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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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230903 https://doaj.org/article/865c2cff6cec4551a9761dfe58ec8860 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:865c2cff6cec4551a9761dfe58ec8860 2024-02-04T09:55:58+01:00 Killer whale acoustic patterns respond to prey abundance and environmental variability around the Prince Edward Islands, Southern Ocean Fannie W. Shabangu Robyn Daniels Rowan K. Jordaan P. J. Nico de Bruyn Marcel A. van den Berg Tarron Lamont 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230903 https://doaj.org/article/865c2cff6cec4551a9761dfe58ec8860 EN eng The Royal Society https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.230903 https://doaj.org/toc/2054-5703 doi:10.1098/rsos.230903 2054-5703 https://doaj.org/article/865c2cff6cec4551a9761dfe58ec8860 Royal Society Open Science, Vol 11, Iss 1 (2024) Orcinus orca vocalizing behaviour acoustic occurrence sub-Antarctic region prey oceanographic variables Science Q article 2024 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230903 2024-01-07T01:42:11Z 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. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Killer Whale Orca Orcinus orca Prince Edward Islands Southern Ocean Killer whale Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Southern Ocean Royal Society Open Science 11 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Orcinus orca vocalizing behaviour acoustic occurrence sub-Antarctic region prey oceanographic variables Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Orcinus orca vocalizing behaviour acoustic occurrence sub-Antarctic region prey oceanographic variables Science Q Fannie W. Shabangu Robyn Daniels Rowan K. Jordaan P. J. Nico de Bruyn Marcel A. van den Berg Tarron Lamont Killer whale acoustic patterns respond to prey abundance and environmental variability around the Prince Edward Islands, Southern Ocean |
topic_facet |
Orcinus orca vocalizing behaviour acoustic occurrence sub-Antarctic region prey oceanographic variables Science Q |
description |
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. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Fannie W. Shabangu Robyn Daniels Rowan K. Jordaan P. J. Nico de Bruyn Marcel A. van den Berg Tarron Lamont |
author_facet |
Fannie W. Shabangu Robyn Daniels Rowan K. Jordaan P. J. Nico de Bruyn Marcel A. van den Berg Tarron Lamont |
author_sort |
Fannie W. Shabangu |
title |
Killer whale acoustic patterns respond to prey abundance and environmental variability around the Prince Edward Islands, Southern Ocean |
title_short |
Killer whale acoustic patterns respond to prey abundance and environmental variability around the Prince Edward Islands, Southern Ocean |
title_full |
Killer whale acoustic patterns respond to prey abundance and environmental variability around the Prince Edward Islands, Southern Ocean |
title_fullStr |
Killer whale acoustic patterns respond to prey abundance and environmental variability around the Prince Edward Islands, Southern Ocean |
title_full_unstemmed |
Killer whale acoustic patterns respond to prey abundance and environmental variability around the Prince Edward Islands, Southern Ocean |
title_sort |
killer whale acoustic patterns respond to prey abundance and environmental variability around the prince edward islands, southern ocean |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230903 https://doaj.org/article/865c2cff6cec4551a9761dfe58ec8860 |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Killer Whale Orca Orcinus orca Prince Edward Islands Southern Ocean Killer whale |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Killer Whale Orca Orcinus orca Prince Edward Islands Southern Ocean Killer whale |
op_source |
Royal Society Open Science, Vol 11, Iss 1 (2024) |
op_relation |
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.230903 https://doaj.org/toc/2054-5703 doi:10.1098/rsos.230903 2054-5703 https://doaj.org/article/865c2cff6cec4551a9761dfe58ec8860 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230903 |
container_title |
Royal Society Open Science |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1789960229587255296 |