Movements, diving behaviour and diet of C-type killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the Ross Sea, Antarctica
The fish‐eating, type‐C ecotype, killer whale is a top predator in the Ross Sea, Antarctica. Increasing knowledge of this animal's foraging habitats, diet and movement patterns is listed amongst the research priorities adopted under the framework of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarc...
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ftubarcepubl:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/172772 2024-02-11T09:56:16+01:00 Movements, diving behaviour and diet of C-type killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the Ross Sea, Antarctica Lauriano, Giancarlo Pirotta, Enrico Joyce, Trevor Pitman, Robert L. Borrell Thió, Assumpció Panigada, Simone 2020-08-12 13 p. application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/2445/172772 eng eng John Wiley & Sons Versió postprint del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3371 Aquatic Conservation-Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 2020, vol. 30, num. 12, p. 2428-2440 Articles publicats en revistes (Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals) https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3371 1052-7613 http://hdl.handle.net/2445/172772 704312 (c) John Wiley & Sons, 2020 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Balenes Antàrtic Oceà Hàbits alimentaris Whales Antarctic Ocean Food habits info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion 2020 ftubarcepubl https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3371 2024-01-24T01:13:45Z The fish‐eating, type‐C ecotype, killer whale is a top predator in the Ross Sea, Antarctica. Increasing knowledge of this animal's foraging habitats, diet and movement patterns is listed amongst the research priorities adopted under the framework of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). To contribute to this goal, satellite transmitters were deployed on 10 type‐C killer whales and skin biopsies were obtained from seven individuals in Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea) during austral summer (January-February) 2015. Hierarchical switching state-space models (hSSSM) were applied to Argos satellite tracking data to describe the movements of tagged whales, which were then paired with available diving data. Stable isotopes analyses were performed on the biopsy samples to describe the diet. A total of 8,803 Argos locations were available to fit the hSSSM. All whales engaged in potential foraging activity in localized areas along the Ross Sea coastline, followed by uninterrupted travel (i.e. migration) outside Antarctic waters, with no evidence of foraging activity. The pattern of deeper dives matched the occurrence of encamped behaviour indicated by the hSSSM results. The stable isotopes analysis indicated that Antarctic toothfish comprised the largest component (35%) of the prey biomass, raising concerns since this species is targeted by commercial fishery in the Ross Sea Region. These results provide new insights into the ecology of type‐C killer whales in the Ross Sea Region, underlining a potential threat from commercial fishing in the area. Considering the recent establishment of the Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area, these findings will contribute to the required Research and Monitoring Programme of the Marine Protected Area and provide new empirical evidence to inform conservation measures in the existing Terra Nova Bay Antarctic Special Protected Area Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Ocean Antarctic Toothfish Antarctica Killer Whale Orca Orcinus orca Ross Sea Killer whale Dipòsit Digital de la Universitat de Barcelona Antarctic Austral Ross Sea Terra Nova Bay Antarctic Ocean Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 30 12 2428 2440 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Dipòsit Digital de la Universitat de Barcelona |
op_collection_id |
ftubarcepubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Balenes Antàrtic Oceà Hàbits alimentaris Whales Antarctic Ocean Food habits |
spellingShingle |
Balenes Antàrtic Oceà Hàbits alimentaris Whales Antarctic Ocean Food habits Lauriano, Giancarlo Pirotta, Enrico Joyce, Trevor Pitman, Robert L. Borrell Thió, Assumpció Panigada, Simone Movements, diving behaviour and diet of C-type killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the Ross Sea, Antarctica |
topic_facet |
Balenes Antàrtic Oceà Hàbits alimentaris Whales Antarctic Ocean Food habits |
description |
The fish‐eating, type‐C ecotype, killer whale is a top predator in the Ross Sea, Antarctica. Increasing knowledge of this animal's foraging habitats, diet and movement patterns is listed amongst the research priorities adopted under the framework of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). To contribute to this goal, satellite transmitters were deployed on 10 type‐C killer whales and skin biopsies were obtained from seven individuals in Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea) during austral summer (January-February) 2015. Hierarchical switching state-space models (hSSSM) were applied to Argos satellite tracking data to describe the movements of tagged whales, which were then paired with available diving data. Stable isotopes analyses were performed on the biopsy samples to describe the diet. A total of 8,803 Argos locations were available to fit the hSSSM. All whales engaged in potential foraging activity in localized areas along the Ross Sea coastline, followed by uninterrupted travel (i.e. migration) outside Antarctic waters, with no evidence of foraging activity. The pattern of deeper dives matched the occurrence of encamped behaviour indicated by the hSSSM results. The stable isotopes analysis indicated that Antarctic toothfish comprised the largest component (35%) of the prey biomass, raising concerns since this species is targeted by commercial fishery in the Ross Sea Region. These results provide new insights into the ecology of type‐C killer whales in the Ross Sea Region, underlining a potential threat from commercial fishing in the area. Considering the recent establishment of the Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area, these findings will contribute to the required Research and Monitoring Programme of the Marine Protected Area and provide new empirical evidence to inform conservation measures in the existing Terra Nova Bay Antarctic Special Protected Area |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lauriano, Giancarlo Pirotta, Enrico Joyce, Trevor Pitman, Robert L. Borrell Thió, Assumpció Panigada, Simone |
author_facet |
Lauriano, Giancarlo Pirotta, Enrico Joyce, Trevor Pitman, Robert L. Borrell Thió, Assumpció Panigada, Simone |
author_sort |
Lauriano, Giancarlo |
title |
Movements, diving behaviour and diet of C-type killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the Ross Sea, Antarctica |
title_short |
Movements, diving behaviour and diet of C-type killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the Ross Sea, Antarctica |
title_full |
Movements, diving behaviour and diet of C-type killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the Ross Sea, Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Movements, diving behaviour and diet of C-type killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the Ross Sea, Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Movements, diving behaviour and diet of C-type killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the Ross Sea, Antarctica |
title_sort |
movements, diving behaviour and diet of c-type killer whales (orcinus orca) in the ross sea, antarctica |
publisher |
John Wiley & Sons |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/2445/172772 |
geographic |
Antarctic Austral Ross Sea Terra Nova Bay Antarctic Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Austral Ross Sea Terra Nova Bay Antarctic Ocean |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Ocean Antarctic Toothfish Antarctica Killer Whale Orca Orcinus orca Ross Sea Killer whale |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Ocean Antarctic Toothfish Antarctica Killer Whale Orca Orcinus orca Ross Sea Killer whale |
op_relation |
Versió postprint del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3371 Aquatic Conservation-Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 2020, vol. 30, num. 12, p. 2428-2440 Articles publicats en revistes (Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals) https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3371 1052-7613 http://hdl.handle.net/2445/172772 704312 |
op_rights |
(c) John Wiley & Sons, 2020 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3371 |
container_title |
Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems |
container_volume |
30 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
2428 |
op_container_end_page |
2440 |
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1790601834306469888 |