Spatial and seasonal foraging patterns drive diet differences among north Pacific resident killer whale populations
Highly social top marine predators, including many cetaceans, exhibit culturally learned ecological behaviours such as diet preference and foraging strategy that can affect their resilience to competition or anthropogenic impacts. When these species are also endangered, conservation efforts require...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.240445 https://doaj.org/article/8a4201c9b4c2437aabbe6f30c2fe4208 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:8a4201c9b4c2437aabbe6f30c2fe4208 2024-10-06T13:50:22+00:00 Spatial and seasonal foraging patterns drive diet differences among north Pacific resident killer whale populations Amy M. Van Cise M. Bradley Hanson Candice Emmons Dan Olsen Craig O. Matkin Abigail H. Wells Kim M. Parsons 2024-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.240445 https://doaj.org/article/8a4201c9b4c2437aabbe6f30c2fe4208 EN eng The Royal Society https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.240445 https://doaj.org/toc/2054-5703 doi:10.1098/rsos.240445 https://doaj.org/article/8a4201c9b4c2437aabbe6f30c2fe4208 Royal Society Open Science, Vol 11, Iss 9 (2024) diet foraging killer whale metabarcoding faecal top marine predator Science Q article 2024 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.240445 2024-09-25T15:39:12Z Highly social top marine predators, including many cetaceans, exhibit culturally learned ecological behaviours such as diet preference and foraging strategy that can affect their resilience to competition or anthropogenic impacts. When these species are also endangered, conservation efforts require management strategies based on a comprehensive understanding of the variability in these behaviours. In the northeast Pacific Ocean, three partially sympatric populations of resident killer whales occupy coastal ecosystems from California to Alaska. One population (southern resident killer whales) is endangered, while another (southern Alaska resident killer whales) has exhibited positive abundance trends for the last several decades. Using 185 faecal samples collected from both populations between 2011 and 2021, we compare variability in diet preference to provide insight into differences in foraging patterns that may be linked with the relative success and decline of these populations. We find broad similarities in the diet of the two populations, with differences arising from spatiotemporal and social variability in resource use patterns, especially in the timing of shifts between target prey species. The results described here highlight the importance of comprehensive longitudinal monitoring of foraging ecology to inform management strategies for endangered, highly social top marine predators. Article in Journal/Newspaper Killer Whale Alaska Killer whale Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Pacific Royal Society Open Science 11 9 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
diet foraging killer whale metabarcoding faecal top marine predator Science Q |
spellingShingle |
diet foraging killer whale metabarcoding faecal top marine predator Science Q Amy M. Van Cise M. Bradley Hanson Candice Emmons Dan Olsen Craig O. Matkin Abigail H. Wells Kim M. Parsons Spatial and seasonal foraging patterns drive diet differences among north Pacific resident killer whale populations |
topic_facet |
diet foraging killer whale metabarcoding faecal top marine predator Science Q |
description |
Highly social top marine predators, including many cetaceans, exhibit culturally learned ecological behaviours such as diet preference and foraging strategy that can affect their resilience to competition or anthropogenic impacts. When these species are also endangered, conservation efforts require management strategies based on a comprehensive understanding of the variability in these behaviours. In the northeast Pacific Ocean, three partially sympatric populations of resident killer whales occupy coastal ecosystems from California to Alaska. One population (southern resident killer whales) is endangered, while another (southern Alaska resident killer whales) has exhibited positive abundance trends for the last several decades. Using 185 faecal samples collected from both populations between 2011 and 2021, we compare variability in diet preference to provide insight into differences in foraging patterns that may be linked with the relative success and decline of these populations. We find broad similarities in the diet of the two populations, with differences arising from spatiotemporal and social variability in resource use patterns, especially in the timing of shifts between target prey species. The results described here highlight the importance of comprehensive longitudinal monitoring of foraging ecology to inform management strategies for endangered, highly social top marine predators. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Amy M. Van Cise M. Bradley Hanson Candice Emmons Dan Olsen Craig O. Matkin Abigail H. Wells Kim M. Parsons |
author_facet |
Amy M. Van Cise M. Bradley Hanson Candice Emmons Dan Olsen Craig O. Matkin Abigail H. Wells Kim M. Parsons |
author_sort |
Amy M. Van Cise |
title |
Spatial and seasonal foraging patterns drive diet differences among north Pacific resident killer whale populations |
title_short |
Spatial and seasonal foraging patterns drive diet differences among north Pacific resident killer whale populations |
title_full |
Spatial and seasonal foraging patterns drive diet differences among north Pacific resident killer whale populations |
title_fullStr |
Spatial and seasonal foraging patterns drive diet differences among north Pacific resident killer whale populations |
title_full_unstemmed |
Spatial and seasonal foraging patterns drive diet differences among north Pacific resident killer whale populations |
title_sort |
spatial and seasonal foraging patterns drive diet differences among north pacific resident killer whale populations |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.240445 https://doaj.org/article/8a4201c9b4c2437aabbe6f30c2fe4208 |
geographic |
Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Pacific |
genre |
Killer Whale Alaska Killer whale |
genre_facet |
Killer Whale Alaska Killer whale |
op_source |
Royal Society Open Science, Vol 11, Iss 9 (2024) |
op_relation |
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.240445 https://doaj.org/toc/2054-5703 doi:10.1098/rsos.240445 https://doaj.org/article/8a4201c9b4c2437aabbe6f30c2fe4208 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.240445 |
container_title |
Royal Society Open Science |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
9 |
_version_ |
1812178506228957184 |