1. The recovery of overexploited populations is likely to reveal behaviours that may have been present prior to harvest but are only now reappearing as the population size increases. The east Australian humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) population (group V, stock E1) has recovered well from past exploitation and is now estimated to be close to the pre-whaling population size.
2. Humpback whales were thought to follow a ‘feast and famine’ model historically, feeding intensively in high-latitude feeding grounds and then fasting while migrating and in calving grounds; however, there is growing evidence that animals may feed outside of known foraging grounds.
3. This short article reports on the first photographically documented evidence of bubble-net feeding by humpback whales in Australian coastal waters (n = 10 groups observed) and provides the first evidence of a second site in the southern hemisphere for the formation of ‘super-groups’ (n = 6 super-groups at discrete locations).
4. The formation of super-groups may be linked to changes in the type or density of prey available, either along the migratory route or in the feeding grounds of the previous summer. It is also possible that the increased population size following recovery make large group sizes while feeding more common. These findings strongly support evidence that feeding behaviour is not restricted to high-latitude foraging grounds in the Southern Ocean, and that prey consumption prior to leaving the coastal waters of Australia may be a significant component of the migratory ecology of this population.
5. Understanding how environmental variation influences the extent to which humpback whales depend on foraging opportunities along their migratory route, and where feeding occurs, will help to predict how future changes in the ocean will influence whale populations. This will also allow for more effective management measures to reduce the impact of threats during this important period of energy consumption.

中文翻译：

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澳大利亚东部座头鲸种群在向南迁徙期间使用泡泡网进食和形成“超级群体”的第一个证据

1. 过度开发种群的恢复可能会揭示在收获之前可能已经存在但现在随着种群规模增加而重新出现的行为。澳大利亚东部座头鲸（Megaptera novaeangliae）种群（V 组，E1 种群）已从过去的捕捞中恢复良好，现在估计接近捕鲸前的种群规模。
2. 历史上，座头鲸被认为遵循“盛宴和饥荒”模式，在高纬度的觅食地集中觅食，然后在迁徙和产犊时禁食；然而，越来越多的证据表明，动物可能会在已知的觅食地之外觅食。
3. 这篇短文报道了澳大利亚沿海水域座头鲸用泡泡网捕食的第一个照片记录证据（ 观察到的n = 10 组），并提供了南半球第二个站点形成“超级组”的第一个证据'（n  = 6 个离散位置的超组）。
4. 超级群体的形成可能与可用猎物的类型或密度的变化有关，无论是沿着迁徙路线还是在前一个夏天的觅食地。恢复后增加的种群规模也可能使大型群体规模更大，同时喂食更常见。这些发现有力地支持了摄食行为不仅限于南大洋的高纬度觅食地的证据，并且在离开澳大利亚沿海水域之前的猎物消费可能是该种群迁徙生态的重要组成部分。
5. 了解环境变化如何影响座头鲸在迁徙路线上依赖觅食机会的程度，以及在哪里觅食，将有助于预测未来海洋变化将如何影响鲸鱼种群。这也将允许采取更有效的管理措施，以减少能源消耗这一重要时期的威胁影响。