Physical and Biological Controls of Copepod Aggregation and Baleen Whale Distribution

• Main Authors: Baumgartner, Mark, Ji, Rubao, Chen, Changsheng
• Other Authors: WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION MA DEPT OF BIOLOGY
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: Biology; Ecology; Biological Oceanography; *ZOOPLANKTON; *WHALES; OCEANOGRAPHIC DATA; COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION; ECOSYSTEMS; COPEPOD AGGREGATION; BALEEN WHALES; COPEPOD DIEL VERTICAL MIGRATION BEHAVIOR; CALANUS FINMARCHICUS; Bedford; New Bedford; baleen whale; baleen whales; Calanus finmarchicus
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA541813; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA541813

Our long-term goal is to develop a fundamental understanding of the physical and biological mechanisms that aggregate zooplankton on spatial scales of hundreds of meters to hundreds of kilometers. These aggregation processes have a profound effect on the distribution, movements, and behavior of top predators, including those that feed directly on zooplankton (e.g., basking sharks, manta rays, right whales). While all marine mammals rely on prey aggregation processes for their survival, baleen whales are perhaps most dependent upon these processes because of the enormous quantities of food they must consume daily. Therefore, we have chosen to focus our long-term research efforts on the interactions between baleen whales, zooplankton, and ocean physics to better understand the environmental factors influence marine mammal distribution. The objectives of this study are to 1) Elucidate the mechanisms of copepod aggregation in the Great South Channel, a major springtime feeding area for right, sei, humpback, and fin whales in the southwestern Gulf of Maine 2) Examine the relationship between these mechanisms and the distribution and abundance of baleen whales Prepared in cooperation with School for Marine Science and Technology, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, New Bedford, MA.