Deep-diving behaviour of the northern bottlenose whale, Hyperoodon ampullatus (Cetacea: Ziphiidae
Using suction-cup attached time^depth recorder/VHF radio tags, we have obtained the ¢rst diving data on northern bottlenose whales (Hyperoodon ampullatus), the ¢rst such data on any species within the family Ziphiidae. Two deployments in 1997 on northern bottlenose whales in a submarine canyon o ¡ N...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
1999
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.540.1954 http://www.cascadiaresearch.org/robin/bnwdive.pdf |
| Summary: | Using suction-cup attached time^depth recorder/VHF radio tags, we have obtained the ¢rst diving data on northern bottlenose whales (Hyperoodon ampullatus), the ¢rst such data on any species within the family Ziphiidae. Two deployments in 1997 on northern bottlenose whales in a submarine canyon o ¡ Nova Scotia demonstrated their exceptional diving ability, with dives approximately every 80min to over 800m (maximum 1453m), and up to 70min in duration. Sonar traces of non-tagged, diving bottlenose whales in 1996 and 1997 suggest that such deep dives are not unusual. This combined evidence leads us to hypothesize that these whales may make greater use of deep portions of the water column than any other mammal so far studied. Many of the recorded dives of the tagged animals were to, or close to, the sea £oor, consistent with benthic or bathypelagic foraging. A lack of correlation between dive times and surface intervals suggests that the dives were predominately aerobic. |
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