Killer whale predation on bluefin tuna: exploring the hypothesis of the endurance-exhaustion technique
International audience Killer whales Orcinus orca occur in the area of the Strait of Gibraltar, where they prey on migrating bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus. In the spring, killer whales were observed to chase tuna for up to 30 min at a relatively high sustained speed (3.7 ± 0.2 m s–1) until they captu...
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Online Access: | https://hal.science/hal-00265890 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07035 |
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ftccsdartic:oai:HAL:hal-00265890v1 2024-02-27T08:42:31+00:00 Killer whale predation on bluefin tuna: exploring the hypothesis of the endurance-exhaustion technique Guinet, Christophe Domenici, P. de Stephanis, Renaud Barrett-Lennard, L. Ford, J.K.B. Verborgh, P. Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC) Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) CNR Institute for Coastal Marine Environment (IAMC) National Research Council of Italy CIRCé Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre Fisheries and Oceans Canada Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) 2007-10-11 https://hal.science/hal-00265890 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07035 en eng HAL CCSD Inter Research info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.3354/meps07035 hal-00265890 https://hal.science/hal-00265890 doi:10.3354/meps07035 ISSN: 0171-8630 EISSN: 1616-1599 Marine Ecology Progress Series https://hal.science/hal-00265890 Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2007, 347, pp.111-119. ⟨10.3354/meps07035⟩ Killer whales · Bluefin tuna · Predation · Endurance · Swimming speed [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology [SDE.ES]Environmental Sciences/Environment and Society [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2007 ftccsdartic https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07035 2024-01-28T02:27:17Z International audience Killer whales Orcinus orca occur in the area of the Strait of Gibraltar, where they prey on migrating bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus. In the spring, killer whales were observed to chase tuna for up to 30 min at a relatively high sustained speed (3.7 ± 0.2 m s–1) until they captured them. Using simple models based on previous locomotor performance data on killer whales and thunnids, we investigated the hypothesis that killer whales push tuna beyond their aerobic limits to exhaust and capture them. To test this hypothesis, the endurance of bluefin tuna was estimated from data on maximum burst and aerobic swimming available for bluefin and yellowfin tuna T. albacares. The endurance performance of killer whales was evaluated on the basis of the maximal rate of oxygen uptake during exercise (VO2max). We modelled the maximum aerobic power output for a killer whale according to swimming speed using a VO2max ranging between 20 and 30 ml O2 kg–1 min–1. The output of this model was compared to the observed sustained swimming speed of killer whales chasing prey over long durations. Our results support the hypothesis that killer whales may use an endurance-exhaustion technique to catch small to medium sized (up to 0.8 to 1.5 m) bluefin tuna, while larger tuna may be inaccessible to killer whales unless they use cooperative hunting techniques or benefit through depredation of fish caught on long lines, drop lines or trap nets. Article in Journal/Newspaper Killer Whale Orca Orcinus orca Killer whale Archive ouverte HAL (Hyper Article en Ligne, CCSD - Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) Marine Ecology Progress Series 347 111 119 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Archive ouverte HAL (Hyper Article en Ligne, CCSD - Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) |
op_collection_id |
ftccsdartic |
language |
English |
topic |
Killer whales · Bluefin tuna · Predation · Endurance · Swimming speed [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology [SDE.ES]Environmental Sciences/Environment and Society [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes |
spellingShingle |
Killer whales · Bluefin tuna · Predation · Endurance · Swimming speed [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology [SDE.ES]Environmental Sciences/Environment and Society [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes Guinet, Christophe Domenici, P. de Stephanis, Renaud Barrett-Lennard, L. Ford, J.K.B. Verborgh, P. Killer whale predation on bluefin tuna: exploring the hypothesis of the endurance-exhaustion technique |
topic_facet |
Killer whales · Bluefin tuna · Predation · Endurance · Swimming speed [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology [SDE.ES]Environmental Sciences/Environment and Society [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes |
description |
International audience Killer whales Orcinus orca occur in the area of the Strait of Gibraltar, where they prey on migrating bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus. In the spring, killer whales were observed to chase tuna for up to 30 min at a relatively high sustained speed (3.7 ± 0.2 m s–1) until they captured them. Using simple models based on previous locomotor performance data on killer whales and thunnids, we investigated the hypothesis that killer whales push tuna beyond their aerobic limits to exhaust and capture them. To test this hypothesis, the endurance of bluefin tuna was estimated from data on maximum burst and aerobic swimming available for bluefin and yellowfin tuna T. albacares. The endurance performance of killer whales was evaluated on the basis of the maximal rate of oxygen uptake during exercise (VO2max). We modelled the maximum aerobic power output for a killer whale according to swimming speed using a VO2max ranging between 20 and 30 ml O2 kg–1 min–1. The output of this model was compared to the observed sustained swimming speed of killer whales chasing prey over long durations. Our results support the hypothesis that killer whales may use an endurance-exhaustion technique to catch small to medium sized (up to 0.8 to 1.5 m) bluefin tuna, while larger tuna may be inaccessible to killer whales unless they use cooperative hunting techniques or benefit through depredation of fish caught on long lines, drop lines or trap nets. |
author2 |
Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC) Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) CNR Institute for Coastal Marine Environment (IAMC) National Research Council of Italy CIRCé Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre Fisheries and Oceans Canada Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Guinet, Christophe Domenici, P. de Stephanis, Renaud Barrett-Lennard, L. Ford, J.K.B. Verborgh, P. |
author_facet |
Guinet, Christophe Domenici, P. de Stephanis, Renaud Barrett-Lennard, L. Ford, J.K.B. Verborgh, P. |
author_sort |
Guinet, Christophe |
title |
Killer whale predation on bluefin tuna: exploring the hypothesis of the endurance-exhaustion technique |
title_short |
Killer whale predation on bluefin tuna: exploring the hypothesis of the endurance-exhaustion technique |
title_full |
Killer whale predation on bluefin tuna: exploring the hypothesis of the endurance-exhaustion technique |
title_fullStr |
Killer whale predation on bluefin tuna: exploring the hypothesis of the endurance-exhaustion technique |
title_full_unstemmed |
Killer whale predation on bluefin tuna: exploring the hypothesis of the endurance-exhaustion technique |
title_sort |
killer whale predation on bluefin tuna: exploring the hypothesis of the endurance-exhaustion technique |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2007 |
url |
https://hal.science/hal-00265890 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07035 |
genre |
Killer Whale Orca Orcinus orca Killer whale |
genre_facet |
Killer Whale Orca Orcinus orca Killer whale |
op_source |
ISSN: 0171-8630 EISSN: 1616-1599 Marine Ecology Progress Series https://hal.science/hal-00265890 Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2007, 347, pp.111-119. ⟨10.3354/meps07035⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.3354/meps07035 hal-00265890 https://hal.science/hal-00265890 doi:10.3354/meps07035 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07035 |
container_title |
Marine Ecology Progress Series |
container_volume |
347 |
container_start_page |
111 |
op_container_end_page |
119 |
_version_ |
1792050268619145216 |