Downsized: gray whales using an alternative foraging ground have smaller morphology
Describing individual morphology and growth is key for identifying ecological niches and monitoring the health and fitness of populations. Eastern North Pacific ((ENP), approximately 16 650 individuals) gray whales primarily feed in the Arctic/sub-Arctic regions, while a small subgroup called the Pa...
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Online Access: | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10410206/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37554011 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0043 |
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:10410206 2023-09-05T13:16:57+02:00 Downsized: gray whales using an alternative foraging ground have smaller morphology Bierlich, K. C. Kane, A. Hildebrand, L. Bird, C. N. Fernandez Ajo, A. Stewart, J. D. Hewitt, J. Hildebrand, I. Sumich, J. Torres, L. G. 2023-08-09 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10410206/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37554011 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0043 en eng The Royal Society http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10410206/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37554011 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0043 © 2023 The Authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited. Biol Lett Marine Biology Text 2023 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0043 2023-08-13T01:05:51Z Describing individual morphology and growth is key for identifying ecological niches and monitoring the health and fitness of populations. Eastern North Pacific ((ENP), approximately 16 650 individuals) gray whales primarily feed in the Arctic/sub-Arctic regions, while a small subgroup called the Pacific Coast Feeding Group (PCFG, approximately 212 individuals) instead feeds between northern California, USA and British Columbia, Canada. Evidence suggests PCFG whales have lower body condition than ENP whales. Here we investigate morphological differences (length, skull, and fluke span) and compare length-at-age growth curves between ENP and PCFG whales. We use ENP gray whale length-at-age data comprised of strandings, whaling, and aerial photogrammetry (1926–1997) for comparison to data from PCFG whales collected through non-invasive techniques (2016–2022) to estimate age (photo identification) and length (drone-based photogrammetry). We use Bayesian methods to incorporate uncertainty associated with morphological measurements (manual and photogrammetric) and age estimates. We find that while PCFG and ENP whales have similar growth rates, PCFG whales reach smaller asymptotic lengths. Additionally, PCFG whales have relatively smaller skulls and flukes than ENP whales. These findings represent a striking example of morphological adaptation that may facilitate PCFG whales accessing a foraging niche distinct from the Arctic foraging grounds of the broader ENP population. Text Arctic PubMed Central (PMC) Arctic British Columbia ENVELOPE(-125.003,-125.003,54.000,54.000) Canada Pacific Biology Letters 19 8 |
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English |
topic |
Marine Biology |
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Marine Biology Bierlich, K. C. Kane, A. Hildebrand, L. Bird, C. N. Fernandez Ajo, A. Stewart, J. D. Hewitt, J. Hildebrand, I. Sumich, J. Torres, L. G. Downsized: gray whales using an alternative foraging ground have smaller morphology |
topic_facet |
Marine Biology |
description |
Describing individual morphology and growth is key for identifying ecological niches and monitoring the health and fitness of populations. Eastern North Pacific ((ENP), approximately 16 650 individuals) gray whales primarily feed in the Arctic/sub-Arctic regions, while a small subgroup called the Pacific Coast Feeding Group (PCFG, approximately 212 individuals) instead feeds between northern California, USA and British Columbia, Canada. Evidence suggests PCFG whales have lower body condition than ENP whales. Here we investigate morphological differences (length, skull, and fluke span) and compare length-at-age growth curves between ENP and PCFG whales. We use ENP gray whale length-at-age data comprised of strandings, whaling, and aerial photogrammetry (1926–1997) for comparison to data from PCFG whales collected through non-invasive techniques (2016–2022) to estimate age (photo identification) and length (drone-based photogrammetry). We use Bayesian methods to incorporate uncertainty associated with morphological measurements (manual and photogrammetric) and age estimates. We find that while PCFG and ENP whales have similar growth rates, PCFG whales reach smaller asymptotic lengths. Additionally, PCFG whales have relatively smaller skulls and flukes than ENP whales. These findings represent a striking example of morphological adaptation that may facilitate PCFG whales accessing a foraging niche distinct from the Arctic foraging grounds of the broader ENP population. |
format |
Text |
author |
Bierlich, K. C. Kane, A. Hildebrand, L. Bird, C. N. Fernandez Ajo, A. Stewart, J. D. Hewitt, J. Hildebrand, I. Sumich, J. Torres, L. G. |
author_facet |
Bierlich, K. C. Kane, A. Hildebrand, L. Bird, C. N. Fernandez Ajo, A. Stewart, J. D. Hewitt, J. Hildebrand, I. Sumich, J. Torres, L. G. |
author_sort |
Bierlich, K. C. |
title |
Downsized: gray whales using an alternative foraging ground have smaller morphology |
title_short |
Downsized: gray whales using an alternative foraging ground have smaller morphology |
title_full |
Downsized: gray whales using an alternative foraging ground have smaller morphology |
title_fullStr |
Downsized: gray whales using an alternative foraging ground have smaller morphology |
title_full_unstemmed |
Downsized: gray whales using an alternative foraging ground have smaller morphology |
title_sort |
downsized: gray whales using an alternative foraging ground have smaller morphology |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10410206/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37554011 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0043 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-125.003,-125.003,54.000,54.000) |
geographic |
Arctic British Columbia Canada Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Arctic British Columbia Canada Pacific |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
Biol Lett |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10410206/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37554011 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0043 |
op_rights |
© 2023 The Authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0043 |
container_title |
Biology Letters |
container_volume |
19 |
container_issue |
8 |
_version_ |
1776198337431601152 |