Foraging behaviour and ecology of transient killer whales within a deep submarine canyon system.
Transient killer whales have been documented hunting marine mammals across a variety of habitats. However, relatively little has been reported about their predatory behaviours near deep submarine canyons and oceanic environments. We used a long-term database of sightings and encounters with these pr...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:ba135d45f7b647ccae6b4ce68a40bcbd 2024-09-15T18:04:44+00:00 Foraging behaviour and ecology of transient killer whales within a deep submarine canyon system. Josh D McInnes Kevin M Lester Lawrence M Dill Chelsea R Mathieson Peggy J West-Stap Stephanie L Marcos Andrew W Trites 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0299291 https://doaj.org/article/ba135d45f7b647ccae6b4ce68a40bcbd EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0299291 https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0299291 https://doaj.org/article/ba135d45f7b647ccae6b4ce68a40bcbd PLoS ONE, Vol 19, Iss 3, p e0299291 (2024) Medicine R Science Q article 2024 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0299291 2024-08-05T17:49:46Z Transient killer whales have been documented hunting marine mammals across a variety of habitats. However, relatively little has been reported about their predatory behaviours near deep submarine canyons and oceanic environments. We used a long-term database of sightings and encounters with these predators in and around the Monterey Submarine Canyon, California to describe foraging behaviour, diet, seasonal occurrence, and habitat use patterns. Transient killer whales belonging to the outer coast subpopulation were observed within the study area 261 times from 2006-2021. Occurrences, behaviours, and group sizes all varied seasonally, with more encounters occurring in the spring as grey whales migrated northward from their breeding and calving lagoons in Mexico (March-May). Groups of killer whales foraged exclusively in open water, with individuals within the groups following the contours of the submarine canyon as they searched for prey. Focal follows revealed that killer whales spent 51% of their time searching for prey (26% of their time along the shelf-break and upper slope of the canyon, and 25% in open water). The remainder of their time was spent pursuing prey (10%), feeding (23%), travelling (9%), socializing (6%), and resting (1%). Prey species during 87 observed predation events included California sea lions, grey whale calves, northern elephant seals, minke whales, common dolphins, Pacific white-sided dolphins, Dall's porpoise, harbour porpoise, harbour seals, and sea birds. The calculated kill rates (based on 270 hours of observing 50 predation events) were 0.26 California sea lions per killer whale over 24 hours, 0.11 grey whale calves, and 0.15 for all remaining prey species combined. These behavioural observations provide insights into predator-prey interactions among apex predators over submarine canyons and deep pelagic environments. Article in Journal/Newspaper Elephant Seals Harbour porpoise Killer Whale Killer whale Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles PLOS ONE 19 3 e0299291 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q Josh D McInnes Kevin M Lester Lawrence M Dill Chelsea R Mathieson Peggy J West-Stap Stephanie L Marcos Andrew W Trites Foraging behaviour and ecology of transient killer whales within a deep submarine canyon system. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Transient killer whales have been documented hunting marine mammals across a variety of habitats. However, relatively little has been reported about their predatory behaviours near deep submarine canyons and oceanic environments. We used a long-term database of sightings and encounters with these predators in and around the Monterey Submarine Canyon, California to describe foraging behaviour, diet, seasonal occurrence, and habitat use patterns. Transient killer whales belonging to the outer coast subpopulation were observed within the study area 261 times from 2006-2021. Occurrences, behaviours, and group sizes all varied seasonally, with more encounters occurring in the spring as grey whales migrated northward from their breeding and calving lagoons in Mexico (March-May). Groups of killer whales foraged exclusively in open water, with individuals within the groups following the contours of the submarine canyon as they searched for prey. Focal follows revealed that killer whales spent 51% of their time searching for prey (26% of their time along the shelf-break and upper slope of the canyon, and 25% in open water). The remainder of their time was spent pursuing prey (10%), feeding (23%), travelling (9%), socializing (6%), and resting (1%). Prey species during 87 observed predation events included California sea lions, grey whale calves, northern elephant seals, minke whales, common dolphins, Pacific white-sided dolphins, Dall's porpoise, harbour porpoise, harbour seals, and sea birds. The calculated kill rates (based on 270 hours of observing 50 predation events) were 0.26 California sea lions per killer whale over 24 hours, 0.11 grey whale calves, and 0.15 for all remaining prey species combined. These behavioural observations provide insights into predator-prey interactions among apex predators over submarine canyons and deep pelagic environments. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Josh D McInnes Kevin M Lester Lawrence M Dill Chelsea R Mathieson Peggy J West-Stap Stephanie L Marcos Andrew W Trites |
author_facet |
Josh D McInnes Kevin M Lester Lawrence M Dill Chelsea R Mathieson Peggy J West-Stap Stephanie L Marcos Andrew W Trites |
author_sort |
Josh D McInnes |
title |
Foraging behaviour and ecology of transient killer whales within a deep submarine canyon system. |
title_short |
Foraging behaviour and ecology of transient killer whales within a deep submarine canyon system. |
title_full |
Foraging behaviour and ecology of transient killer whales within a deep submarine canyon system. |
title_fullStr |
Foraging behaviour and ecology of transient killer whales within a deep submarine canyon system. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Foraging behaviour and ecology of transient killer whales within a deep submarine canyon system. |
title_sort |
foraging behaviour and ecology of transient killer whales within a deep submarine canyon system. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0299291 https://doaj.org/article/ba135d45f7b647ccae6b4ce68a40bcbd |
genre |
Elephant Seals Harbour porpoise Killer Whale Killer whale |
genre_facet |
Elephant Seals Harbour porpoise Killer Whale Killer whale |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 19, Iss 3, p e0299291 (2024) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0299291 https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0299291 https://doaj.org/article/ba135d45f7b647ccae6b4ce68a40bcbd |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0299291 |
container_title |
PLOS ONE |
container_volume |
19 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
e0299291 |
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1810442348935512064 |