Sperm whale diet variation by sex, location, year, social group and clan : Evidence from stable isotopes
We studied the diet of sperm whales Physeter macrocephalus by measuring carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in 106 sloughed skin samples and 10 squid beaks (Histioteuthidae spp.), the latter collected from sperm whale defecations. Samples were collected during 8 studies conducted between 1989 and 200...
Published in: | Marine Ecology Progress Series |
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10023/3878 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps333309 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34147165422&partnerID=8YFLogxK http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v333/p309-314/ |
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ftstandrewserep:oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/3878 2023-07-02T03:33:12+02:00 Sperm whale diet variation by sex, location, year, social group and clan : Evidence from stable isotopes Marcoux, M Whitehead, H Rendell, Luke Edward NERC University of St Andrews. School of Biology University of St Andrews. Bioacoustics group University of St Andrews. Centre for Social Learning & Cognitive Evolution 2013-07-26T09:01:03Z 6 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/10023/3878 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps333309 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34147165422&partnerID=8YFLogxK http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v333/p309-314/ eng eng Marine Ecology Progress Series Marcoux , M , Whitehead , H & Rendell , L E 2007 , ' Sperm whale diet variation by sex, location, year, social group and clan : Evidence from stable isotopes ' , Marine Ecology Progress Series , vol. 333 , pp. 309-314 . https://doi.org/10.3354/meps333309 0171-8630 PURE: 390744 PURE UUID: 8cb343f3-2dcd-43a0-b44d-7fae54cf4f0b WOS: 000245557100029 Scopus: 34147165422 ORCID: /0000-0002-1121-9142/work/27612573 http://hdl.handle.net/10023/3878 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps333309 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34147165422&partnerID=8YFLogxK http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v333/p309-314/ Copyright © 2007 Inter-Research. This article is deposited in accordance with the publisher's policy. Culture Physeter macrocephalus Carbon Nitrogen Histioteuthidae spp. squid Marine mammals Trophic relationships Northeast Atlantic Ratios Delta-C-13 Pacific Ecology QL Zoology SDG 14 - Life Below Water QL Journal article 2013 ftstandrewserep https://doi.org/10.3354/meps333309 2023-06-13T18:27:27Z We studied the diet of sperm whales Physeter macrocephalus by measuring carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in 106 sloughed skin samples and 10 squid beaks (Histioteuthidae spp.), the latter collected from sperm whale defecations. Samples were collected during 8 studies conducted between 1989 and 2000 in the South Pacific Ocean. We examined diet variation across region, year, social group and vocal clan. The isotopic signatures of groups and acoustic clans of sperm whales were compared using a nested analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the absolute distances between each pair of samples were calculated. The delta C-13 and delta N-15 values ranged from -17.8 to -14.5 parts per thousand and from 8.5 to 22.3 parts per thousand, respectively. The delta N-15 values of defecated squids were about 3 parts per thousand lower than values of the sperm whale, corresponding to a trophic difference of one level. There was a significant difference in both the delta N-15 and delta C-13 values between groups (nested within clans and the studies) and clans (nested within studies). Most of the variation was between studies. The latitude at which the samples were collected was inversely related to the delta N-15 values. We suggest that the differences in diet between the groups from different clans are mainly caused by characteristic behaviour of the clans and differential use of micro-habitats; i.e. groups from a clan with a generally more benthic or inshore distribution had higher delta C-13 than groups with a more offshore or pelagic influence, a general characteristic of this isotope in marine habitats. Publisher PDF Peer reviewed Article in Journal/Newspaper Northeast Atlantic Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale University of St Andrews: Digital Research Repository Pacific Marine Ecology Progress Series 333 309 314 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of St Andrews: Digital Research Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftstandrewserep |
language |
English |
topic |
Culture Physeter macrocephalus Carbon Nitrogen Histioteuthidae spp. squid Marine mammals Trophic relationships Northeast Atlantic Ratios Delta-C-13 Pacific Ecology QL Zoology SDG 14 - Life Below Water QL |
spellingShingle |
Culture Physeter macrocephalus Carbon Nitrogen Histioteuthidae spp. squid Marine mammals Trophic relationships Northeast Atlantic Ratios Delta-C-13 Pacific Ecology QL Zoology SDG 14 - Life Below Water QL Marcoux, M Whitehead, H Rendell, Luke Edward Sperm whale diet variation by sex, location, year, social group and clan : Evidence from stable isotopes |
topic_facet |
Culture Physeter macrocephalus Carbon Nitrogen Histioteuthidae spp. squid Marine mammals Trophic relationships Northeast Atlantic Ratios Delta-C-13 Pacific Ecology QL Zoology SDG 14 - Life Below Water QL |
description |
We studied the diet of sperm whales Physeter macrocephalus by measuring carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in 106 sloughed skin samples and 10 squid beaks (Histioteuthidae spp.), the latter collected from sperm whale defecations. Samples were collected during 8 studies conducted between 1989 and 2000 in the South Pacific Ocean. We examined diet variation across region, year, social group and vocal clan. The isotopic signatures of groups and acoustic clans of sperm whales were compared using a nested analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the absolute distances between each pair of samples were calculated. The delta C-13 and delta N-15 values ranged from -17.8 to -14.5 parts per thousand and from 8.5 to 22.3 parts per thousand, respectively. The delta N-15 values of defecated squids were about 3 parts per thousand lower than values of the sperm whale, corresponding to a trophic difference of one level. There was a significant difference in both the delta N-15 and delta C-13 values between groups (nested within clans and the studies) and clans (nested within studies). Most of the variation was between studies. The latitude at which the samples were collected was inversely related to the delta N-15 values. We suggest that the differences in diet between the groups from different clans are mainly caused by characteristic behaviour of the clans and differential use of micro-habitats; i.e. groups from a clan with a generally more benthic or inshore distribution had higher delta C-13 than groups with a more offshore or pelagic influence, a general characteristic of this isotope in marine habitats. Publisher PDF Peer reviewed |
author2 |
NERC University of St Andrews. School of Biology University of St Andrews. Bioacoustics group University of St Andrews. Centre for Social Learning & Cognitive Evolution |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Marcoux, M Whitehead, H Rendell, Luke Edward |
author_facet |
Marcoux, M Whitehead, H Rendell, Luke Edward |
author_sort |
Marcoux, M |
title |
Sperm whale diet variation by sex, location, year, social group and clan : Evidence from stable isotopes |
title_short |
Sperm whale diet variation by sex, location, year, social group and clan : Evidence from stable isotopes |
title_full |
Sperm whale diet variation by sex, location, year, social group and clan : Evidence from stable isotopes |
title_fullStr |
Sperm whale diet variation by sex, location, year, social group and clan : Evidence from stable isotopes |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sperm whale diet variation by sex, location, year, social group and clan : Evidence from stable isotopes |
title_sort |
sperm whale diet variation by sex, location, year, social group and clan : evidence from stable isotopes |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/3878 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps333309 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34147165422&partnerID=8YFLogxK http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v333/p309-314/ |
geographic |
Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Pacific |
genre |
Northeast Atlantic Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale |
genre_facet |
Northeast Atlantic Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale |
op_relation |
Marine Ecology Progress Series Marcoux , M , Whitehead , H & Rendell , L E 2007 , ' Sperm whale diet variation by sex, location, year, social group and clan : Evidence from stable isotopes ' , Marine Ecology Progress Series , vol. 333 , pp. 309-314 . https://doi.org/10.3354/meps333309 0171-8630 PURE: 390744 PURE UUID: 8cb343f3-2dcd-43a0-b44d-7fae54cf4f0b WOS: 000245557100029 Scopus: 34147165422 ORCID: /0000-0002-1121-9142/work/27612573 http://hdl.handle.net/10023/3878 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps333309 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34147165422&partnerID=8YFLogxK http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v333/p309-314/ |
op_rights |
Copyright © 2007 Inter-Research. This article is deposited in accordance with the publisher's policy. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps333309 |
container_title |
Marine Ecology Progress Series |
container_volume |
333 |
container_start_page |
309 |
op_container_end_page |
314 |
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1770273059563896832 |