Escort service: Sex and relatedness of humpback whales accompanying mother-calf pairs off Western Australia

Lucy-Rose Seeary, Catherine R.M. Attard, John Totterdell, Robert L. Pitman, Luciana M. Möller

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract


The evolution and maintenance of group living in animal societies can be attributed to the benefits that individuals gain by being part of a group (e.g., increased resource acquisition and predator avoidance, Marcoux, 2008; enhanced opportunities for mating, Hamilton, 1964), but these can also include challenges (e.g., increased disease transmission, enhanced detection by predators, food and/or mate competition, Hughes, 1998). Factors that may influence the choice of associations include age, sex, reproductive condition, social status, and kinship (Alexander, 1974).
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1682-1690
Number of pages9
JournalMarine Mammal Science
Volume38
Issue number4
Early online date24 Jun 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2022

Keywords

  • humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae)
  • humpback whale escorts
  • sexed escorts
  • social structure

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