Evaluation of the diet of Sowerby's beaked whale, Mesoplodon bidens, based on isotopic comparisons among northwestern Atlantic cetaceans
Sowerby's beaked whale, Mesoplodon bidens, is a poorly known and infrequently encountered species. Consequently, its behavior and habitat requirements are largely unknown. Evidence of the trophic level and diet of M. bidens was obtained through a comparison of δ 13 C and δ 15 N values for this...
Published in: | Canadian Journal of Zoology |
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Canadian Science Publishing
1993
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z93-110 2024-05-19T07:37:58+00:00 Evaluation of the diet of Sowerby's beaked whale, Mesoplodon bidens, based on isotopic comparisons among northwestern Atlantic cetaceans Ostrom, Peggy H. Lien, Jon Macko, Stephen A. 1993 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z93-110 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z93-110 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 71, issue 4, page 858-861 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 journal-article 1993 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/z93-110 2024-04-25T06:52:01Z Sowerby's beaked whale, Mesoplodon bidens, is a poorly known and infrequently encountered species. Consequently, its behavior and habitat requirements are largely unknown. Evidence of the trophic level and diet of M. bidens was obtained through a comparison of δ 13 C and δ 15 N values for this species with those for eight other cetaceans and the basking shark, Cetorhinus maximus. The δ 13 C value for M. bidens (−18.5 ± 1.1‰) was similar to that for all other cetaceans (−18.7 to −17.2‰) except the sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, and the blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus (−22.8 and −20.1‰, respectively). At least a portion of the range of δ 13 C values for the cetaceans and the basking shark is thought to be related to variations in the lipid content of the samples. Nitrogen isotope values appear to reflect trophic position. Based on δ 15 N, organisms can be ordered along a trophic continuum bracketed by the planktivorous basking shark (9.9‰) and the piscivorous white-beaked dolphin, Lagenorhynchus albirostris (16.2‰). The trophic position of M. bidens (δ 15 N = 11.7‰) is intermediate between those of the pygmy sperm whale, Kogia breviceps (δ 15 N = 11.9‰), and the sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus (δ 15 N = 11.1‰), and thus supports previous suggestions that these species feed at similar trophic positions. The estimated δ 15 N value of the diet of M. bidens, 8.7‰, is consistent with a diet that has a large contribution from small offshore squid, δ 15 N = 9.3‰. Article in Journal/Newspaper Balaenoptera musculus Blue whale Cetorhinus maximus Lagenorhynchus albirostris Mesoplodon bidens Physeter macrocephalus Sowerby's beaked whale Sperm whale White-beaked dolphin Canadian Science Publishing Canadian Journal of Zoology 71 4 858 861 |
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Open Polar |
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Canadian Science Publishing |
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crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
Sowerby's beaked whale, Mesoplodon bidens, is a poorly known and infrequently encountered species. Consequently, its behavior and habitat requirements are largely unknown. Evidence of the trophic level and diet of M. bidens was obtained through a comparison of δ 13 C and δ 15 N values for this species with those for eight other cetaceans and the basking shark, Cetorhinus maximus. The δ 13 C value for M. bidens (−18.5 ± 1.1‰) was similar to that for all other cetaceans (−18.7 to −17.2‰) except the sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, and the blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus (−22.8 and −20.1‰, respectively). At least a portion of the range of δ 13 C values for the cetaceans and the basking shark is thought to be related to variations in the lipid content of the samples. Nitrogen isotope values appear to reflect trophic position. Based on δ 15 N, organisms can be ordered along a trophic continuum bracketed by the planktivorous basking shark (9.9‰) and the piscivorous white-beaked dolphin, Lagenorhynchus albirostris (16.2‰). The trophic position of M. bidens (δ 15 N = 11.7‰) is intermediate between those of the pygmy sperm whale, Kogia breviceps (δ 15 N = 11.9‰), and the sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus (δ 15 N = 11.1‰), and thus supports previous suggestions that these species feed at similar trophic positions. The estimated δ 15 N value of the diet of M. bidens, 8.7‰, is consistent with a diet that has a large contribution from small offshore squid, δ 15 N = 9.3‰. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ostrom, Peggy H. Lien, Jon Macko, Stephen A. |
spellingShingle |
Ostrom, Peggy H. Lien, Jon Macko, Stephen A. Evaluation of the diet of Sowerby's beaked whale, Mesoplodon bidens, based on isotopic comparisons among northwestern Atlantic cetaceans |
author_facet |
Ostrom, Peggy H. Lien, Jon Macko, Stephen A. |
author_sort |
Ostrom, Peggy H. |
title |
Evaluation of the diet of Sowerby's beaked whale, Mesoplodon bidens, based on isotopic comparisons among northwestern Atlantic cetaceans |
title_short |
Evaluation of the diet of Sowerby's beaked whale, Mesoplodon bidens, based on isotopic comparisons among northwestern Atlantic cetaceans |
title_full |
Evaluation of the diet of Sowerby's beaked whale, Mesoplodon bidens, based on isotopic comparisons among northwestern Atlantic cetaceans |
title_fullStr |
Evaluation of the diet of Sowerby's beaked whale, Mesoplodon bidens, based on isotopic comparisons among northwestern Atlantic cetaceans |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evaluation of the diet of Sowerby's beaked whale, Mesoplodon bidens, based on isotopic comparisons among northwestern Atlantic cetaceans |
title_sort |
evaluation of the diet of sowerby's beaked whale, mesoplodon bidens, based on isotopic comparisons among northwestern atlantic cetaceans |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
1993 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z93-110 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z93-110 |
genre |
Balaenoptera musculus Blue whale Cetorhinus maximus Lagenorhynchus albirostris Mesoplodon bidens Physeter macrocephalus Sowerby's beaked whale Sperm whale White-beaked dolphin |
genre_facet |
Balaenoptera musculus Blue whale Cetorhinus maximus Lagenorhynchus albirostris Mesoplodon bidens Physeter macrocephalus Sowerby's beaked whale Sperm whale White-beaked dolphin |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 71, issue 4, page 858-861 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/z93-110 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
71 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
858 |
op_container_end_page |
861 |
_version_ |
1799477370937147392 |