Southern Ocean humpback whale trophic ecology. I. Combining multiple stable isotope methods elucidates diet, trophic position and foraging areas
Southern Ocean humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae are capital breeders, breeding in the warm tropics/subtropics in the winter and migrating to nutrient-rich Antarctic feeding grounds in the summer. The classic feeding model is for the species to fast while migrating and breeding, surviving on bl...
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Online Access: | https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/491092/ https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/491092/1/Manuscript_Bury_Humpback_whale_isotope_foraging_21_Dec_2023.docx https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/491092/2/m734p123.pdf |
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ftsouthampton:oai:eprints.soton.ac.uk:491092 2024-09-09T19:09:35+00:00 Southern Ocean humpback whale trophic ecology. I. Combining multiple stable isotope methods elucidates diet, trophic position and foraging areas Bury, Sarah J. Peters, Katharina J. Sabadel, Amandine J.M. St John Glew, Katie Trueman, Clive Wunder, M.B. Cobain, Matthew R.D. Schmitt, Natalie Donnelly, David Magozzi, Sarah Owen, Kylie Brown, Julie C.S. Escobar-Flores, Pablo Constantine, Rochelle O’Driscoll, Richard L. Double, Mike Gales, Nick Childerhouse, Simon Pinkerton, Matthew H. 2024-04-18 text https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/491092/ https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/491092/1/Manuscript_Bury_Humpback_whale_isotope_foraging_21_Dec_2023.docx https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/491092/2/m734p123.pdf en English eng https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/491092/1/Manuscript_Bury_Humpback_whale_isotope_foraging_21_Dec_2023.docx https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/491092/2/m734p123.pdf Bury, Sarah J., Peters, Katharina J., Sabadel, Amandine J.M., St John Glew, Katie, Trueman, Clive, Wunder, M.B., Cobain, Matthew R.D., Schmitt, Natalie, Donnelly, David, Magozzi, Sarah, Owen, Kylie, Brown, Julie C.S., Escobar-Flores, Pablo, Constantine, Rochelle, O’Driscoll, Richard L., Double, Mike, Gales, Nick, Childerhouse, Simon and Pinkerton, Matthew H. (2024) Southern Ocean humpback whale trophic ecology. I. Combining multiple stable isotope methods elucidates diet, trophic position and foraging areas. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 734, 123-155. (doi:10.3354/meps14532 <http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps14532>). cc_by_4 Article PeerReviewed 2024 ftsouthampton https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14532 2024-06-19T00:24:08Z Southern Ocean humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae are capital breeders, breeding in the warm tropics/subtropics in the winter and migrating to nutrient-rich Antarctic feeding grounds in the summer. The classic feeding model is for the species to fast while migrating and breeding, surviving on blubber energy stores. Whilst northern hemisphere humpback whales are generalists, southern hemisphere counterparts are perceived as krill specialists, but for many populations, uncertainties remain regarding their diet and preferred feeding locations. This study used bulk and compound-specific stable isotope analyses and isoscape-based feeding location assignments to assess the diet, trophic ecology and likely feeding areas of humpback whales sampled in the Ross Sea region and around the Balleny Islands. Sampled whales had a mixed diet of plankton, krill and fish, similar to the diet of northern hemisphere humpback whales. Proportions of fish consumed varied but were often high (2-60%), thus challenging the widely held paradigm of Southern Ocean humpback whales being exclusive krill feeders. These whales had lower δ15N values and trophic position estimates than their northern hemisphere counterparts, likely due to lower Southern Ocean baseline δ15N surface water values and a lower percentage consumption of fish, respectively. Most whales fed in the Ross Sea shelf/slope and Balleny Islands high-productivity regions, but some isotopically distinct whales (mostly males) fed at higher trophic levels either around the Balleny Islands and frontal upwelling areas to the north, or en route to Antarctica in temperate waters off southern Australia and New Zealand. These results support other observations of humpback whales feeding during migration, highlighting the species' dietary plasticity, which may increase their foraging and breeding success and provide them with greater resilience to anthropogenically mediated ecological change. This study highlights the importance of combining in situ field data with regional-scale ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Balleny Islands Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Ross Sea Southern Ocean University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton Antarctic Southern Ocean Ross Sea Balleny Islands New Zealand Marine Ecology Progress Series 734 123 155 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton |
op_collection_id |
ftsouthampton |
language |
English |
description |
Southern Ocean humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae are capital breeders, breeding in the warm tropics/subtropics in the winter and migrating to nutrient-rich Antarctic feeding grounds in the summer. The classic feeding model is for the species to fast while migrating and breeding, surviving on blubber energy stores. Whilst northern hemisphere humpback whales are generalists, southern hemisphere counterparts are perceived as krill specialists, but for many populations, uncertainties remain regarding their diet and preferred feeding locations. This study used bulk and compound-specific stable isotope analyses and isoscape-based feeding location assignments to assess the diet, trophic ecology and likely feeding areas of humpback whales sampled in the Ross Sea region and around the Balleny Islands. Sampled whales had a mixed diet of plankton, krill and fish, similar to the diet of northern hemisphere humpback whales. Proportions of fish consumed varied but were often high (2-60%), thus challenging the widely held paradigm of Southern Ocean humpback whales being exclusive krill feeders. These whales had lower δ15N values and trophic position estimates than their northern hemisphere counterparts, likely due to lower Southern Ocean baseline δ15N surface water values and a lower percentage consumption of fish, respectively. Most whales fed in the Ross Sea shelf/slope and Balleny Islands high-productivity regions, but some isotopically distinct whales (mostly males) fed at higher trophic levels either around the Balleny Islands and frontal upwelling areas to the north, or en route to Antarctica in temperate waters off southern Australia and New Zealand. These results support other observations of humpback whales feeding during migration, highlighting the species' dietary plasticity, which may increase their foraging and breeding success and provide them with greater resilience to anthropogenically mediated ecological change. This study highlights the importance of combining in situ field data with regional-scale ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bury, Sarah J. Peters, Katharina J. Sabadel, Amandine J.M. St John Glew, Katie Trueman, Clive Wunder, M.B. Cobain, Matthew R.D. Schmitt, Natalie Donnelly, David Magozzi, Sarah Owen, Kylie Brown, Julie C.S. Escobar-Flores, Pablo Constantine, Rochelle O’Driscoll, Richard L. Double, Mike Gales, Nick Childerhouse, Simon Pinkerton, Matthew H. |
spellingShingle |
Bury, Sarah J. Peters, Katharina J. Sabadel, Amandine J.M. St John Glew, Katie Trueman, Clive Wunder, M.B. Cobain, Matthew R.D. Schmitt, Natalie Donnelly, David Magozzi, Sarah Owen, Kylie Brown, Julie C.S. Escobar-Flores, Pablo Constantine, Rochelle O’Driscoll, Richard L. Double, Mike Gales, Nick Childerhouse, Simon Pinkerton, Matthew H. Southern Ocean humpback whale trophic ecology. I. Combining multiple stable isotope methods elucidates diet, trophic position and foraging areas |
author_facet |
Bury, Sarah J. Peters, Katharina J. Sabadel, Amandine J.M. St John Glew, Katie Trueman, Clive Wunder, M.B. Cobain, Matthew R.D. Schmitt, Natalie Donnelly, David Magozzi, Sarah Owen, Kylie Brown, Julie C.S. Escobar-Flores, Pablo Constantine, Rochelle O’Driscoll, Richard L. Double, Mike Gales, Nick Childerhouse, Simon Pinkerton, Matthew H. |
author_sort |
Bury, Sarah J. |
title |
Southern Ocean humpback whale trophic ecology. I. Combining multiple stable isotope methods elucidates diet, trophic position and foraging areas |
title_short |
Southern Ocean humpback whale trophic ecology. I. Combining multiple stable isotope methods elucidates diet, trophic position and foraging areas |
title_full |
Southern Ocean humpback whale trophic ecology. I. Combining multiple stable isotope methods elucidates diet, trophic position and foraging areas |
title_fullStr |
Southern Ocean humpback whale trophic ecology. I. Combining multiple stable isotope methods elucidates diet, trophic position and foraging areas |
title_full_unstemmed |
Southern Ocean humpback whale trophic ecology. I. Combining multiple stable isotope methods elucidates diet, trophic position and foraging areas |
title_sort |
southern ocean humpback whale trophic ecology. i. combining multiple stable isotope methods elucidates diet, trophic position and foraging areas |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/491092/ https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/491092/1/Manuscript_Bury_Humpback_whale_isotope_foraging_21_Dec_2023.docx https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/491092/2/m734p123.pdf |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean Ross Sea Balleny Islands New Zealand |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean Ross Sea Balleny Islands New Zealand |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Balleny Islands Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Ross Sea Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Balleny Islands Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Ross Sea Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/491092/1/Manuscript_Bury_Humpback_whale_isotope_foraging_21_Dec_2023.docx https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/491092/2/m734p123.pdf Bury, Sarah J., Peters, Katharina J., Sabadel, Amandine J.M., St John Glew, Katie, Trueman, Clive, Wunder, M.B., Cobain, Matthew R.D., Schmitt, Natalie, Donnelly, David, Magozzi, Sarah, Owen, Kylie, Brown, Julie C.S., Escobar-Flores, Pablo, Constantine, Rochelle, O’Driscoll, Richard L., Double, Mike, Gales, Nick, Childerhouse, Simon and Pinkerton, Matthew H. (2024) Southern Ocean humpback whale trophic ecology. I. Combining multiple stable isotope methods elucidates diet, trophic position and foraging areas. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 734, 123-155. (doi:10.3354/meps14532 <http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps14532>). |
op_rights |
cc_by_4 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14532 |
container_title |
Marine Ecology Progress Series |
container_volume |
734 |
container_start_page |
123 |
op_container_end_page |
155 |
_version_ |
1809823839060754432 |