Feeding tactics of resident Bryde's whales in New Zealand
Abstract Large predators typically feed on proportionally sized prey but the world's largest animals, baleen whales, bulk feed on plankton and small fishes. While most baleen whales migrate to feed on polar aggregations of nutritious zooplankton prey, Bryde's whales ( Balaenoptera edeni br...
Published in: | Marine Mammal Science |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Wiley
2022
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mms.12918 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/mms.12918 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/mms.12918 |
id |
crwiley:10.1111/mms.12918 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crwiley:10.1111/mms.12918 2024-09-15T17:57:27+00:00 Feeding tactics of resident Bryde's whales in New Zealand Izadi, Sahar Aguilar de Soto, Natacha Constantine, Rochelle Johnson, Mark 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mms.12918 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/mms.12918 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/mms.12918 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Marine Mammal Science volume 38, issue 3, page 1104-1117 ISSN 0824-0469 1748-7692 journal-article 2022 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12918 2024-09-03T04:22:53Z Abstract Large predators typically feed on proportionally sized prey but the world's largest animals, baleen whales, bulk feed on plankton and small fishes. While most baleen whales migrate to feed on polar aggregations of nutritious zooplankton prey, Bryde's whales ( Balaenoptera edeni brydei and B. e. edeni ) inhabit less productive warm‐temperate waters with variable prey abundance and quality. Off New Zealand, Bryde's whales target both fish and zooplankton, some with lower calorific value. We use multisensor tags ( n = 4) and visual observations from drones and boats ( n = 52) to reveal that Bryde's whales employ specialized feeding tactics matched to prey type. Zooplankton‐feeding at the surface involved multiple head‐slaps that presumably aggregate zooplankton followed by a side‐lunge. Whales exploiting plankton patches swam in tight circles, performing up to 33 lunges ( M = 5.5 ± 6.1) per feeding bout. In contrast, whales targeting fish performed faster vertical lunges. With both prey types, whales concluded lunges with a ~90° roll probably to minimize prey escape at the surface. The diet plasticity and dynamic behaviors of Bryde's whales are key to increasing their foraging efficiency. This may be essential for the whales to meet energetic demands year‐round with a variety of prey in New Zealand waters. Article in Journal/Newspaper baleen whales Wiley Online Library Marine Mammal Science 38 3 1104 1117 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Wiley Online Library |
op_collection_id |
crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Large predators typically feed on proportionally sized prey but the world's largest animals, baleen whales, bulk feed on plankton and small fishes. While most baleen whales migrate to feed on polar aggregations of nutritious zooplankton prey, Bryde's whales ( Balaenoptera edeni brydei and B. e. edeni ) inhabit less productive warm‐temperate waters with variable prey abundance and quality. Off New Zealand, Bryde's whales target both fish and zooplankton, some with lower calorific value. We use multisensor tags ( n = 4) and visual observations from drones and boats ( n = 52) to reveal that Bryde's whales employ specialized feeding tactics matched to prey type. Zooplankton‐feeding at the surface involved multiple head‐slaps that presumably aggregate zooplankton followed by a side‐lunge. Whales exploiting plankton patches swam in tight circles, performing up to 33 lunges ( M = 5.5 ± 6.1) per feeding bout. In contrast, whales targeting fish performed faster vertical lunges. With both prey types, whales concluded lunges with a ~90° roll probably to minimize prey escape at the surface. The diet plasticity and dynamic behaviors of Bryde's whales are key to increasing their foraging efficiency. This may be essential for the whales to meet energetic demands year‐round with a variety of prey in New Zealand waters. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Izadi, Sahar Aguilar de Soto, Natacha Constantine, Rochelle Johnson, Mark |
spellingShingle |
Izadi, Sahar Aguilar de Soto, Natacha Constantine, Rochelle Johnson, Mark Feeding tactics of resident Bryde's whales in New Zealand |
author_facet |
Izadi, Sahar Aguilar de Soto, Natacha Constantine, Rochelle Johnson, Mark |
author_sort |
Izadi, Sahar |
title |
Feeding tactics of resident Bryde's whales in New Zealand |
title_short |
Feeding tactics of resident Bryde's whales in New Zealand |
title_full |
Feeding tactics of resident Bryde's whales in New Zealand |
title_fullStr |
Feeding tactics of resident Bryde's whales in New Zealand |
title_full_unstemmed |
Feeding tactics of resident Bryde's whales in New Zealand |
title_sort |
feeding tactics of resident bryde's whales in new zealand |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mms.12918 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/mms.12918 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/mms.12918 |
genre |
baleen whales |
genre_facet |
baleen whales |
op_source |
Marine Mammal Science volume 38, issue 3, page 1104-1117 ISSN 0824-0469 1748-7692 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12918 |
container_title |
Marine Mammal Science |
container_volume |
38 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
1104 |
op_container_end_page |
1117 |
_version_ |
1810433606479249408 |