Behavioural Study of Cetaceans’ Chemosensory abilities
During the course of a unique evolutionary process, the sensory systems of cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) have secondarily adapted to life in an aquatic environment. While the extraordinary acoustic capacities of these animals have been widely studied, surprisingly little is known about...
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Online Access: | https://theses.hal.science/tel-01705457 https://theses.hal.science/tel-01705457/document https://theses.hal.science/tel-01705457/file/2017_BOUCHARD_archivage.pdf |
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ftsupagro:oai:HAL:tel-01705457v1 2024-05-19T07:29:58+00:00 Behavioural Study of Cetaceans’ Chemosensory abilities Étude comportementale des capacités chimio-sensorielles des cétacés Bouchard, Bertrand Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE) Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD France-Sud )-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro) Université Montpellier Aurélie Célérier 2017-11-07 https://theses.hal.science/tel-01705457 https://theses.hal.science/tel-01705457/document https://theses.hal.science/tel-01705457/file/2017_BOUCHARD_archivage.pdf fr fre HAL CCSD NNT: 2017MONTT119 tel-01705457 https://theses.hal.science/tel-01705457 https://theses.hal.science/tel-01705457/document https://theses.hal.science/tel-01705457/file/2017_BOUCHARD_archivage.pdf info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess https://theses.hal.science/tel-01705457 Biologie animale. Université Montpellier, 2017. Français. ⟨NNT : 2017MONTT119⟩ Behavioural ecology Chemoreception Chemical communication Cetaceans Mysticeti Odontoceti Ecologie comportementale Chémoréception Communication chimique Cétacés Mysticètes Odontocètes [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis Theses 2017 ftsupagro 2024-04-25T17:12:15Z During the course of a unique evolutionary process, the sensory systems of cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) have secondarily adapted to life in an aquatic environment. While the extraordinary acoustic capacities of these animals have been widely studied, surprisingly little is known about their chemosensory abilities. The results of some sparse behavioural studies suggest that cetaceans can detect molecules secreted by, for example, a prey or congener. In contrast, anatomical and genetic investigations have concluded that cetacean chemosenses are greatly reduced or even absent. This poses the question; have cetaceans truly lost the use of the sensory channels that play a major role in the feeding, orientation and reproduction behaviours of other marine predators? The main objective of this thesis was, therefore, to establish whether these animals are capable of perceiving biologically-relevant chemical cues and exhibiting a behavioural response. For this project, I studied the reactions of both toothed (Odontoceti) and baleen (Mysticeti) whales to various soluble or volatile food-related stimuli. I first worked with captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and showed they could discriminate soluble extracts of their piscine prey. I then developed a novel protocol to measure the responses (surface behaviour and movements) of cetaceans to chemical cues in their natural habitat. Using this protocol, experiments performed in the western Mediterranean Sea revealed that both bottlenose dolphins and pilot whales (Globicephala melas) react to dimethyl sulfate (DMS), a volatile molecule found in areas of high primary productivity. Using the same protocol, I subsequently measured the reactions of a mysticete species, the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) to DMS and to krill extract (their natural prey) in three different locations: in their reproduction zone in the Indian Ocean, and in their feeding grounds in the North Atlantic and Antarctic Ocean. I found that the humpback whales reacted with an ... Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Ocean Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae North Atlantic Portail HAL Institut Agro Montpellier |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Portail HAL Institut Agro Montpellier |
op_collection_id |
ftsupagro |
language |
French |
topic |
Behavioural ecology Chemoreception Chemical communication Cetaceans Mysticeti Odontoceti Ecologie comportementale Chémoréception Communication chimique Cétacés Mysticètes Odontocètes [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology |
spellingShingle |
Behavioural ecology Chemoreception Chemical communication Cetaceans Mysticeti Odontoceti Ecologie comportementale Chémoréception Communication chimique Cétacés Mysticètes Odontocètes [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology Bouchard, Bertrand Behavioural Study of Cetaceans’ Chemosensory abilities |
topic_facet |
Behavioural ecology Chemoreception Chemical communication Cetaceans Mysticeti Odontoceti Ecologie comportementale Chémoréception Communication chimique Cétacés Mysticètes Odontocètes [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology |
description |
During the course of a unique evolutionary process, the sensory systems of cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) have secondarily adapted to life in an aquatic environment. While the extraordinary acoustic capacities of these animals have been widely studied, surprisingly little is known about their chemosensory abilities. The results of some sparse behavioural studies suggest that cetaceans can detect molecules secreted by, for example, a prey or congener. In contrast, anatomical and genetic investigations have concluded that cetacean chemosenses are greatly reduced or even absent. This poses the question; have cetaceans truly lost the use of the sensory channels that play a major role in the feeding, orientation and reproduction behaviours of other marine predators? The main objective of this thesis was, therefore, to establish whether these animals are capable of perceiving biologically-relevant chemical cues and exhibiting a behavioural response. For this project, I studied the reactions of both toothed (Odontoceti) and baleen (Mysticeti) whales to various soluble or volatile food-related stimuli. I first worked with captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and showed they could discriminate soluble extracts of their piscine prey. I then developed a novel protocol to measure the responses (surface behaviour and movements) of cetaceans to chemical cues in their natural habitat. Using this protocol, experiments performed in the western Mediterranean Sea revealed that both bottlenose dolphins and pilot whales (Globicephala melas) react to dimethyl sulfate (DMS), a volatile molecule found in areas of high primary productivity. Using the same protocol, I subsequently measured the reactions of a mysticete species, the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) to DMS and to krill extract (their natural prey) in three different locations: in their reproduction zone in the Indian Ocean, and in their feeding grounds in the North Atlantic and Antarctic Ocean. I found that the humpback whales reacted with an ... |
author2 |
Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE) Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD France-Sud )-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro) Université Montpellier Aurélie Célérier |
format |
Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis |
author |
Bouchard, Bertrand |
author_facet |
Bouchard, Bertrand |
author_sort |
Bouchard, Bertrand |
title |
Behavioural Study of Cetaceans’ Chemosensory abilities |
title_short |
Behavioural Study of Cetaceans’ Chemosensory abilities |
title_full |
Behavioural Study of Cetaceans’ Chemosensory abilities |
title_fullStr |
Behavioural Study of Cetaceans’ Chemosensory abilities |
title_full_unstemmed |
Behavioural Study of Cetaceans’ Chemosensory abilities |
title_sort |
behavioural study of cetaceans’ chemosensory abilities |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://theses.hal.science/tel-01705457 https://theses.hal.science/tel-01705457/document https://theses.hal.science/tel-01705457/file/2017_BOUCHARD_archivage.pdf |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Ocean Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Ocean Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae North Atlantic |
op_source |
https://theses.hal.science/tel-01705457 Biologie animale. Université Montpellier, 2017. Français. ⟨NNT : 2017MONTT119⟩ |
op_relation |
NNT: 2017MONTT119 tel-01705457 https://theses.hal.science/tel-01705457 https://theses.hal.science/tel-01705457/document https://theses.hal.science/tel-01705457/file/2017_BOUCHARD_archivage.pdf |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
_version_ |
1799482655789547520 |