The humpback whale is distributed worldwide in all ocean basins, though in the North Pacific it does not occur in Arctic waters. In winter, most humpback whales occur in the subtropical and tropical waters of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The North Pacific population was considerably reduced as a result of intensive commercial exploitation during the 20th century and recovery has been very slow. Photo ID studies indicate that humpback whales from the Western and Central North Pacific mix on summer feeding grounds in the central Gulf of Alaska and perhaps the Bering Sea. Females normally reproduce every two or three years, giving birth to a calf that is 4.5 to 5 m long; it has grown to about 8 or 9 m when it is weaned at 10 or 11 months. The gestation period is 12 months. Adult males are 15 m long and adult females slightly larger at 16 m. Humpback whales in the high latitudes of the North Pacific are seasonal migrants that feed on krill and small schooling fishes. They frequently employ an interesting feeding behavior called bubble net feeding in which they surround a school of schooling fish with a curtain of bubbles.
- BURNS, D., L. BROOKS, P. CLAPHAM, and P. HARRISON.
2013. Between-year synchrony in migratory timing of individual humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae. Mar. Mammal Sci. 29(1):228-235.
- CONSTANTINE, R., J. A. JACKSON, D. STEEL, C. S. BAKER, L. BROOKS, D. BURNS, P. CLAPHAM, N. HAUSER, B. MADON, D. MATTILA, M. OREMUS, M. POOLE, J. ROBBINS, K. THOMPSON, and C. GARRIGUE.
2012. Abundance of humpback whales in Oceania using photo-identification and microsatellite genotyping. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 453:249-261.
- FÉLIX, F., C. CASTRO, J. LAAKE, B. HAASE, and M. SCHEIDAT.
2011. Abundance estimates of the southeastern Pacific humpback whale stock from 1991-2006 photo-identification surveys in Ecuador. J. Cetacean Res. Manage. (Special Issue) 3:301-307.
- WITTEVEEN, B. H., J. M. STRALEY, E. CHENOWETH, C. S. BAKER, J. BARLOW, C. MATKIN, C. M. GABRIELE, J. NEILSON, D. STEEL, O. von ZIEGESAR, A. G. ANDREWS, and A. HIRONS.
2011. Using movements, genetics and trophic ecology to differentiate inshore from offshore aggregations of humpback whales in the Gulf of Alaska. Endang. Species Res. 14:217-225. (.pdf, 1.22 MB). Online.
- Search the AFSC database for additional Humpback Whale publications
- Humpback Whale Foraging Structures Winter Schooling Behavior of Pacific Herring
1.85 MB Online.
- Investigating the Feasibility of Using DNA from Sloughed Skin for Individual Identification in Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae)
551 KB Online.
- Individual Variation in Movements of Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) from Two Populations Satellite-Tracked in the Bering Sea and the West Indies
1.24 MB Online.
- Search the AFSC database for additional Humpback Whale posters
- Eastern North Pacific, formerly California-Oregon-Washington-Mexico: 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999
- Central North Pacific: 2006 2005 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998
- Gulf of Maine, formerly Western North Atlantic:
2006 2005 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1995 - Western North Pacific: 2006 2005 2003 2001 2000 1999 1998