New UH research finds humpback whales are solely species able to bubble-net feeding

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Institute of Marine Biology have discovered new data on baleen whales.

On Tuesday, a research was posted that came upon of seven species of baleen whales, humpbacks are the one ones able to utilizing the bubble-net feeding technique.

The research, led by UH graduate Cameron Nemeth, revealed that humpbacks use their distinctive pectoral flippers to realize the high-performance turns required to maneuver the method.

“It was shocking to discover that amongst thousands of turns from a variety of behavioral states, no other species of whale examined were achieving the turning performance required to create a bubble-net.” Nemeth mentioned.

The analysis confirmed that the humpback’s massive pectoral flippers together with their physique form singles them out as the one whale that this technique can be environment friendly for. Other whales would wish to make use of much more vitality to make the required turns, seemingly making the technique impractical.

Understanding the whale’s foraging strategies might help researchers assess the species’ general well being wants, and their means to remain in Hawaiian waters.

Nemeth additionally included a Hawaiian-language summary for the paper, hoping to set a lab precedent to extend scientific literature in Olelo Hawaii.

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