Feeding Hotspots and Distribution of Fin and Humpback Whales in the Norwegian Sea From 2013 to 2018.
Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) and humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are commonly found in the Norwegian Sea during the summer months. Records from around 1995 to 2004 show that their distribution patterns were mainly associated with those of macro-zooplankton. More recent studies conduct...
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ftimr:oai:imr.brage.unit.no:11250/2762579 2023-05-15T15:36:42+02:00 Feeding Hotspots and Distribution of Fin and Humpback Whales in the Norwegian Sea From 2013 to 2018. Løviknes, Sunniva Jensen, Knut Helge Krafft, Bjørn Arne Anthonypillai, Valentine Nøttestad, Leif 2021 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2762579 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.632720 eng eng Frontiers in Marine Science. 2021, 8 . urn:issn:2296-7745 https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2762579 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.632720 cristin:1892633 13 8 Frontiers in Marine Science Peer reviewed Journal article 2021 ftimr https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.632720 2021-09-23T20:14:58Z Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) and humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are commonly found in the Norwegian Sea during the summer months. Records from around 1995 to 2004 show that their distribution patterns were mainly associated with those of macro-zooplankton. More recent studies conducted from 2009 to 2012 demonstrate marked shifts, with fin whale distribution related to pelagic fish distribution, decreasing densities of humpbacks, and increased densities of toothed whales. During the same period, historically large abundances of pelagic planktivorous fish in the Norwegian Sea were reported. The goals of this study were to examine the summer distribution of fin and humpback whales from 2013 to 2018 and to assess the potential association between distribution and environmental impact factors. Results suggest a pronounced northerly shift in distribution for both species, a feeding hotspot for fin whales at the shelf area between Svalbard and Norway, and one near Bear Island for humpback whales. Fin whale distribution was associated with that of blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou) and capelin (Mallotus villosus), whereas humpback whale distribution was associated with that of euphausiids (Meganyctiphanes norvegica, Thysanoessa longicaudata, and Thysanoessa inermis), capelin, and herring (Clupea harengus). However, a significant negative spatial correlation was found between whale occurrence and the widely expanding population of northeast Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus). The results of this study suggest that the prey composition of fin and humpback whales in recent years contain a large proportion of fish. The apparent northerly shift in the distribution of these whale species is largely determined by the availability of prey, but it likely is also impacted by direct or indirect interspecific interactions, especially with killer whales (Orcinus orca). Such large-scale pronounced changes in distribution seem to confirm a high degree of plasticity in fin and humpback whale feeding in the Norwegian Sea. publishedVersion Article in Journal/Newspaper Balaenoptera physalus Bear Island Fin whale Humpback Whale Meganyctiphanes norvegica Megaptera novaeangliae Northeast Atlantic Norwegian Sea Orca Orcinus orca Svalbard toothed whales Thysanoessa inermis Institute for Marine Research: Brage IMR Bear Island ENVELOPE(-67.250,-67.250,-68.151,-68.151) Norway Norwegian Sea Svalbard Frontiers in Marine Science 8 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Institute for Marine Research: Brage IMR |
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ftimr |
language |
English |
description |
Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) and humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are commonly found in the Norwegian Sea during the summer months. Records from around 1995 to 2004 show that their distribution patterns were mainly associated with those of macro-zooplankton. More recent studies conducted from 2009 to 2012 demonstrate marked shifts, with fin whale distribution related to pelagic fish distribution, decreasing densities of humpbacks, and increased densities of toothed whales. During the same period, historically large abundances of pelagic planktivorous fish in the Norwegian Sea were reported. The goals of this study were to examine the summer distribution of fin and humpback whales from 2013 to 2018 and to assess the potential association between distribution and environmental impact factors. Results suggest a pronounced northerly shift in distribution for both species, a feeding hotspot for fin whales at the shelf area between Svalbard and Norway, and one near Bear Island for humpback whales. Fin whale distribution was associated with that of blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou) and capelin (Mallotus villosus), whereas humpback whale distribution was associated with that of euphausiids (Meganyctiphanes norvegica, Thysanoessa longicaudata, and Thysanoessa inermis), capelin, and herring (Clupea harengus). However, a significant negative spatial correlation was found between whale occurrence and the widely expanding population of northeast Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus). The results of this study suggest that the prey composition of fin and humpback whales in recent years contain a large proportion of fish. The apparent northerly shift in the distribution of these whale species is largely determined by the availability of prey, but it likely is also impacted by direct or indirect interspecific interactions, especially with killer whales (Orcinus orca). Such large-scale pronounced changes in distribution seem to confirm a high degree of plasticity in fin and humpback whale feeding in the Norwegian Sea. publishedVersion |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Løviknes, Sunniva Jensen, Knut Helge Krafft, Bjørn Arne Anthonypillai, Valentine Nøttestad, Leif |
spellingShingle |
Løviknes, Sunniva Jensen, Knut Helge Krafft, Bjørn Arne Anthonypillai, Valentine Nøttestad, Leif Feeding Hotspots and Distribution of Fin and Humpback Whales in the Norwegian Sea From 2013 to 2018. |
author_facet |
Løviknes, Sunniva Jensen, Knut Helge Krafft, Bjørn Arne Anthonypillai, Valentine Nøttestad, Leif |
author_sort |
Løviknes, Sunniva |
title |
Feeding Hotspots and Distribution of Fin and Humpback Whales in the Norwegian Sea From 2013 to 2018. |
title_short |
Feeding Hotspots and Distribution of Fin and Humpback Whales in the Norwegian Sea From 2013 to 2018. |
title_full |
Feeding Hotspots and Distribution of Fin and Humpback Whales in the Norwegian Sea From 2013 to 2018. |
title_fullStr |
Feeding Hotspots and Distribution of Fin and Humpback Whales in the Norwegian Sea From 2013 to 2018. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Feeding Hotspots and Distribution of Fin and Humpback Whales in the Norwegian Sea From 2013 to 2018. |
title_sort |
feeding hotspots and distribution of fin and humpback whales in the norwegian sea from 2013 to 2018. |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2762579 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.632720 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-67.250,-67.250,-68.151,-68.151) |
geographic |
Bear Island Norway Norwegian Sea Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Bear Island Norway Norwegian Sea Svalbard |
genre |
Balaenoptera physalus Bear Island Fin whale Humpback Whale Meganyctiphanes norvegica Megaptera novaeangliae Northeast Atlantic Norwegian Sea Orca Orcinus orca Svalbard toothed whales Thysanoessa inermis |
genre_facet |
Balaenoptera physalus Bear Island Fin whale Humpback Whale Meganyctiphanes norvegica Megaptera novaeangliae Northeast Atlantic Norwegian Sea Orca Orcinus orca Svalbard toothed whales Thysanoessa inermis |
op_source |
13 8 Frontiers in Marine Science |
op_relation |
Frontiers in Marine Science. 2021, 8 . urn:issn:2296-7745 https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2762579 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.632720 cristin:1892633 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.632720 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
8 |
_version_ |
1766367060894416896 |