First longitudinal study of seal-feeding killer whales (Orcinus orca) in Norwegian coastal waters.
Killer whales (Orcinus orca) have been documented preying on either fish or marine mammals in several regions, suggesting that this odontocete species has the ability to specialize on different types of prey. Off Norway, killer whales have been shown to rely on the Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus)...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:e1cad6db35514ae5b68e8beec7147b31 2023-05-15T17:03:35+02:00 First longitudinal study of seal-feeding killer whales (Orcinus orca) in Norwegian coastal waters. Eve Jourdain Dag Vongraven Anna Bisther Richard Karoliussen 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0180099 https://doaj.org/article/e1cad6db35514ae5b68e8beec7147b31 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5493372?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0180099 https://doaj.org/article/e1cad6db35514ae5b68e8beec7147b31 PLoS ONE, Vol 12, Iss 6, p e0180099 (2017) Medicine R Science Q article 2017 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0180099 2022-12-31T09:04:44Z Killer whales (Orcinus orca) have been documented preying on either fish or marine mammals in several regions, suggesting that this odontocete species has the ability to specialize on different types of prey. Off Norway, killer whales have been shown to rely on the Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) as a main prey resource. Infrequent observations have revealed seals as an additional component of their diet, yet the extent of predation on marine mammals has remained largely unknown. Here, we present the findings of 29 years of photographic and observational data on seal-feeding killer whale groups identified in Norwegian coastal waters. Four groups have been observed preying and feeding on seals over several years, taking both harbor (Phoca vitulina) and grey (Halichoerus grypus) seals. These stable groups are shown to adopt small group sizes, were typically observed in near-shore areas and were not encountered on herring wintering grounds. Behavioral and social traits adopted by these groups are similar to those of pinniped-feeding killer whales from other regions. The potential ecological reasons and the extent of such prey specializations are discussed. Article in Journal/Newspaper Killer Whale Orca Orcinus orca Phoca vitulina Killer whale Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Norway PLOS ONE 12 6 e0180099 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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English |
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Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q Eve Jourdain Dag Vongraven Anna Bisther Richard Karoliussen First longitudinal study of seal-feeding killer whales (Orcinus orca) in Norwegian coastal waters. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Killer whales (Orcinus orca) have been documented preying on either fish or marine mammals in several regions, suggesting that this odontocete species has the ability to specialize on different types of prey. Off Norway, killer whales have been shown to rely on the Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) as a main prey resource. Infrequent observations have revealed seals as an additional component of their diet, yet the extent of predation on marine mammals has remained largely unknown. Here, we present the findings of 29 years of photographic and observational data on seal-feeding killer whale groups identified in Norwegian coastal waters. Four groups have been observed preying and feeding on seals over several years, taking both harbor (Phoca vitulina) and grey (Halichoerus grypus) seals. These stable groups are shown to adopt small group sizes, were typically observed in near-shore areas and were not encountered on herring wintering grounds. Behavioral and social traits adopted by these groups are similar to those of pinniped-feeding killer whales from other regions. The potential ecological reasons and the extent of such prey specializations are discussed. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Eve Jourdain Dag Vongraven Anna Bisther Richard Karoliussen |
author_facet |
Eve Jourdain Dag Vongraven Anna Bisther Richard Karoliussen |
author_sort |
Eve Jourdain |
title |
First longitudinal study of seal-feeding killer whales (Orcinus orca) in Norwegian coastal waters. |
title_short |
First longitudinal study of seal-feeding killer whales (Orcinus orca) in Norwegian coastal waters. |
title_full |
First longitudinal study of seal-feeding killer whales (Orcinus orca) in Norwegian coastal waters. |
title_fullStr |
First longitudinal study of seal-feeding killer whales (Orcinus orca) in Norwegian coastal waters. |
title_full_unstemmed |
First longitudinal study of seal-feeding killer whales (Orcinus orca) in Norwegian coastal waters. |
title_sort |
first longitudinal study of seal-feeding killer whales (orcinus orca) in norwegian coastal waters. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0180099 https://doaj.org/article/e1cad6db35514ae5b68e8beec7147b31 |
geographic |
Norway |
geographic_facet |
Norway |
genre |
Killer Whale Orca Orcinus orca Phoca vitulina Killer whale |
genre_facet |
Killer Whale Orca Orcinus orca Phoca vitulina Killer whale |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 12, Iss 6, p e0180099 (2017) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5493372?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0180099 https://doaj.org/article/e1cad6db35514ae5b68e8beec7147b31 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0180099 |
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PLOS ONE |
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12 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
e0180099 |
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1766057491975634944 |