêmeas apresentaram médias mais elevadas de P4 e E2 que machos, e machos apresentaram médias mais elevadas de T que fêmeas. Também foi observada sazonalidade reprodutiva com níveis mais elevados T em machos adultos em área de reprodução, especialmente nos meses de setembro e outubro. Os níveis de E2 em áreas de alimentação foram mais elevados que em área de reprodução tanto em machos quanto em fêmeas. Esta aparente inversão dos níveis de E2 com relação ao estado reprodutivo deve-se provavelmente ao tempo de metabolização deste hormônio na gordura. Algumas fêmeas adultas acompanhadas e desacompanhadas de filhotes apresentaram nível de P4 compatível com níveis de prenhez em outras espécies de cetáceos. Alguns dos animais biopsados tiveram seu comprimento corporal estimado através de fotogrametria. A menor fêmea acompanhada de filhote mediu 10.21 metros. Machos e fêmeas não apresentaram comprimentos corporais diferentes entre si, 12.96 e 12.04 metros, respectivamente. O tecido adiposo mostrou-se como uma matriz viável para dosagens de esteroides sexuais e estudos acerca da fisiologia reprodutiva de baleias de vida livre. A dosagem de hormônio da camada de gordura tem o potencial de indicar variações sazonais, estados de prenhez, picos de testosterona em machos, e diferenças entre machos e fêmeas. Quando combinada com comprimento corporal e história de vida, a dosagem hormonal pode promover informações ainda mais robustas acerca do estado reprodutivo dos indivíduos de determinada população. / The current study evaluated the possibility of extracting and measuring steroid hormones from the blubber of carcasses and living animals. Progesterone (P4), testosterone (T) and estradiol (E2) were successfully measured trough enzimaimunoassay technique. Stranded animals were sampled to validate the blubber collection. A set of experiments were performed: whether the state of decomposition of fat affects hormone levels; whether the body region from which samples were collected affects the levels of P4, E2, and T; whether the depth of the layer selected (outer, middle, inner) affects hormone levels; and finally the size of sample effect on hormone levels. All of these four elements can potentially alter the measurement final results. Also, biopsy sampling were done at a South Atlantic breeding Area, National Marine Park Abrolhos in 2011 and 2012; and in one feeding area, the Marine Park Francisco Coloane, locate at Chilean Patagonia. As expected females had higher P4 and E2 means compared to males, and males exhibited higher means of T than females. Also a reproductive seasonality was detected in E2 and T levels. T levels were higher in adult males during breeding season, especially in September and October. E2 were higher in both females and males during feeding season. This apparent inversion of E2 level to the reproductive condition is probably a result of the lag of the hormone from blood to blubber and the time for its metabolism to occur. Part of the adult females with calves and without calves had P4 levels similar to some pregnant cetacean species. Some of the biopsied animals had their body length estimated. The smallest female with calf had 10.21 meters. Males and females did not differ in total body length: 12.96 and 12.04 respectively. The bubbler showed to be a feasible biological matrix to measure sex hormones from free ranging humpback whales, and can indicate differences among sexes and reproductive states. When combined with total body length and life history, the hormone measurements can provide robust information on reproductive state of individuals.

abstract: Cetacean-based ecotourism is a popular activity and an important source of revenue for many countries. Whale watching, a subset of cetacean-based ecotourism, is vital to supporting conservation efforts and provides numerous benefits to local communities including educational opportunities and job creation. However, the sustainability of whale-based ecotourism depends on the behavior and health of whale populations and is therefore vital that ecotourism industries consider the impact their activities have on whale reproductive behavior. To address this statement, behavioral data (e.g. direction change, breaching, slap behaviors, diving, and spy hops) were collected from humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Las Perlas Archipelago off the Pacific coast of Panama to determine if vessel presence had an influence on whale behaviors. Studies were recorded during their breeding season from August through September in 2019. Based on 47 behavioral observations, higher boat density corresponded with humpback whales changing direction which is believed to be a sign of disturbance. This result is important given Panamanian regulations implemented on February 13 of 2007 prohibit whale-based tourism from disturbing whales, which is measured as changes in behavior. Because there is no systematic monitoring of whale watching activity to enforce the regulations, there is currently little compliance among tour operators. The integration of animal behavior research into management planning will result in more effective regulation and compliance of conservation policies. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Biology 2020

Baleias jubarte usam a costa leste do Brasil como área de reprodução e cria. As águas ao redor do Arquipélago dos Abrolhos são importantes devido a grande concentração de grupos com filhotes. Um estudo de 7 anos (entre 1998 e 2004) foi realizado, a partir de um ponto fixo de observação em terra, a fim de se investigar padrões temporais na estruturação de grupos e no comportamento de baleias jubarte. Dependendo das condições climáticas e de visibilidades eram realizadas varreduras com duração de 1 hora e na seqüência, observações de grupo ou indivíduo focal. Concomitante com o aumento da população brasileira de baleia jubarte, o número de avistagens de baleias adultas ao redor do Arquipélago aumentou, especialmente de 2002 a 2004, porém avistagens de filhotes somente aumentaram durante a temporada 2004. De uma forma gradual baleias chegam, se concentram e partem de Abrolhos, refletindo a migração segregada e as alterações de status sociais dos indivíduos. A medida que a temporada progride, ocorre uma mudança na freqüência das diferentes categorias de grupo de baleia jubarte, de grupos sem filhotes para grupos com filhotes, assim como os comportamentos, os quais, dentro de cada categoria de grupo, parecem estar adequado ao estágio de desenvolvimento do filhote (para aqueles grupos com filhote) e refletem o que parece estar relacionado a busca por oportunidades de acasalamentos e interações sociais. Ao longo das 7 temporadas estudadas, não houve mudanças na estruturação de grupos de baleias jubarte, nem houve alterações comportamentais marcantes. Porém, verificou-se que na presença de barcos num raio de 100-300 metros, fêmeas (mães) permanecem menos tempo em repouso e filhotes ficam menos tempo em comportamento de provável amamentação. Existe a preocupação de que repetidas mudanças comportamentais decorrentes de fatores antrópicos possam levar a população a risco, já que em espécies como baleias, as alterações a nível populacional podem levar muitos anos para ser detectadas. Logo é sugerido que estudos seguindo a mesma metodologia sejam continuados para que comparações sejam possíveis. Um estudo de longo-prazo permitiria uma investigação continua dos padrões (ou alterações deles) com que as baleias jubarte utilizam a área e como vêm respondendo as pressões antrópicas. / Humpback whales use the east coast of Brazil as a breeding and calving area. The waters surrounding Abrolhos Archipelago are important because of the high concentration of humpback whale groups with calves. A seven-year study (1998 - 2004) was conducted, from a land base station, to investigate temporal patterns of group structure and behavior of humpback whales. Depending on weather and sightability conditions, one-hour-scans were done followed by observations of animal or group focal follows. Concomitant with the observation of an increasing Brazilian humpback whale population, the number of adult whales sighted around the Archipelago increased, especially from 2002 to 2004. However, sightings of calves only increased during 2004 season. The humpback whales gradually arrive, concentrate and leave the region, reflecting segregated migration and individual social changes. As the season progresses, the frequency of different groups categories changes, from groups without calf to groups with calf, as well as the behaviors, which, within each group category, seems to be appropriate to calf development stages (for groups with calf) and reflect what seems to be related to the search for mating opportunities and other social interactions. During those 7 seasons, there were no changes in humpback whale group structure, nor were there strong behavioral changes. However, it was observed that, in the presence of vessels around 100 to 300 meters, mothers spent less time resting and calves spent less time in activities probably related to suckling. There is a concern that behavioral changes caused by anthropogenic factors may put the population at risk and changes at population level may take several years to be detected. So, it is suggested that studies following the same methodology continues, allowing further future comparisons. A long-term study would permit continued investigation of humpback whale use patterns (or theirs alterations) showing their responses to anthropogenic pressures.

Baleias jubarte usam a costa leste do Brasil como área de reprodução e cria. As águas ao redor do Arquipélago dos Abrolhos são importantes devido a grande concentração de grupos com filhotes. Um estudo de 7 anos (entre 1998 e 2004) foi realizado, a partir de um ponto fixo de observação em terra, a fim de se investigar padrões temporais na estruturação de grupos e no comportamento de baleias jubarte. Dependendo das condições climáticas e de visibilidades eram realizadas varreduras com duração de 1 hora e na seqüência, observações de grupo ou indivíduo focal. Concomitante com o aumento da população brasileira de baleia jubarte, o número de avistagens de baleias adultas ao redor do Arquipélago aumentou, especialmente de 2002 a 2004, porém avistagens de filhotes somente aumentaram durante a temporada 2004. De uma forma gradual baleias chegam, se concentram e partem de Abrolhos, refletindo a migração segregada e as alterações de status sociais dos indivíduos. A medida que a temporada progride, ocorre uma mudança na freqüência das diferentes categorias de grupo de baleia jubarte, de grupos sem filhotes para grupos com filhotes, assim como os comportamentos, os quais, dentro de cada categoria de grupo, parecem estar adequado ao estágio de desenvolvimento do filhote (para aqueles grupos com filhote) e refletem o que parece estar relacionado a busca por oportunidades de acasalamentos e interações sociais. Ao longo das 7 temporadas estudadas, não houve mudanças na estruturação de grupos de baleias jubarte, nem houve alterações comportamentais marcantes. Porém, verificou-se que na presença de barcos num raio de 100-300 metros, fêmeas (mães) permanecem menos tempo em repouso e filhotes ficam menos tempo em comportamento de provável amamentação. Existe a preocupação de que repetidas mudanças comportamentais decorrentes de fatores antrópicos possam levar a população a risco, já que em espécies como baleias, as alterações a nível populacional podem levar muitos anos para ser detectadas. Logo é sugerido que estudos seguindo a mesma metodologia sejam continuados para que comparações sejam possíveis. Um estudo de longo-prazo permitiria uma investigação continua dos padrões (ou alterações deles) com que as baleias jubarte utilizam a área e como vêm respondendo as pressões antrópicas. / Humpback whales use the east coast of Brazil as a breeding and calving area. The waters surrounding Abrolhos Archipelago are important because of the high concentration of humpback whale groups with calves. A seven-year study (1998 - 2004) was conducted, from a land base station, to investigate temporal patterns of group structure and behavior of humpback whales. Depending on weather and sightability conditions, one-hour-scans were done followed by observations of animal or group focal follows. Concomitant with the observation of an increasing Brazilian humpback whale population, the number of adult whales sighted around the Archipelago increased, especially from 2002 to 2004. However, sightings of calves only increased during 2004 season. The humpback whales gradually arrive, concentrate and leave the region, reflecting segregated migration and individual social changes. As the season progresses, the frequency of different groups categories changes, from groups without calf to groups with calf, as well as the behaviors, which, within each group category, seems to be appropriate to calf development stages (for groups with calf) and reflect what seems to be related to the search for mating opportunities and other social interactions. During those 7 seasons, there were no changes in humpback whale group structure, nor were there strong behavioral changes. However, it was observed that, in the presence of vessels around 100 to 300 meters, mothers spent less time resting and calves spent less time in activities probably related to suckling. There is a concern that behavioral changes caused by anthropogenic factors may put the population at risk and changes at population level may take several years to be detected. So, it is suggested that studies following the same methodology continues, allowing further future comparisons. A long-term study would permit continued investigation of humpback whale use patterns (or theirs alterations) showing their responses to anthropogenic pressures.

Submitted by Sandra Pereira (srpereira@ufrrj.br) on 2016-10-17T15:10:01Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2016 - Sergio Carvalho Moreira.pdf: 18299878 bytes, checksum: 0755537fc7d05720dfc365f593b70620 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-17T15:10:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2016 - Sergio Carvalho Moreira.pdf: 18299878 bytes, checksum: 0755537fc7d05720dfc365f593b70620 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-24 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior - CAPES / This study addressed the segmentation of the song of humpback whales based on the definition of the subunits. The humpback whale voalizations were identified and characterized in order to structurate the first data bank of sounds of marine mammals of the Southwestern Atlantic. It was noted the importance of these subunits because they have a degree of small variation, assisting in the identification of the species for the Autonomic Passive Acoustic Monitoring System (MAPA). Records of vocalizations of whales were conducted by the Humpback Whale Institute team (IBJ), between 2006 and 2013, in the region of Abrolhos, Bahia State, Brazil. They held seven readings of the subunits through the Raven 1.4 software, by evaluating: (1) High frequency (Hz); (2) Average power (dB); (3) Energy (dB); (4) Center frequency (Hz); (5) Maximum frequency (Hz); (6) Delta Time (s); and (7) Delta frequency (Hz). There were calculated the average, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values. Multivariate analysis of variance with post-hoc test values were performed where p>0.05 did not represent a significant change in the years. In the years 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2011 there was satisfactory quality to perform the analyzes, which corresponded to 14% of total recordings in 4:06:54 hours. The records analyzed were purchased in the months of highest occurrence of humpback. 862 subunits were identified and analyzed. The identified subunits were A, B and C. The subunit A: n= 156(18%), previously found in a feeding area in the northeast of Iceland (2011), Alaska (2012) and in the region of Abrolhos in all years studied. The B subunit: n= 205(24%), occurring in feeding areas of Iceland (2000) and Alaska (2012) and the breeding area in Hawaii (1991). In Abrolhos region they were recorded in all years studied. The C subunit: 501(51%) was previously recorded in the breeding areas of Madagascar (2009), Hawaii (1989 and 1991), Mexico (2006), Australia (2009) and New Caledonia (2010) and in the feeding area Antarctica (2010). Some subunits showed no significant differences in some of the studied years. The subunits are preserved over the years especially in following parameters: high frequency, center frequency, maximum frequency, delta time and the delta frequency. The parameter delta time has also shown more uniform average and standard deviation, indicating that this should be used as a differentiating character in the analysis of humpback sound emissions. The C subunit had a wide geographic distribution, mainly in the Southern Hemisphere. Comparison of subunits found in the literature shows that they are suitable bioacustic markers for humpback in the usage of MAPA methodology. The data obtained in this study will be used to start the first sound database for marine mammals in the South Atlantic, called SONOTECA, in partnership with the SISMMAM (Marine Mammals Sound and Monitoring Integrated System)/IBAMA. / Neste estudo foi abordada a segmenta??o da can??o de baleias jubarte com base na defini??o das subunidades. As emiss?es sonoras das jubarte foram identificadas e caracterizadas de modo a estruturar o primeiro banco de dados de sons de mam?feros marinhos do Atl?ntico Sul Ocidental. Constatou-se a import?ncia dessas subunidades por apresentarem um grau de varia??o pequeno, ajudando na identifica??o da esp?cie em sistemas de Monitoramento Ac?stico Passivo Aut?nomo (MAPA). Os registros das vocaliza??es das baleias foram realizados pela equipe do Instituto Baleia Jubarte (IBJ) de 2006 a 2013, na regi?o de Abrolhos, Bahia, Brasil. Foram realizadas sete leituras das subunidades atrav?s do software Raven 1.4, avaliando-se: (1) Alta da frequ?ncia (Hz); (2) M?dia da pot?ncia (dB); (3) Energia (dB); (4) Frequ?ncia central (Hz); (5) Frequ?ncia m?xima (Hz); (6) Delta do tempo (s); e (7) Delta da frequ?ncia (Hz). Foram calculados a m?dia, o desvio padr?o, o valor m?nimo, e o valor m?ximo. Realizadas an?lises multivariadas das vari?ncias com o valores do teste Post Hoc onde p>0,05 n?o representa varia??o significativa ao ano. Nos anos de 2006, 2007, 2009 e 2011 houve qualidade satisfat?ria para realizar as an?lises, o que correspondeu a 14% do total das grava??es, com 4:06:54h de grava??es. Os registros analisados foram adquiridos nos meses de maior ocorr?ncia de jubarte. 862 subunidades foram identificadas e analisadas. As subunidades identificadas foram A, B e C. A subunidade A (n = 156; 18%), anteriormente encontrada em uma ?rea de alimenta??o no nordeste da Isl?ndia (2011), no Alasca (2012) e na regi?o de Abrolhos, em todos anos estudados. A subunidade B (n = 205; 24%), com ocorr?ncia em ?reas de alimenta??o da Isl?ndia (2000) e no Alasca (2012) e na ?rea de reprodu??o no Hava? (1991) e na regi?o de Abrolhos foram registradas em todos anos pesquisados. A subunidade C (n = 501; 51%) foi anteriormente registrada nas ?reas de reprodu??o de Madagascar (2009), Hava? (1989 e 1991), M?xico (2006), Austr?lia (2009) e Nova Caled?nia (2010) e na ?rea de alimenta??o da Ant?rtica (2010). Algumas subunidades n?o apresentaram diferen?as significativas em alguns anos estudados. As subunidades s?o preservadas ao longo dos anos principalmente nos par?metros alta frequ?ncia, frequ?ncia central, frequ?ncia m?xima, delta de tempo e delta da frequ?ncia. O par?metro delta do tempo demostrou tamb?m a sua m?dia e desvio padr?o mais uniforme, indicando que este deve ser usado como car?ter diferenciador nas an?lises de emiss?es sonoras de jubarte. A subunidade C apresentou uma grande distribui??o geogr?fica principalmente no Hemisf?rio Sul. A compara??o das subunidades encontradas com as registrads na literatura demostra que elas s?o adequados marcadores bioac?sticos para a jubarte no uso de metodologia do MAPA. Os dados obtidos no presente estudo ser?o usados para iniciar o primeiro banco de dados de sons para mam?feros aqu?ticos no Atl?ntico Sul, denominado SONOTECA, em parceria com o SISISMMAM (Sistema Integrado de Som e Monitoramento de Mam?feros Marinhos) /IBAMA.

Developing appropriate management plans for species at risk requires information about their population structure and abundance. For most cetacean populations, few reliable population estimates are available and even fewer distributions have been mapped. Accurate abundance estimates can be determined from capture-recapture data if assumptions are met, however this can be difficult when the animal in question demonstrates both strong site fidelity and large-scale migrations, and different models can result in dramatically different results. I explored these issues by examining a 15-year dataset (1992-2006) of photo-identifications of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in British Columbia (BC), Canada. I used multiple capture-recapture models to compare how the definition of population and variation in effort affected estimates of population size, and I explored means to correct for these biases. I also considered stock structure by examining individual breeding ground destinations, movement, and localized site-fidelity within BC. Across the six models considered, the BC humpback whale abundance in 2006 ranged between 1,428 and 3,856 individuals. The Lincoln-Petersen estimate (1,428-1,892) likely best described the number of humpback whales in BC during summer 2006. The effort-standardized Jolly-Seber model (1,970-2,331) is more representative of the larger population of humpback whales that uses or passes through BC over multiple years. Ultimately, selecting the best estimation model requires defining the ‘population’ of interest and accounting for spatial and temporal distribution of sampling effort. British Columbia provides feeding habitat and a potential migratory corridor for whales that breed in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. Forty-four percent of the 1,986 humpback whales considered were sighted in BC in more than one year. Identifications were highest from May to October, with a peak in September, but humpback whales were present in BC in all months of the year. Whales showed strong site fidelity with a median re-sighting distance of 75 km between years, and a maximum re-sighting distance that ranged from 0.41 km to 842 km. Matching rate within BC decreased as a function of north-south distance, though no clear north-south boundary could be established. Stock structure of humpback whales in British Columbia is complex and should be considered in managing this population.

Developing appropriate management plans for species at risk requires information about their population structure and abundance. For most cetacean populations, few reliable population estimates are available and even fewer distributions have been mapped. Accurate abundance estimates can be determined from capture-recapture data if assumptions are met, however this can be difficult when the animal in question demonstrates both strong site fidelity and large-scale migrations, and different models can result in dramatically different results. I explored these issues by examining a 15-year dataset (1992-2006) of photo-identifications of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in British Columbia (BC), Canada. I used multiple capture-recapture models to compare how the definition of population and variation in effort affected estimates of population size, and I explored means to correct for these biases. I also considered stock structure by examining individual breeding ground destinations, movement, and localized site-fidelity within BC. Across the six models considered, the BC humpback whale abundance in 2006 ranged between 1,428 and 3,856 individuals. The Lincoln-Petersen estimate (1,428-1,892) likely best described the number of humpback whales in BC during summer 2006. The effort-standardized Jolly-Seber model (1,970-2,331) is more representative of the larger population of humpback whales that uses or passes through BC over multiple years. Ultimately, selecting the best estimation model requires defining the ‘population’ of interest and accounting for spatial and temporal distribution of sampling effort. British Columbia provides feeding habitat and a potential migratory corridor for whales that breed in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. Forty-four percent of the 1,986 humpback whales considered were sighted in BC in more than one year. Identifications were highest from May to October, with a peak in September, but humpback whales were present in BC in all months of the year. Whales showed strong site fidelity with a median re-sighting distance of 75 km between years, and a maximum re-sighting distance that ranged from 0.41 km to 842 km. Matching rate within BC decreased as a function of north-south distance, though no clear north-south boundary could be established. Stock structure of humpback whales in British Columbia is complex and should be considered in managing this population.

Male song and other acoustic signals are often sexually selected traits that are common in many taxa, such as birds, anurans and insects. Song often serves a dual function in female attraction and male-male competition and song characteristics such as duration, rate, repertoire size and amplitude are important for both functions and to be correlated with male reproductive success. Male humpback whales are well known for singing a complex and highly stereotyped song during the breeding season and while the song appears important in the social interactions of humpback whales during the breeding season, the function of song is still unclear. Current debate surrounds whether song is primarily directed towards females as an elaborate acoustic display or towards other males to facilitate male social ordering. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the nature of interactions between singers and conspecifics and document the context in which singing occurs. This was achieved by: (1) investigating the movement patterns and interactions between singing and non-singing whales and (2) examining differences in the song structure and source levels of song within a social context. To investigate song function, simultaneous observations of the positions and movements of singing and non-singing whales were obtained in real time during their southward migration off the east coast of Australia in September and October of 2002 - 2004. Data on the interactions of whales were collected by acoustic tracking using a hydrophone array, visual tracking using land-based hilltop observations and observations collected from a small boat. Of a total 114 singers, 48 did not associate with other whales whereas 66 were involved in 63 associations. Singers were significantly more likely to join groups containing a female and calf than any other group type and the only groups with which singers started to sing after joining were unescorted mother-calf pairs. Singers also associated for longer and sang for a significantly greater proportion of time in the presence of a female-calf pair than any other group type. Previous studies demonstrate that associating with females with a calf can be a reproductively successful strategy for males. In contrast, whales that joined singers were usually lone males, these associations were brief and singers typically stopped singing in the presence of other males. These findings provide the highest reported incidence in humpback whales of males singing when escorting females and support an intersexual function of song in humpback whales. A suggested explanation for observations of males joining singers is that these males are prospecting for females rather than engaging in male social ordering and that singing may incur the cost of attracting competing males. To investigate the importance of surface active behaviours in interactions involving singers and whether singers utilize the acoustic cues from these behaviours to locate other groups, the frequency and type of surface active behaviours were quantified in singing and non-singing groups. Compared to singers that were alone and did not interact with other whales, surrounding groups were significantly closer to a singer (on average 2.8 km distance) when singers joined other groups, and singers joined other groups that were surface active in 54 % of cases. While source levels of different surface active behaviours vary and certain behaviours might be better suited for inter-group communication, it is unlikely that singers rely primarily on acoustic cues from surface active behaviours to locate other groups. Surface activity was not more common in groups just prior to singers joining them, and while not significantly so, surface activity increased when singers affiliated with other groups suggesting an importance in intra-group dynamics. Whereas lone singers were the least surface active, groups containing a calf were found to exhibit a significantly higher rate of surface activity than groups without a calf, for which the calf displayed the majority of behaviours. Considering singers predominantly joined mother-calf pairs, it could be speculated that a high rate of surface activity by a calf might inadvertently attract singers and other surrounding males to these groups and could increase the probability of singers and other males locating mother-calf groups. To further explore a context of singing, the structure and amplitude of songs were investigated over two years for singers in two distinct social contexts; lone singers and singing escorts. A total of 274 songs from 27 singers in 2003 and 2004 were analysed, with a subset of data used for source level comparisons. Lone singers consistently sang longer songs compared to singing escorts due to a greater repetition of phrases most noticeably within one theme (theme C), the theme in which all singers sang the most common song unit (the moan) at higher amplitude compared to the other three themes in which it occurred. These findings suggest that lone singers might increase the repetition of phrases sung at higher amplitude to maximise the broadcast of their song and maximise their probability of detection. In contrast, singing escorts sang shorter songs due to a reduced repetition of phrases in most themes, particularly the theme containing the loudest song units (theme C). Consequently, singing escorts sang the song more quickly, resulting in a higher song rate compared to lone singers. Comparisons of the average broadband source levels of nine song units in the 2004 song showed significant variation among the nine different units and among the 22 individual singers for each song unit. Source levels of one of the nine song units also varied significantly between lone singers and singing escorts. Singing escorts produced higher source levels than lone singers for the ‘cry’ which showed a difference of 4 dB higher than lone singers. Lone singers typically produced higher source levels for the ‘moans’, which were low frequency sounds that propagate well, although this was not significant. We suggest that amplitude of the song might be important in female assessment of singers and the particular song units that singing escorts sing more loudly are the basis for this assessment. These findings further support an inter-sexual function of song in humpback whales. This study has described in detail the contexts in which males are observed to sing and has been able to provide new interpretations on the social interactions of singers. The results within this thesis provide the highest reported occurrence in humpback whales of males singing in the presence of females and strongly suggest that song has an inter-sexual function. Further work is needed that investigates song structure within a social context and the potential for song functioning as a long distance advertisement display and/ or courtship display.

Submitted by Automa??o e Estat?stica (sst@bczm.ufrn.br) on 2016-08-27T00:05:27Z No. of bitstreams: 1 LauraKyokoHonda_DISSERT.pdf: 3602339 bytes, checksum: 032b9ed8e00a45dd021013799bd260c5 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Arlan Eloi Leite Silva (eloihistoriador@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-08-31T23:45:07Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 LauraKyokoHonda_DISSERT.pdf: 3602339 bytes, checksum: 032b9ed8e00a45dd021013799bd260c5 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-31T23:45:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 LauraKyokoHonda_DISSERT.pdf: 3602339 bytes, checksum: 032b9ed8e00a45dd021013799bd260c5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-03 / Estudos sobre movimenta??o podem fornecer diversos tipos de informa??es sobre a ecologia de diferentes grupos animais, desde padr?es de uso de habitat at? infer?ncias sobre estados comportamentais. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo a caracteriza??o dos padr?es de movimenta??o em fina escala dos machos cantores de Jubarte em um s?tio reprodutivo para detectar efeitos da abund?ncia de machos cantores e da presen?a de embarca??es. Adicionalmente, buscou-se verificar se ? poss?vel fazer infer?ncias sobre os estados comportamentais dos cantores atrav?s das suas trajet?rias. A coleta dos dados foi feita utilizando-se arranjos de gravadores ac?sticos aut?nomos desenvolvidos pelo Programa de Pesquisas em Bioac?stica da Universidade de Cornell - EUA. O estudo foi realizado no s?tio reprodutivo das baleias Jubarte do Pac?fico Sul Ocidental localizado no Banco dos Abrolhos-BA durante a temporada reprodutiva de 2005. Os machos cantores de Jubarte foram identificados atrav?s da detec??o dos seus sons por meio da inspe??o visual dos espectrogramas das grava??es. As posi??es dos cantores foram estimadas atrav?s da localiza??o de cada som identificado com boa qualidade em pelo menos 3 dos 5 canais de ?udio atrav?s de algoritmo customizado em ambiente MATLAB. Da mesma forma foi realizada a detec??o dos eventos de embarca??es. As trajet?rias foram constru?das a partir dos pontos de localiza??o ap?s uso do filtro Kalman. As trajet?rias foram classificadas em categorias de abund?ncia de cantores (baixa = at? dois cantores e alta = a partir de tr?s cantores) e de presen?a de barco (presen?a e aus?ncia). Fun??es de distribui??o de probabilidade foram constru?das a fim de testarmos, por meio da an?lise de m?xima verossimilhan?a, qual distribui??o se ajustaria melhor aos nossos dados. Foi feita uma sele??o de modelos concorrentes incluindo como modelos as categorias de an?lise (abund?ncia e presen?a de barcos) e as fun??es de distribui??o ajustadas aos dados. A vari?vel preditora utilizada foi a velocidade. O melhor modelo foi escolhido com o Crit?rio de Informa??o de Akaike corrigido para pequenas amostras (AICc). Os padr?es de movimenta??o descritos diferiram de estudos pr?vios. Nossas categorias de an?lise n?o se mostraram boas para a explicar a varia??o dos dados, mas os modelos foram capazes de identificar dois padr?es distintos de movimenta??o de machos cantores de jubarte: passos lentos e constantes caracterizando um estado comportamental explorat?rio intercalados por raros passos r?pidos que caracterizam um movimento direcional. As motiva??es para a altern?ncia entre os diferentes estados comportamentais provavelmente envolvem diferentes estrat?gias reprodutivas. Nossos resultados mostraram que trajet?rias baseadas em dados ac?sticos podem ser utilizadas para a infer?ncia de estados comportamentais distintos de baleias jubarte atrav?s da an?lise dos padr?es de movimenta??o. / Studies on movement may provide various types of information on the ecology of different animal groups, from perception and habitat use to inferences on behavioral states. This study aims to characterize movement patterns in thin range of male humpback singers at a reproductive site and to detect effects of singing males abundancy and presence of vessels. Additionally, we verified if it is possible the inference of different behavioral states of singer males through their trajectory. Data collection was done using arrangements of autonomous acoustic recorders developed by the Bioacoustics Research Program of Cornell University ? EUA. The study was conducted at the reproductive site of the humpback whales from the Western South Pacific, located at the Abrolhos Bank, state of Bahia, Brazil, during the reproductive season of 2005. Singing humpback males were identified through the detection of their sounds by visual inspection of the recording spectrograms. Singers positions were estimated through location of each sound identified with good quality in at least three of five audio channels through a custom algorithm in a MATLAB environment. Detection of vessels events was done the same way. Trajectories were built from location points after using the Kalman filter. Trajectories were arranged in categories such as singers abundancy (low = up to two singers and high = from three singers on) and vessel presence (presence and absence). Functions of probability distribution were built for us to test, by likelihood analysis, which distribution adjusts better to our data. A selection of competing models was done, including as models analysis categories (abundancy and presence of vessels) and distribution functions adjusted to our data. The predictor variable used was speed of each step. The best model was selected with Akaike?s Information Criterion corrected for small samples (AICc). Movement patterns described differed from previous studies. Our analysis categories were not good to explain data variation, but models were capable of identifying two distinct movement patterns of humpback male singers: slow and constant steps characterizing an exploratory behavioral state interpolated by rare fast steps which characterize a directional movement. Motivations for variation between different behavioral states probably involve different reproductive strategies. Our results showed that trajectory based on acoustic data can be used to infer distinct behavioral states o humpback whales through the analysis of movement patterns.