What do humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae (Cetartiodactyla: Balaenopteridae) pairs do after tagging?

摘要: The social structure of humpback whales in their tropical wintering grounds is very fluid. To date, no information has been published for cases which two were both satellite-tagged while association. Here, we report the movements four whale pairs tagged together off coast Brazil. Fieldwork and satellite tagging was conducted between 2003 and 2008 along the eastern Brazil, 20°S 8°S. Movement was monitored still breeding ground. A switching state space model was applied to filtered data each to standardize telemetry data allow direct comparison individual track. GIS used plot model-predicted locations visually compare animal movements. The results confirm short-lived nature of associations whales, and shows that individuals differ widely