Killer whale acoustic patterns respond to prey abundance and environmental variability around the Prince Edward Islands, Southern Ocean

Killer whales are apex predators with temporally and spatially varying distributions throughout the world's oceans. Their ecology and behaviour are poorly understood in most regions due to limited research, often because of logistical challenges. Here, we used a passive acoustic monitoring devi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Royal Society Open Science
Main Authors: Fannie W. Shabangu, Robyn Daniels, Rowan K. Jordaan, P. J. Nico de Bruyn, Marcel A. van den Berg, Tarron Lamont
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: The Royal Society 2024
Subjects:
Orcinus orca
vocalizing behaviour
acoustic occurrence
sub-Antarctic region
prey
oceanographic variables
Science
Q
Antarctic
Southern Ocean
Antarc*
Killer Whale
Orca
Prince Edward Islands
Killer whale
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230903
https://doaj.org/article/865c2cff6cec4551a9761dfe58ec8860
Description
Summary:Killer whales are apex predators with temporally and spatially varying distributions throughout the world's oceans. Their ecology and behaviour are poorly understood in most regions due to limited research, often because of logistical challenges. Here, we used a passive acoustic monitoring device to investigate the seasonal acoustic occurrence and diel vocalizing behaviour of killer whales around the remote sub-Antarctic Prince Edward Islands (PEIs), Southern Ocean. Killer whales showed diel vocalizing patterns that varied seasonally in relation to their prey abundance and social activities. Killer whale calls were intermittently detected year-round with a high number of hours containing calls in October to December, and a secondary peak in February to May, corresponding to seal prey abundance. Random forest modelling identified wind speed as the primary predictor of the occurrence of killer whale calls (with a negative correlation) while sea surface height, chlorophyll-a and sea surface temperature were moderately important. We provide the first acoustic evidence that killer whale occurrence around the PEIs might coincide with variability in environmental conditions and prey abundance. Our results provide the first indication of diel vocalizing pattern of killer whales in the Southern Ocean. This knowledge is important for understanding killer whale ecology and adaptation to the changing oceans.

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