A Company

Universidad de Los Andes

Whilst the ability to track Humpback whales has improved, our understanding of their behaviour, population structure, and biology is lacking. This is something Susana Caballero-Gaitan and researchers from Universidad de Los Andes are looking to address.


Universidad de Los Andes

Improving our knowledge of Humpback whales

Humpback whales, have one of the longest migrations of any mammal in the world, travelling up to 5,000 miles between the tropical breeding grounds of Central America and the Caribbean to the feeding grounds of Antarctica. Whilst the ability to track these ocean giants has improved, very little is known about the behaviour and population structure of Humpbacks in Antarctica. In addition, climate change is having an impact on marine environments around the Western Antarctic Peninsular, affecting the distribution and amount of krill - whale's primary good source - that could alter foraging strategies and migratory patterns.

This is something that Susana Caballero-Gaitan and fellow researchers from the Universidad de Los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia want to understand before it is too late. With a specialism in molecular techniques, Susana has focused her scientific career on developing our understanding of population structures and the evolutionary process across marine mammals. Recently she joined the Humpback Whale Sentinel Programme, a collective of global scientists monitoring the migration of southern hemisphere Humpback whales. Underpinning all of Susana's research is the ability to use the findings to improve management and conservation efforts around the world.

Scientists collect eDNA (environmental DNA) through a 'remote biopsy' rifle that shoots a harmless shallow dart into the skin of Humpback whales, to take a small skin sample before falling off and being recovered. Mapping this data with sightings across the tropic and polar grounds helps to build our understanding of the behaviour of these animals. Initial findings have highlighted the genetic diversity found across the Humpback whales around the Western Antarctic Peninsula and over the coming years the team aims to continue this research to identify patterns linked to climate change, oceanographic conditions and whale migration.

Hurtigruten Expeditions & Universidad de Los Andes

As a member of our scientific partnership and collaboration program, in January 2022, Professor Susan Caballero-Gaitan joined MS Fram on a voyage to Antarctica to support her study into the 'migratory patterns of Humpback whales in the Colombian Pacific and the Antarctic Peninsula'.

With the help of our guests and the expedition team on board, Susan was able to capture a wide variety of data including non-lethal skin biopsy samples, environmental DNA (eDNA), recordings of whale songs, and identification photos around the peninsula.

This hands-on experience for our guests helped to drive the success of this collaboration, and in January 2023, Susana joined MS Fridtjof Nansen to collect further data.

Other stories

q2 exp 2500x764 b2c landingpage 2

Sign up for our newsletter

Be the first to hear about our latest offers, exciting itineraries and inspirational articles.

Sign up here