The migration of humpback whales along the northeast coast of Newfoundland

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Abstract
Humpback whales migrate along the northeast coast of Newfoundland in summer. Individuals were identified which moved from St. Vincent's on the south coast to Bonavista Bay on the northeast coast, and from there to southern Labrador. The mean migration rate northward along the northeast coast in summer was estimated to be 1.2° latitude per month, although animals moved through a study area at the end of the Bay de Verde Peninsula at about twice this rate. The animals arriving at Bay de Verde in early July, when humpback densities were higher, were on average larger than those arriving either earlier or later. Over periods of more than 1 day there was no evidence for consistent companionships (other than mothers with their 1st-year calves), and only one animal appeared to have a preferred range within the Bay de Verde study area, although some whales preferentially returned to certain stretches of the coastline in different years.

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