PONTIFICIA UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA DEL ... - Yaqu Pacha

2. ABSTRACT
The areas where the humpback whales are staying were identified decades ago
around the world. These were classified as feeding and breeding grounds, the latter are
often related with tropical areas of the Earth.
The breeding ground of Megaptera novaeangliae in Manabí province has been
studied since 1996, when it was identified as a breeding center for humpback whales. In
2000, Esmeraldas coastal line was also identified as another humpback whale breeding
center. The monitoring study in 2001 has let us start the characterization of whales from
both areas during their staying in the breeding season, between May and September.
The whale records in both areas (the number of recorded individuals; n = 1039
whales) let us compare them and establish the criteria about the lacking of movement
patterns between the two breeding grounds in Ecuador. In despite of this, some authors
have already proved that there actually are individual movements between breeding
grounds from Ecuador and Colombia.
Field data show us that Esmeraldas and Manabí are actually breeding grounds with
a seasonal permanence of humpback whales. This permanence for reproduction include
courtships, mating and calves birth and nursing.
It has been proved that the whales abundance is not the same for both areas. There is
an increasing number in Esmeraldas while there is a decreasing number of individuals in
Manabí, at the same periods.
This fact has important management implications for the conservation of this
species in a mid and long term period. The whale watching tourist activities is increasing
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