Rorqual whale (Balaenopteridae) surface lunge‐feeding behaviors: Standardized classification, repertoire diversity, and evolutionary analyses

• Published in: Marine Mammal Science
• Main Authors: Kot, Brian W., Sears, Richard, Zbinden, Dany, Borda, Elizabeth, Gordon, Malcolm S.
• Other Authors: American Society of Mammalogists, Idea Wild, Lerner-Gray Fund for Marine Research, University of California Los Angeles
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2014
• Subjects: Rorqual; Balaenoptera acutorostrata; Blue whale; Fin whale; minke whale
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mms.12115; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fmms.12115; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/mms.12115

Abstract Rorqual whales (Family: Balaenopteridae) are the world's largest predators and sometimes feed near or at the sea surface on small schooling prey. Most rorquals capture prey using a behavioral process known as lunge‐feeding that, when occurring at the surface, often exposes the mouth and head above the water. New technology has recently improved historical misconceptions about the natural variation in rorqual lunge‐feeding behavior yet missing from the literature is a dedicated study of the identification, use, and evolution of these behaviors when used to capture prey at the surface. Here we present results from a long‐term investigation of three rorqual whale species (minke whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata fin whale, B. physalus and blue whale, B. musculus ) that helped us develop a standardized classification system of surface lunge‐feeding ( SLF ) behaviors. We then tested for differences in frequency of these behaviors among the three species and across all rorqual species. Our results: (1) propose a unified classification system of six homologous SLF behaviors used by all living rorqual whale species; (2) demonstrate statistically significant differences in the frequency of each behavior by minke, fin, and blue whales; and (3) provide new information regarding the evolution of lunge‐feeding behaviors among rorqual whales.