Stables isotopes in the fin whale Balaenoptera physalus from the Mediterranean Sea: implications for management and conservation
The fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) is the commonest large whale species in the Mediterranean Sea, found mostly over deep, offshore waters of the western and central portion of the region. This whale is known to feed mainly on krill in contrast to its Atlantic counterpart, displaying a more divers...
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ftorbi:oai:orbi.ulg.ac.be:2268/147065 2024-04-21T07:57:52+00:00 Stables isotopes in the fin whale Balaenoptera physalus from the Mediterranean Sea: implications for management and conservation Das, Krishna Lepoint, Gilles Michel, Loïc Ody, Denis Tasciotti, Aurélie MARE - Centre Interfacultaire de Recherches en Océanologie - ULiège 2013-04 https://orbi.uliege.be/handle/2268/147065 en eng http://www.wwf.fr https://orbi.uliege.be/handle/2268/147065 info:hdl:2268/147065 28th Conference of the European Cetacean Society, Setubal, Portugal [PT], 8th-10th April 2013 marine mammals stable isotopes fin whale SIBER Balaenoptera physalus Life sciences Aquatic sciences & oceanology Sciences du vivant Sciences aquatiques & océanologie conference poster not in proceedings http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_18co info:eu-repo/semantics/conferencePoster 2013 ftorbi 2024-03-27T14:45:06Z The fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) is the commonest large whale species in the Mediterranean Sea, found mostly over deep, offshore waters of the western and central portion of the region. This whale is known to feed mainly on krill in contrast to its Atlantic counterpart, displaying a more diversified diet. δ13C and δ15N values were analysed by IR-MS (Isoprime 100) coupled to an N-C-S elemental analyser (Vario MICRO Cube, Elementar) in 113 skin biopsies from Mediterranean fin whales sampled in 2010 and 2011 during WWF campaign at sea. A lipid normalization equation was applied (adapted from Post al. 2007) because the measured C:N ratio was > 3.5. Normalized δ13C and δ15N values ranged from -20.3 to -17.3 ‰ and from 5.9 to 8.9 ‰, respectively. These values are in good agreement with those collected previously on baleen plates from Mediterranean fin whales (Bentaleb et al., 2011). A mean enrichment of 3.4 ‰ was observed between δ15N values measured in fin whale skin biopsies and Mediterranean krill (Meganyctiphanes norvegica) confirming the importance of the krill as a major food source. The narrow width of the isotopic niche of the Mediterranean fin whale (evaluated by SIBER Stable Isotope Bayesian Ellipses) compared to the Atlantic fin whale (Ryan et al. 2012) raises many concerns in the context of global changes and long-term consequences. One could expect that species displaying narrow niches would be more susceptible to ecosystem fragmentation and other anthropogenic impacts. Conference Object Balaenoptera physalus Fin whale Meganyctiphanes norvegica University of Liège: ORBi (Open Repository and Bibliography) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Liège: ORBi (Open Repository and Bibliography) |
op_collection_id |
ftorbi |
language |
English |
topic |
marine mammals stable isotopes fin whale SIBER Balaenoptera physalus Life sciences Aquatic sciences & oceanology Sciences du vivant Sciences aquatiques & océanologie |
spellingShingle |
marine mammals stable isotopes fin whale SIBER Balaenoptera physalus Life sciences Aquatic sciences & oceanology Sciences du vivant Sciences aquatiques & océanologie Das, Krishna Lepoint, Gilles Michel, Loïc Ody, Denis Tasciotti, Aurélie Stables isotopes in the fin whale Balaenoptera physalus from the Mediterranean Sea: implications for management and conservation |
topic_facet |
marine mammals stable isotopes fin whale SIBER Balaenoptera physalus Life sciences Aquatic sciences & oceanology Sciences du vivant Sciences aquatiques & océanologie |
description |
The fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) is the commonest large whale species in the Mediterranean Sea, found mostly over deep, offshore waters of the western and central portion of the region. This whale is known to feed mainly on krill in contrast to its Atlantic counterpart, displaying a more diversified diet. δ13C and δ15N values were analysed by IR-MS (Isoprime 100) coupled to an N-C-S elemental analyser (Vario MICRO Cube, Elementar) in 113 skin biopsies from Mediterranean fin whales sampled in 2010 and 2011 during WWF campaign at sea. A lipid normalization equation was applied (adapted from Post al. 2007) because the measured C:N ratio was > 3.5. Normalized δ13C and δ15N values ranged from -20.3 to -17.3 ‰ and from 5.9 to 8.9 ‰, respectively. These values are in good agreement with those collected previously on baleen plates from Mediterranean fin whales (Bentaleb et al., 2011). A mean enrichment of 3.4 ‰ was observed between δ15N values measured in fin whale skin biopsies and Mediterranean krill (Meganyctiphanes norvegica) confirming the importance of the krill as a major food source. The narrow width of the isotopic niche of the Mediterranean fin whale (evaluated by SIBER Stable Isotope Bayesian Ellipses) compared to the Atlantic fin whale (Ryan et al. 2012) raises many concerns in the context of global changes and long-term consequences. One could expect that species displaying narrow niches would be more susceptible to ecosystem fragmentation and other anthropogenic impacts. |
author2 |
MARE - Centre Interfacultaire de Recherches en Océanologie - ULiège |
format |
Conference Object |
author |
Das, Krishna Lepoint, Gilles Michel, Loïc Ody, Denis Tasciotti, Aurélie |
author_facet |
Das, Krishna Lepoint, Gilles Michel, Loïc Ody, Denis Tasciotti, Aurélie |
author_sort |
Das, Krishna |
title |
Stables isotopes in the fin whale Balaenoptera physalus from the Mediterranean Sea: implications for management and conservation |
title_short |
Stables isotopes in the fin whale Balaenoptera physalus from the Mediterranean Sea: implications for management and conservation |
title_full |
Stables isotopes in the fin whale Balaenoptera physalus from the Mediterranean Sea: implications for management and conservation |
title_fullStr |
Stables isotopes in the fin whale Balaenoptera physalus from the Mediterranean Sea: implications for management and conservation |
title_full_unstemmed |
Stables isotopes in the fin whale Balaenoptera physalus from the Mediterranean Sea: implications for management and conservation |
title_sort |
stables isotopes in the fin whale balaenoptera physalus from the mediterranean sea: implications for management and conservation |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://orbi.uliege.be/handle/2268/147065 |
genre |
Balaenoptera physalus Fin whale Meganyctiphanes norvegica |
genre_facet |
Balaenoptera physalus Fin whale Meganyctiphanes norvegica |
op_source |
28th Conference of the European Cetacean Society, Setubal, Portugal [PT], 8th-10th April 2013 |
op_relation |
http://www.wwf.fr https://orbi.uliege.be/handle/2268/147065 info:hdl:2268/147065 |
_version_ |
1796939304118779904 |