Supplementary material from "Pectoral herding: an innovative tactic for humpback whale foraging"
Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) have exceptionally long pectorals (i.e. flippers) that aid in shallow water navigation, rapid acceleration and increased manoeuvrability. The use of pectorals to herd or manipulate prey has been hypothesized since the 1930s. We combined new technology and a...
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ftdatacite:10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4687511.v1 2023-05-15T16:35:56+02:00 Supplementary material from "Pectoral herding: an innovative tactic for humpback whale foraging" Kosma, Madison M. Werth, Alexander J. Szabo, Andrew R. Straley, Janice M. 2019 https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4687511.v1 https://rs.figshare.com/collections/Supplementary_material_from_Pectoral_herding_an_innovative_tactic_for_humpback_whale_foraging_/4687511/1 unknown The Royal Society https://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.191104 https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4687511 CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 CC-BY Ecology FOS Biological sciences 60801 Animal Behaviour Collection article 2019 ftdatacite https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4687511.v1 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.191104 https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4687511 2021-11-05T12:55:41Z Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) have exceptionally long pectorals (i.e. flippers) that aid in shallow water navigation, rapid acceleration and increased manoeuvrability. The use of pectorals to herd or manipulate prey has been hypothesized since the 1930s. We combined new technology and a unique viewing platform to document the additional use of pectorals to aggregate prey during foraging events. Here, we provide a description of ‘pectoral herding’ and explore the conditions that may promote this innovative foraging behaviour. Specifically, we analysed aerial videos and photographic sequences to assess the function of pectorals during feeding events near salmon hatchery release sites in Southeast Alaska (2016–2018). We observed the use of solo bubble-nets to initially corral prey, followed by calculated movements to establish a secondary boundary with the pectorals—further condensing prey and increasing foraging efficiency. We found three ways in which humpback whales use pectorals to herd prey: (i) create a physical barrier to prevent evasion, (ii) cause water motion to guide prey towards the mouth, and (iii) position the ventral side to reflect light and alter prey movement. Our findings suggest that behavioural plasticity may aid foraging in changing environments and shifts in prey availability. Further study would clarify if ‘pectoral herding’ is used as a principal foraging tool by the broader humpback whale population and the conditions that promote its use. Article in Journal/Newspaper Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Alaska DataCite Metadata Store (German National Library of Science and Technology) Corral ENVELOPE(-62.950,-62.950,-64.900,-64.900) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
DataCite Metadata Store (German National Library of Science and Technology) |
op_collection_id |
ftdatacite |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Ecology FOS Biological sciences 60801 Animal Behaviour |
spellingShingle |
Ecology FOS Biological sciences 60801 Animal Behaviour Kosma, Madison M. Werth, Alexander J. Szabo, Andrew R. Straley, Janice M. Supplementary material from "Pectoral herding: an innovative tactic for humpback whale foraging" |
topic_facet |
Ecology FOS Biological sciences 60801 Animal Behaviour |
description |
Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) have exceptionally long pectorals (i.e. flippers) that aid in shallow water navigation, rapid acceleration and increased manoeuvrability. The use of pectorals to herd or manipulate prey has been hypothesized since the 1930s. We combined new technology and a unique viewing platform to document the additional use of pectorals to aggregate prey during foraging events. Here, we provide a description of ‘pectoral herding’ and explore the conditions that may promote this innovative foraging behaviour. Specifically, we analysed aerial videos and photographic sequences to assess the function of pectorals during feeding events near salmon hatchery release sites in Southeast Alaska (2016–2018). We observed the use of solo bubble-nets to initially corral prey, followed by calculated movements to establish a secondary boundary with the pectorals—further condensing prey and increasing foraging efficiency. We found three ways in which humpback whales use pectorals to herd prey: (i) create a physical barrier to prevent evasion, (ii) cause water motion to guide prey towards the mouth, and (iii) position the ventral side to reflect light and alter prey movement. Our findings suggest that behavioural plasticity may aid foraging in changing environments and shifts in prey availability. Further study would clarify if ‘pectoral herding’ is used as a principal foraging tool by the broader humpback whale population and the conditions that promote its use. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kosma, Madison M. Werth, Alexander J. Szabo, Andrew R. Straley, Janice M. |
author_facet |
Kosma, Madison M. Werth, Alexander J. Szabo, Andrew R. Straley, Janice M. |
author_sort |
Kosma, Madison M. |
title |
Supplementary material from "Pectoral herding: an innovative tactic for humpback whale foraging" |
title_short |
Supplementary material from "Pectoral herding: an innovative tactic for humpback whale foraging" |
title_full |
Supplementary material from "Pectoral herding: an innovative tactic for humpback whale foraging" |
title_fullStr |
Supplementary material from "Pectoral herding: an innovative tactic for humpback whale foraging" |
title_full_unstemmed |
Supplementary material from "Pectoral herding: an innovative tactic for humpback whale foraging" |
title_sort |
supplementary material from "pectoral herding: an innovative tactic for humpback whale foraging" |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4687511.v1 https://rs.figshare.com/collections/Supplementary_material_from_Pectoral_herding_an_innovative_tactic_for_humpback_whale_foraging_/4687511/1 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-62.950,-62.950,-64.900,-64.900) |
geographic |
Corral |
geographic_facet |
Corral |
genre |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Alaska |
genre_facet |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Alaska |
op_relation |
https://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.191104 https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4687511 |
op_rights |
CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4687511.v1 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.191104 https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4687511 |
_version_ |
1766026255910567936 |