Pectoral herding: an innovative tactic for humpback whale foraging
Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) have exceptionally long pectorals (i.e. flippers) that aid in shallow water navigation, rapid acceleration and increased manoeuvrability. The use of pectorals to herd or manipulate prey has been hypothesized since the 1930s. We combined new technology and a u...
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:6837203 2023-05-15T16:35:56+02:00 Pectoral herding: an innovative tactic for humpback whale foraging Kosma, Madison M. Werth, Alexander J. Szabo, Andrew R. Straley, Janice M. 2019-10-16 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6837203/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31824717 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.191104 en eng The Royal Society http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6837203/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31824717 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.191104 © 2019 The Authors. http://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/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited. CC-BY Biology (Whole Organism) Text 2019 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.191104 2019-12-15T01:14:56Z Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) have exceptionally long pectorals (i.e. flippers) that aid in shallow water navigation, rapid acceleration and increased manoeuvrability. The use of pectorals to herd or manipulate prey has been hypothesized since the 1930s. We combined new technology and a unique viewing platform to document the additional use of pectorals to aggregate prey during foraging events. Here, we provide a description of ‘pectoral herding’ and explore the conditions that may promote this innovative foraging behaviour. Specifically, we analysed aerial videos and photographic sequences to assess the function of pectorals during feeding events near salmon hatchery release sites in Southeast Alaska (2016–2018). We observed the use of solo bubble-nets to initially corral prey, followed by calculated movements to establish a secondary boundary with the pectorals—further condensing prey and increasing foraging efficiency. We found three ways in which humpback whales use pectorals to herd prey: (i) create a physical barrier to prevent evasion, (ii) cause water motion to guide prey towards the mouth, and (iii) position the ventral side to reflect light and alter prey movement. Our findings suggest that behavioural plasticity may aid foraging in changing environments and shifts in prey availability. Further study would clarify if ‘pectoral herding’ is used as a principal foraging tool by the broader humpback whale population and the conditions that promote its use. Text Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Alaska PubMed Central (PMC) Corral ENVELOPE(-62.950,-62.950,-64.900,-64.900) Royal Society Open Science 6 10 191104 |
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PubMed Central (PMC) |
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ftpubmed |
language |
English |
topic |
Biology (Whole Organism) |
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Biology (Whole Organism) Kosma, Madison M. Werth, Alexander J. Szabo, Andrew R. Straley, Janice M. Pectoral herding: an innovative tactic for humpback whale foraging |
topic_facet |
Biology (Whole Organism) |
description |
Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) have exceptionally long pectorals (i.e. flippers) that aid in shallow water navigation, rapid acceleration and increased manoeuvrability. The use of pectorals to herd or manipulate prey has been hypothesized since the 1930s. We combined new technology and a unique viewing platform to document the additional use of pectorals to aggregate prey during foraging events. Here, we provide a description of ‘pectoral herding’ and explore the conditions that may promote this innovative foraging behaviour. Specifically, we analysed aerial videos and photographic sequences to assess the function of pectorals during feeding events near salmon hatchery release sites in Southeast Alaska (2016–2018). We observed the use of solo bubble-nets to initially corral prey, followed by calculated movements to establish a secondary boundary with the pectorals—further condensing prey and increasing foraging efficiency. We found three ways in which humpback whales use pectorals to herd prey: (i) create a physical barrier to prevent evasion, (ii) cause water motion to guide prey towards the mouth, and (iii) position the ventral side to reflect light and alter prey movement. Our findings suggest that behavioural plasticity may aid foraging in changing environments and shifts in prey availability. Further study would clarify if ‘pectoral herding’ is used as a principal foraging tool by the broader humpback whale population and the conditions that promote its use. |
format |
Text |
author |
Kosma, Madison M. Werth, Alexander J. Szabo, Andrew R. Straley, Janice M. |
author_facet |
Kosma, Madison M. Werth, Alexander J. Szabo, Andrew R. Straley, Janice M. |
author_sort |
Kosma, Madison M. |
title |
Pectoral herding: an innovative tactic for humpback whale foraging |
title_short |
Pectoral herding: an innovative tactic for humpback whale foraging |
title_full |
Pectoral herding: an innovative tactic for humpback whale foraging |
title_fullStr |
Pectoral herding: an innovative tactic for humpback whale foraging |
title_full_unstemmed |
Pectoral herding: an innovative tactic for humpback whale foraging |
title_sort |
pectoral herding: an innovative tactic for humpback whale foraging |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6837203/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31824717 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.191104 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-62.950,-62.950,-64.900,-64.900) |
geographic |
Corral |
geographic_facet |
Corral |
genre |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Alaska |
genre_facet |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Alaska |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6837203/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31824717 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.191104 |
op_rights |
© 2019 The Authors. http://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/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited. |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.191104 |
container_title |
Royal Society Open Science |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
10 |
container_start_page |
191104 |
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1766026249730260992 |