Whale distribution in relation to prey abundance and oceanographic processes in the shelf waters of the Western Antarctic Peninsula
The Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is a biologically rich area supporting large standing stocks of krill and top predators (including whales, seals and seabirds). Physical forcing greatly affects productivity, recruitment, survival and distribution of krill in this area. In turn, such interaction...
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ftdeakinunifig:oai:figshare.com:article/20551491 2023-05-15T14:05:22+02:00 Whale distribution in relation to prey abundance and oceanographic processes in the shelf waters of the Western Antarctic Peninsula A Friedlaendar P Halpin S Qian G Lawson P Wiebe Deborah Thiele A Read 2006-07-18T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30006626 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Whale_distribution_in_relation_to_prey_abundance_and_oceanographic_processes_in_the_shelf_waters_of_the_Western_Antarctic_Peninsula/20551491 unknown http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30006626 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Whale_distribution_in_relation_to_prey_abundance_and_oceanographic_processes_in_the_shelf_waters_of_the_Western_Antarctic_Peninsula/20551491 All Rights Reserved Oceanography Ecology Zoology distribution zooplankton ice edge Antarctica SO GLOBEC CART GAM Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Physical Sciences Marine & Freshwater Biology Environmental Sciences & Ecology whale distribution SEA-ICE EXTENT MARGUERITE BAY CETACEAN DISTRIBUTIONS SEASONAL VARIABILITY CONTINENTAL-SHELF FORAGING BEHAVIOR MINKE WHALES AUSTRAL FALL HABITAT KRILL Text Journal contribution 2006 ftdeakinunifig 2022-11-17T23:13:47Z The Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is a biologically rich area supporting large standing stocks of krill and top predators (including whales, seals and seabirds). Physical forcing greatly affects productivity, recruitment, survival and distribution of krill in this area. In turn, such interactions are likely to affect the distribution of baleen whales. The Southern Ocean GLOBEC research program aims to explore the relationships and interactions between the environment, krill and predators around Marguerite Bay (WAP) in autumn 2001 and 2002. Bathymetric and environmental variables including acoustic backscattering as an indicator of prey abundance were used to model whale distribution patterns. We used an iterative approach employing (1) classification and regression tree (CART) models to identify oceanographic and ecological variables contributing to variability in humpback Megaptera novaeangliae and minke Balaenoptera acutorstrata whale distribution, and (2) generalized additive models (GAMs) to elucidate functional ecological relationships between these variables and whale distribution. The CART models indicated that the cetacean distribution was tightly coupled with zooplankton acoustic volume backscatter in the upper (25 to 100 m), and middle (100 to 300 m) portions of the water column. Whale distribution was also related to distance from the ice edge and bathymetric slope. The GAMs indicated a persistent, strong, positive relationship between increasing zooplankton volume and whale relative abundance. Furthermore, there was a lower limit for averaged acoustic volume backscatter of zooplankton below which the relationship between whales and prey was not significant. The GAMs also supported an annual relationship between whale distribution, distance from the ice edge and bathymetric slope, suggesting that these are important features for aggregating prey. Our results demonstrate that during the 2 yr study, whales were consistently and predictably associated with the distribution of zooplankton. Thus, ... Other Non-Article Part of Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica baleen whales Megaptera novaeangliae Sea ice Southern Ocean DRO - Deakin Research Online Antarctic Southern Ocean Antarctic Peninsula Austral Marguerite ENVELOPE(141.378,141.378,-66.787,-66.787) Marguerite Bay ENVELOPE(-68.000,-68.000,-68.500,-68.500) Gam ENVELOPE(-57.955,-57.955,-61.923,-61.923) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
DRO - Deakin Research Online |
op_collection_id |
ftdeakinunifig |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Oceanography Ecology Zoology distribution zooplankton ice edge Antarctica SO GLOBEC CART GAM Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Physical Sciences Marine & Freshwater Biology Environmental Sciences & Ecology whale distribution SEA-ICE EXTENT MARGUERITE BAY CETACEAN DISTRIBUTIONS SEASONAL VARIABILITY CONTINENTAL-SHELF FORAGING BEHAVIOR MINKE WHALES AUSTRAL FALL HABITAT KRILL |
spellingShingle |
Oceanography Ecology Zoology distribution zooplankton ice edge Antarctica SO GLOBEC CART GAM Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Physical Sciences Marine & Freshwater Biology Environmental Sciences & Ecology whale distribution SEA-ICE EXTENT MARGUERITE BAY CETACEAN DISTRIBUTIONS SEASONAL VARIABILITY CONTINENTAL-SHELF FORAGING BEHAVIOR MINKE WHALES AUSTRAL FALL HABITAT KRILL A Friedlaendar P Halpin S Qian G Lawson P Wiebe Deborah Thiele A Read Whale distribution in relation to prey abundance and oceanographic processes in the shelf waters of the Western Antarctic Peninsula |
topic_facet |
Oceanography Ecology Zoology distribution zooplankton ice edge Antarctica SO GLOBEC CART GAM Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Physical Sciences Marine & Freshwater Biology Environmental Sciences & Ecology whale distribution SEA-ICE EXTENT MARGUERITE BAY CETACEAN DISTRIBUTIONS SEASONAL VARIABILITY CONTINENTAL-SHELF FORAGING BEHAVIOR MINKE WHALES AUSTRAL FALL HABITAT KRILL |
description |
The Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is a biologically rich area supporting large standing stocks of krill and top predators (including whales, seals and seabirds). Physical forcing greatly affects productivity, recruitment, survival and distribution of krill in this area. In turn, such interactions are likely to affect the distribution of baleen whales. The Southern Ocean GLOBEC research program aims to explore the relationships and interactions between the environment, krill and predators around Marguerite Bay (WAP) in autumn 2001 and 2002. Bathymetric and environmental variables including acoustic backscattering as an indicator of prey abundance were used to model whale distribution patterns. We used an iterative approach employing (1) classification and regression tree (CART) models to identify oceanographic and ecological variables contributing to variability in humpback Megaptera novaeangliae and minke Balaenoptera acutorstrata whale distribution, and (2) generalized additive models (GAMs) to elucidate functional ecological relationships between these variables and whale distribution. The CART models indicated that the cetacean distribution was tightly coupled with zooplankton acoustic volume backscatter in the upper (25 to 100 m), and middle (100 to 300 m) portions of the water column. Whale distribution was also related to distance from the ice edge and bathymetric slope. The GAMs indicated a persistent, strong, positive relationship between increasing zooplankton volume and whale relative abundance. Furthermore, there was a lower limit for averaged acoustic volume backscatter of zooplankton below which the relationship between whales and prey was not significant. The GAMs also supported an annual relationship between whale distribution, distance from the ice edge and bathymetric slope, suggesting that these are important features for aggregating prey. Our results demonstrate that during the 2 yr study, whales were consistently and predictably associated with the distribution of zooplankton. Thus, ... |
format |
Other Non-Article Part of Journal/Newspaper |
author |
A Friedlaendar P Halpin S Qian G Lawson P Wiebe Deborah Thiele A Read |
author_facet |
A Friedlaendar P Halpin S Qian G Lawson P Wiebe Deborah Thiele A Read |
author_sort |
A Friedlaendar |
title |
Whale distribution in relation to prey abundance and oceanographic processes in the shelf waters of the Western Antarctic Peninsula |
title_short |
Whale distribution in relation to prey abundance and oceanographic processes in the shelf waters of the Western Antarctic Peninsula |
title_full |
Whale distribution in relation to prey abundance and oceanographic processes in the shelf waters of the Western Antarctic Peninsula |
title_fullStr |
Whale distribution in relation to prey abundance and oceanographic processes in the shelf waters of the Western Antarctic Peninsula |
title_full_unstemmed |
Whale distribution in relation to prey abundance and oceanographic processes in the shelf waters of the Western Antarctic Peninsula |
title_sort |
whale distribution in relation to prey abundance and oceanographic processes in the shelf waters of the western antarctic peninsula |
publishDate |
2006 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30006626 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Whale_distribution_in_relation_to_prey_abundance_and_oceanographic_processes_in_the_shelf_waters_of_the_Western_Antarctic_Peninsula/20551491 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(141.378,141.378,-66.787,-66.787) ENVELOPE(-68.000,-68.000,-68.500,-68.500) ENVELOPE(-57.955,-57.955,-61.923,-61.923) |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean Antarctic Peninsula Austral Marguerite Marguerite Bay Gam |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean Antarctic Peninsula Austral Marguerite Marguerite Bay Gam |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica baleen whales Megaptera novaeangliae Sea ice Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica baleen whales Megaptera novaeangliae Sea ice Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30006626 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Whale_distribution_in_relation_to_prey_abundance_and_oceanographic_processes_in_the_shelf_waters_of_the_Western_Antarctic_Peninsula/20551491 |
op_rights |
All Rights Reserved |
_version_ |
1766277181522051072 |