Coastal Fronts Utilized by Migrating Humpback Whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, on the Gold Coast, Australia

Abstract

ABSTRACT Reinke, J.; Lemckert, C., and Meynecke, J.-O., 2016. Coastal fronts utilised by migrating humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, on the Gold Coast, Australia. In: Vila-Concejo, A.; Bruce, E.; Kennedy, D.M., and McCarroll, R.J. (eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International Coastal Symposium (Sydney, Australia). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 75, pp. 552–556. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Large-scale migration patterns of humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, are quite well known; however, small-scale distribution patterns and relationships with environmental conditions have received less attention. Protection from a range of threats, as well as predicting the effects of climate change, requires knowledge of preferred habitat and environmental conditions. East Australian humpback whales travel from the Southern Ocean towards the Great Barrier Reef to breed. The East Australian coastal environment is dominated by the East Australian Current that carries warm water po...