Humpback Whale Tracking Exercise

You are a marine mammal biologist, and you are currently studying humpback whale migratory routes. You have tagged two humpback whales with acoustic GPS tags, and have been monitoring the travel of the two whale populations. Below is a list of coordinates where the whales you have tagged have been tracked along with the dates they registered at that location. Using the map you have been given, plot the travel of the two tagged whales according to the tracking data you have obtained.

Date Whale 1 Whale 2 Oct. 5 72N 162W 8S 6W Oct 10 72N 168 W 10S 11W Oct 15 64N 168W 16S 12W Oct 20 56N 174W 24S 6W Oct 25 56N 168W 30S 8W Oct 30 48N 162 W 46S 18W Nov 5 44N 162W 50S 17 W Nov 10 40N 155W 52S 19W Nov 15 38N 155W 56S 17W Nov 20 32N 148W 60S 14W Nov 25 27N 150W 64S 15W Nov 30 24N 149W 68S 18W Dec 5 20N 156W 70S 20W Dec 10 24N 157W 72S 24W

1. Identify the global locations of the two populations of humpbacks you are tracking. 2. Summarize the movements of the two whales through the data you obtained. 3. Approximately how long does it take the whales to complete the migrations? 4. Why do you think the whales may be making the migration you have recorded? 5. Compare/contrast the movements of the two different populations. 6. Based on your answer to number 4, make a prediction as to the path you would track from May to July. 7. Based on the data you have obtained, would the southern Pacific population of humpbacks ever interact with the northern population? Why or why not? 8. Suppose the northern hemisphere was experiencing an unusually warm fall this year. How do you predict the migration pattern would change, if at all? Why? 9. Explain the advantage gained by using sonar tags on the humpback whales. 10. Suggest a possible method for attaching an acoustic tag to a humpback whale.