Skull and buccal cavity allometry increase mass-specific engulfment capacity in fin whales
Rorqual whales (Balaenopteridae) represent not only some of the largest animals of all time, but also exhibit a wide range in intraspecific and interspecific body size. Balaenopterids are characterized by their extreme lunge-feeding behaviour, a dynamic process that involves the engulfment of a larg...
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rspb.2009.1680 2024-09-15T18:06:10+00:00 Skull and buccal cavity allometry increase mass-specific engulfment capacity in fin whales Goldbogen, Jeremy A. Potvin, Jean Shadwick, Robert E. 2009 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2009.1680 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2009.1680 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2009.1680 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences volume 277, issue 1683, page 861-868 ISSN 0962-8452 1471-2954 journal-article 2009 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2009.1680 2024-08-05T04:35:26Z Rorqual whales (Balaenopteridae) represent not only some of the largest animals of all time, but also exhibit a wide range in intraspecific and interspecific body size. Balaenopterids are characterized by their extreme lunge-feeding behaviour, a dynamic process that involves the engulfment of a large volume of prey-laden water at a high energetic cost. To investigate the consequences of scale and morphology on lunge-feeding performance, we determined allometric equations for fin whale body dimensions and engulfment capacity. Our analysis demonstrates that larger fin whales have larger skulls and larger buccal cavities relative to body size. Together, these data suggest that engulfment volume is also allometric, increasing with body length as . The positive allometry of the skull is accompanied by negative allometry in the tail region. The relative shortening of the tail may represent a trade-off for investing all growth-related resources in the anterior region of the body. Although enhanced engulfment volume will increase foraging efficiency, the work (energy) required to accelerate the engulfed water mass during engulfment will be relatively higher in larger rorquals. If the mass-specific energetic cost of a lunge increases with body size, it will have major consequences for rorqual foraging ecology and evolution. Article in Journal/Newspaper Fin whale The Royal Society Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 277 1683 861 868 |
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Open Polar |
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The Royal Society |
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crroyalsociety |
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English |
description |
Rorqual whales (Balaenopteridae) represent not only some of the largest animals of all time, but also exhibit a wide range in intraspecific and interspecific body size. Balaenopterids are characterized by their extreme lunge-feeding behaviour, a dynamic process that involves the engulfment of a large volume of prey-laden water at a high energetic cost. To investigate the consequences of scale and morphology on lunge-feeding performance, we determined allometric equations for fin whale body dimensions and engulfment capacity. Our analysis demonstrates that larger fin whales have larger skulls and larger buccal cavities relative to body size. Together, these data suggest that engulfment volume is also allometric, increasing with body length as . The positive allometry of the skull is accompanied by negative allometry in the tail region. The relative shortening of the tail may represent a trade-off for investing all growth-related resources in the anterior region of the body. Although enhanced engulfment volume will increase foraging efficiency, the work (energy) required to accelerate the engulfed water mass during engulfment will be relatively higher in larger rorquals. If the mass-specific energetic cost of a lunge increases with body size, it will have major consequences for rorqual foraging ecology and evolution. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Goldbogen, Jeremy A. Potvin, Jean Shadwick, Robert E. |
spellingShingle |
Goldbogen, Jeremy A. Potvin, Jean Shadwick, Robert E. Skull and buccal cavity allometry increase mass-specific engulfment capacity in fin whales |
author_facet |
Goldbogen, Jeremy A. Potvin, Jean Shadwick, Robert E. |
author_sort |
Goldbogen, Jeremy A. |
title |
Skull and buccal cavity allometry increase mass-specific engulfment capacity in fin whales |
title_short |
Skull and buccal cavity allometry increase mass-specific engulfment capacity in fin whales |
title_full |
Skull and buccal cavity allometry increase mass-specific engulfment capacity in fin whales |
title_fullStr |
Skull and buccal cavity allometry increase mass-specific engulfment capacity in fin whales |
title_full_unstemmed |
Skull and buccal cavity allometry increase mass-specific engulfment capacity in fin whales |
title_sort |
skull and buccal cavity allometry increase mass-specific engulfment capacity in fin whales |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2009.1680 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2009.1680 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2009.1680 |
genre |
Fin whale |
genre_facet |
Fin whale |
op_source |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences volume 277, issue 1683, page 861-868 ISSN 0962-8452 1471-2954 |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2009.1680 |
container_title |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
container_volume |
277 |
container_issue |
1683 |
container_start_page |
861 |
op_container_end_page |
868 |
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1810443666197577728 |