Behavioural responses of humpback whales to food-related chemical stimuli
Publisher's version (útgefin grein) Baleen whales face the challenge of finding patchily distributed food in the open ocean. Their relatively well-developed olfactory structures suggest that they could identify the specific odours given off by planktonic prey such as krill aggregations. Like ot...
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/1032 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0212515 |
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ftopinvisindi:oai:opinvisindi.is:20.500.11815/1032 2023-05-15T13:34:03+02:00 Behavioural responses of humpback whales to food-related chemical stimuli Bouchard, Bertrand Barnagaud, Jean-Yves Poupard, Marion Glotin, Hervé Gauffier, Pauline Torres Ortiz, Sara Lisney, Thomas J. Campagna, Sylvie Rasmussen, Marianne Célérier, Aurélie Rannsóknasetur á Húsavík (HÍ) Research Centre in Húsavík (UI) Háskóli Íslands University of Iceland 2019-02-26 e0212515 https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/1032 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0212515 en eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) Plos One;14(2) Bouchard B, Barnagaud J-Y, Poupard M, Glotin H, Gauffier P, Torres Ortiz S, et al. (2019) Behavioural responses of humpback whales to food-related chemical stimuli. PLoS ONE 14(2): e0212515. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0212515 1932-6203 https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/1032 Plos One doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0212515 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Humpback whales Bird flight Animal behavior Bioacoustics Bowhead whales Whales Foraging Vocalization Hvalir Hnúfubakur Fæðuöflun dýra Atferlisfræði Rándýr info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2019 ftopinvisindi https://doi.org/20.500.11815/1032 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0212515 2022-11-18T06:51:43Z Publisher's version (útgefin grein) Baleen whales face the challenge of finding patchily distributed food in the open ocean. Their relatively well-developed olfactory structures suggest that they could identify the specific odours given off by planktonic prey such as krill aggregations. Like other marine predators, they may also detect dimethyl sulfide (DMS), a chemical released in areas of high marine productivity. However, dedicated behavioural studies still have to be conducted in baleen whales in order to confirm the involvement of chemoreception in their feeding ecology. We implemented 56 behavioural response experiments in humpback whales using two food-related chemical stimuli, krill extract and DMS, as well as their respective controls (orange clay and vegetable oil) in their breeding (Madagascar) and feeding grounds (Iceland and Antarctic Peninsula). The whales approached the stimulus area and stayed longer in the trial zone during krill extract trials compared to control trials, suggesting that they were attracted to the chemical source and spent time exploring its surroundings, probably in search of prey. This response was observed in Iceland, and to a lesser extend in Madagascar, but not in Antarctica. Surface behaviours indicative of sensory exploration, such as diving under the stimulus area and stopping navigation, were also observed more often during krill extract trials than during control trials. Exposure to DMS did not elicit such exploration behaviours in any of the study areas. However, acoustic analyses suggest that DMS and krill extract both modified the whales’ acoustic activity in Madagascar. Altogether, these results provide the first behavioural evidence that baleen whales actually perceive prey-derived chemical cues over distances of several hundred metres. Chemoreception, especially olfaction, could thus be used for locating prey aggregations and for navigation at sea, as it has been shown in other marine predators including seabirds. This research was funded by the Fondation ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica baleen whales Iceland Opin vísindi (Iceland) Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula PLOS ONE 14 2 e0212515 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Opin vísindi (Iceland) |
op_collection_id |
ftopinvisindi |
language |
English |
topic |
Humpback whales Bird flight Animal behavior Bioacoustics Bowhead whales Whales Foraging Vocalization Hvalir Hnúfubakur Fæðuöflun dýra Atferlisfræði Rándýr |
spellingShingle |
Humpback whales Bird flight Animal behavior Bioacoustics Bowhead whales Whales Foraging Vocalization Hvalir Hnúfubakur Fæðuöflun dýra Atferlisfræði Rándýr Bouchard, Bertrand Barnagaud, Jean-Yves Poupard, Marion Glotin, Hervé Gauffier, Pauline Torres Ortiz, Sara Lisney, Thomas J. Campagna, Sylvie Rasmussen, Marianne Célérier, Aurélie Behavioural responses of humpback whales to food-related chemical stimuli |
topic_facet |
Humpback whales Bird flight Animal behavior Bioacoustics Bowhead whales Whales Foraging Vocalization Hvalir Hnúfubakur Fæðuöflun dýra Atferlisfræði Rándýr |
description |
Publisher's version (útgefin grein) Baleen whales face the challenge of finding patchily distributed food in the open ocean. Their relatively well-developed olfactory structures suggest that they could identify the specific odours given off by planktonic prey such as krill aggregations. Like other marine predators, they may also detect dimethyl sulfide (DMS), a chemical released in areas of high marine productivity. However, dedicated behavioural studies still have to be conducted in baleen whales in order to confirm the involvement of chemoreception in their feeding ecology. We implemented 56 behavioural response experiments in humpback whales using two food-related chemical stimuli, krill extract and DMS, as well as their respective controls (orange clay and vegetable oil) in their breeding (Madagascar) and feeding grounds (Iceland and Antarctic Peninsula). The whales approached the stimulus area and stayed longer in the trial zone during krill extract trials compared to control trials, suggesting that they were attracted to the chemical source and spent time exploring its surroundings, probably in search of prey. This response was observed in Iceland, and to a lesser extend in Madagascar, but not in Antarctica. Surface behaviours indicative of sensory exploration, such as diving under the stimulus area and stopping navigation, were also observed more often during krill extract trials than during control trials. Exposure to DMS did not elicit such exploration behaviours in any of the study areas. However, acoustic analyses suggest that DMS and krill extract both modified the whales’ acoustic activity in Madagascar. Altogether, these results provide the first behavioural evidence that baleen whales actually perceive prey-derived chemical cues over distances of several hundred metres. Chemoreception, especially olfaction, could thus be used for locating prey aggregations and for navigation at sea, as it has been shown in other marine predators including seabirds. This research was funded by the Fondation ... |
author2 |
Rannsóknasetur á Húsavík (HÍ) Research Centre in Húsavík (UI) Háskóli Íslands University of Iceland |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bouchard, Bertrand Barnagaud, Jean-Yves Poupard, Marion Glotin, Hervé Gauffier, Pauline Torres Ortiz, Sara Lisney, Thomas J. Campagna, Sylvie Rasmussen, Marianne Célérier, Aurélie |
author_facet |
Bouchard, Bertrand Barnagaud, Jean-Yves Poupard, Marion Glotin, Hervé Gauffier, Pauline Torres Ortiz, Sara Lisney, Thomas J. Campagna, Sylvie Rasmussen, Marianne Célérier, Aurélie |
author_sort |
Bouchard, Bertrand |
title |
Behavioural responses of humpback whales to food-related chemical stimuli |
title_short |
Behavioural responses of humpback whales to food-related chemical stimuli |
title_full |
Behavioural responses of humpback whales to food-related chemical stimuli |
title_fullStr |
Behavioural responses of humpback whales to food-related chemical stimuli |
title_full_unstemmed |
Behavioural responses of humpback whales to food-related chemical stimuli |
title_sort |
behavioural responses of humpback whales to food-related chemical stimuli |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/1032 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0212515 |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica baleen whales Iceland |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica baleen whales Iceland |
op_relation |
Plos One;14(2) Bouchard B, Barnagaud J-Y, Poupard M, Glotin H, Gauffier P, Torres Ortiz S, et al. (2019) Behavioural responses of humpback whales to food-related chemical stimuli. PLoS ONE 14(2): e0212515. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0212515 1932-6203 https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/1032 Plos One doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0212515 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/20.500.11815/1032 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0212515 |
container_title |
PLOS ONE |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
e0212515 |
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1766048505681412096 |