Feeding ecology and population delineation of south‐eastern Atlantic and south‐western Indian Ocean humpback whales using stable isotope analysis
Abstract Population delineation is vital for effectively managing and protecting populations of all at‐risk species. Population boundaries of Southern Hemisphere humpback whales on their breeding and feeding grounds have not been fully resolved. A number of methods have been used to delineate breedi...
Published in: | Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems |
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crwiley:10.1002/aqc.3266 2024-06-02T08:07:56+00:00 Feeding ecology and population delineation of south‐eastern Atlantic and south‐western Indian Ocean humpback whales using stable isotope analysis Montanari, Shaena Kershaw, Francine Rosenbaum, Howard C. Columbia University 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3266 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Faqc.3266 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/aqc.3266 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/aqc.3266 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems volume 30, issue 3, page 486-496 ISSN 1052-7613 1099-0755 journal-article 2020 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3266 2024-05-03T11:45:11Z Abstract Population delineation is vital for effectively managing and protecting populations of all at‐risk species. Population boundaries of Southern Hemisphere humpback whales on their breeding and feeding grounds have not been fully resolved. A number of methods have been used to delineate breeding stocks of Southern Hemisphere humpbacks, but ecological characteristics determined via stable isotope analysis provide valuable information to contrast other data sources. In this study, stable isotope analysis is used to investigate potential separation of humpback whale populations on Southern Hemisphere feeding grounds as evidenced by carbon and nitrogen isotope values in their skin as proxies of diet. One hundred samples of whale skin obtained from biopsies in sampling localities off the coasts of Gabon, Mayotte (Mozambique Channel), and Madagascar were analysed for carbon ( δ 13 C) and nitrogen ( δ 15 N) stable isotope ratios. The results showed a statistically significant difference in the mean δ 15 N values for whales between the populations from Gabon and Madagascar (7.0 ± 0.1‰ and 7.6 ± 0.1‰), and Gabon and Mayotte (7.6 ± 0.1‰ and 7.2 ± 0.1‰), indicating that these breeding stocks are potentially visiting different areas of the feeding grounds outside of the breeding season. The results from this study indicate that at least some breeding stocks may show fidelity to separate feeding areas and do not widely mix with individuals from other breeding stocks while feeding. Article in Journal/Newspaper Humpback Whale Wiley Online Library Indian Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 30 3 486 496 |
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English |
description |
Abstract Population delineation is vital for effectively managing and protecting populations of all at‐risk species. Population boundaries of Southern Hemisphere humpback whales on their breeding and feeding grounds have not been fully resolved. A number of methods have been used to delineate breeding stocks of Southern Hemisphere humpbacks, but ecological characteristics determined via stable isotope analysis provide valuable information to contrast other data sources. In this study, stable isotope analysis is used to investigate potential separation of humpback whale populations on Southern Hemisphere feeding grounds as evidenced by carbon and nitrogen isotope values in their skin as proxies of diet. One hundred samples of whale skin obtained from biopsies in sampling localities off the coasts of Gabon, Mayotte (Mozambique Channel), and Madagascar were analysed for carbon ( δ 13 C) and nitrogen ( δ 15 N) stable isotope ratios. The results showed a statistically significant difference in the mean δ 15 N values for whales between the populations from Gabon and Madagascar (7.0 ± 0.1‰ and 7.6 ± 0.1‰), and Gabon and Mayotte (7.6 ± 0.1‰ and 7.2 ± 0.1‰), indicating that these breeding stocks are potentially visiting different areas of the feeding grounds outside of the breeding season. The results from this study indicate that at least some breeding stocks may show fidelity to separate feeding areas and do not widely mix with individuals from other breeding stocks while feeding. |
author2 |
Columbia University |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Montanari, Shaena Kershaw, Francine Rosenbaum, Howard C. |
spellingShingle |
Montanari, Shaena Kershaw, Francine Rosenbaum, Howard C. Feeding ecology and population delineation of south‐eastern Atlantic and south‐western Indian Ocean humpback whales using stable isotope analysis |
author_facet |
Montanari, Shaena Kershaw, Francine Rosenbaum, Howard C. |
author_sort |
Montanari, Shaena |
title |
Feeding ecology and population delineation of south‐eastern Atlantic and south‐western Indian Ocean humpback whales using stable isotope analysis |
title_short |
Feeding ecology and population delineation of south‐eastern Atlantic and south‐western Indian Ocean humpback whales using stable isotope analysis |
title_full |
Feeding ecology and population delineation of south‐eastern Atlantic and south‐western Indian Ocean humpback whales using stable isotope analysis |
title_fullStr |
Feeding ecology and population delineation of south‐eastern Atlantic and south‐western Indian Ocean humpback whales using stable isotope analysis |
title_full_unstemmed |
Feeding ecology and population delineation of south‐eastern Atlantic and south‐western Indian Ocean humpback whales using stable isotope analysis |
title_sort |
feeding ecology and population delineation of south‐eastern atlantic and south‐western indian ocean humpback whales using stable isotope analysis |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3266 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Faqc.3266 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/aqc.3266 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/aqc.3266 |
geographic |
Indian |
geographic_facet |
Indian |
genre |
Humpback Whale |
genre_facet |
Humpback Whale |
op_source |
Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems volume 30, issue 3, page 486-496 ISSN 1052-7613 1099-0755 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3266 |
container_title |
Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems |
container_volume |
30 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
486 |
op_container_end_page |
496 |
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1800753087301812224 |