Foraging movements of humpback whales relate to the lateral and vertical distribution of capelin in the Barents Sea
Understanding how individual animals modulate their behaviour and movement patterns in response to environmental variability plays a central role in behavioural ecology. Marine mammal tracking studies typically use physical environmental characteristics that vary, and/or proxies of prey distribution...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1254761/full |
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| author | Emma F. Vogel Stine Skalmerud Martin Biuw Marie-Anne Blanchet Marie-Anne Blanchet Lars Kleivane Georg Skaret Nils Øien Audun Rikardsen |
| author_facet | Emma F. Vogel Stine Skalmerud Martin Biuw Marie-Anne Blanchet Marie-Anne Blanchet Lars Kleivane Georg Skaret Nils Øien Audun Rikardsen |
| author_sort | Emma F. Vogel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Understanding how individual animals modulate their behaviour and movement patterns in response to environmental variability plays a central role in behavioural ecology. Marine mammal tracking studies typically use physical environmental characteristics that vary, and/or proxies of prey distribution, to explain predator movements. Studies linking predator movements and the actual distributions of prey are rare. Here we analysed satellite tag data from ten humpback whales in the Barents Sea (north-east Atlantic) to examine how their spatial movement and dive patterns are influenced by the geographic and vertical distribution of capelin, which is a key prey species for humpback whales. We used capelin density estimates based on direct observations from a trawl-acoustic survey and sun elevation to explore the drivers of changes in movement patterns. We found that the humpback whales’ exhibited characteristic area restricted search movement where capelin density was the highest. While horizontal movements showed both positive and negative individual relationships with sun elevation, humpback whale dive depth was positively correlated with diurnal variations in the vertical distribution of capelin. This suggests that in addition to whales foraging in regions of high capelin density, they also target the densest shoals of capelin at a range of depths, throughout the day and night. Overall, our findings suggest that regions of high capelin density are important foraging grounds for humpback whales, highlighting the central role capelin plays in the Barents Sea marine ecosystem. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T13:28:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c9be0541b7184a5da8ed020444893d42 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T13:28:49Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-c9be0541b7184a5da8ed020444893d422023-08-25T03:43:39ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452023-08-011010.3389/fmars.2023.12547611254761Foraging movements of humpback whales relate to the lateral and vertical distribution of capelin in the Barents SeaEmma F. Vogel0Stine Skalmerud1Martin Biuw2Marie-Anne Blanchet3Marie-Anne Blanchet4Lars Kleivane5Georg Skaret6Nils Øien7Audun Rikardsen8Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, NorwayFaculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, NorwayInstitute of Marine Research, Framsenteret (FRAM) – High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment, Tromsø, NorwayFaculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, NorwayTerrestrial økologi og sjøfugl, Norwegian Polar Institute, FRAM –High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment, Tromsø, NorwayTerrestrial økologi og sjøfugl, Norwegian Polar Institute, FRAM –High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment, Tromsø, NorwayInstitute of Marine Research, Framsenteret (FRAM) – High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment, Tromsø, NorwayInstitute of Marine Research, Framsenteret (FRAM) – High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment, Tromsø, NorwayFaculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, NorwayUnderstanding how individual animals modulate their behaviour and movement patterns in response to environmental variability plays a central role in behavioural ecology. Marine mammal tracking studies typically use physical environmental characteristics that vary, and/or proxies of prey distribution, to explain predator movements. Studies linking predator movements and the actual distributions of prey are rare. Here we analysed satellite tag data from ten humpback whales in the Barents Sea (north-east Atlantic) to examine how their spatial movement and dive patterns are influenced by the geographic and vertical distribution of capelin, which is a key prey species for humpback whales. We used capelin density estimates based on direct observations from a trawl-acoustic survey and sun elevation to explore the drivers of changes in movement patterns. We found that the humpback whales’ exhibited characteristic area restricted search movement where capelin density was the highest. While horizontal movements showed both positive and negative individual relationships with sun elevation, humpback whale dive depth was positively correlated with diurnal variations in the vertical distribution of capelin. This suggests that in addition to whales foraging in regions of high capelin density, they also target the densest shoals of capelin at a range of depths, throughout the day and night. Overall, our findings suggest that regions of high capelin density are important foraging grounds for humpback whales, highlighting the central role capelin plays in the Barents Sea marine ecosystem.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1254761/fullhumpbackmovementcapelin (Mallotus villosus)behaviourpredator-preytelemetry |
| spellingShingle | Emma F. Vogel Stine Skalmerud Martin Biuw Marie-Anne Blanchet Marie-Anne Blanchet Lars Kleivane Georg Skaret Nils Øien Audun Rikardsen Foraging movements of humpback whales relate to the lateral and vertical distribution of capelin in the Barents Sea Frontiers in Marine Science humpback movement capelin (Mallotus villosus) behaviour predator-prey telemetry |
| title | Foraging movements of humpback whales relate to the lateral and vertical distribution of capelin in the Barents Sea |
| title_full | Foraging movements of humpback whales relate to the lateral and vertical distribution of capelin in the Barents Sea |
| title_fullStr | Foraging movements of humpback whales relate to the lateral and vertical distribution of capelin in the Barents Sea |
| title_full_unstemmed | Foraging movements of humpback whales relate to the lateral and vertical distribution of capelin in the Barents Sea |
| title_short | Foraging movements of humpback whales relate to the lateral and vertical distribution of capelin in the Barents Sea |
| title_sort | foraging movements of humpback whales relate to the lateral and vertical distribution of capelin in the barents sea |
| topic | humpback movement capelin (Mallotus villosus) behaviour predator-prey telemetry |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1254761/full |
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