Arabian Sea humpback whale's long-distance trip further highlights species' unique ecology

Humpback whale off coast. Credit: Environment Society of Oman/D. MacDonald

Off Oman's coast lives a small population of just over 80 Arabian Sea humpback whales (ASHWs). They are classified as endangered and are thought to be the only humpback whale population that doesn't undertake seasonal migrations across the world's oceans.

Now, to better understand movement patterns of this population, an international team of researchers has tracked their movements over several years. The results are published in Frontiers in Marine Science.

"We show ASHWs predominantly stayed within a very restricted home range along the coast of Oman," said first author Dr. Andrew Willson, a marine scientist and founding director of Future Seas Global SPC. "Alongside very localized movements, we also document the first long-distance movement of an ASHW across the Arabian Sea, pointing to the possibility of other important habitats within the Arabian Sea."

Resident whales