Flash and grab:deep-diving southern elephant seals trigger anti-predator flashes in bioluminescent prey
Bioluminescence, which occurs in approximately 80% of the world's mesopelagic fauna, can take the form of a low-intensity continuous glow (e.g. for counter-illumination or signalling) or fast repetitions of brighter anti-predatory flashes. The southern elephant seal (SES) is a major consumer of...
Published in: | Journal of Experimental Biology |
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2020
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ftuniaarhuspubl:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/5ed6ffcb-2a6e-44c6-9412-7cc2b9dcee17 2024-05-19T07:39:41+00:00 Flash and grab:deep-diving southern elephant seals trigger anti-predator flashes in bioluminescent prey Goulet, Pauline Guinet, Christophe Campagna, Claudio Campagna, Julieta Tyack, Peter Lloyd Johnson, Mark 2020-05 application/pdf https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/publications/5ed6ffcb-2a6e-44c6-9412-7cc2b9dcee17 https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.222810 https://pure.au.dk/ws/files/224577519/jeb222810.pdf http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85084965151&partnerID=8YFLogxK eng eng https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/publications/5ed6ffcb-2a6e-44c6-9412-7cc2b9dcee17 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Goulet , P , Guinet , C , Campagna , C , Campagna , J , Tyack , P L & Johnson , M 2020 , ' Flash and grab : deep-diving southern elephant seals trigger anti-predator flashes in bioluminescent prey ' , Journal of Experimental Biology , vol. 223 , no. 10 , jeb222810 . https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.222810 Anti-predator tactic Biologging Bioluminescence Foraging ecology Mirounga leonina Predator–prey interactions article 2020 ftuniaarhuspubl https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.222810 2024-05-01T23:46:33Z Bioluminescence, which occurs in approximately 80% of the world's mesopelagic fauna, can take the form of a low-intensity continuous glow (e.g. for counter-illumination or signalling) or fast repetitions of brighter anti-predatory flashes. The southern elephant seal (SES) is a major consumer of mesopelagic organisms, in particular the abundant myctophid fish, yet the fine-scale relationship between this predator's foraging behaviour and bioluminescent prey remains poorly understood. We hypothesised that brief, intense light emissions should be closely connected with prey strikes when the seal is targeting bioluminescent prey that reacts by emitting anti-predator flashes. To test this, we developed a biologging device containing a fast-sampling light sensor together with location and movement sensors to measure simultaneously anti-predator bioluminescent emissions and the predator's attack motions with a 20 ms resolution. Tags were deployed on female SES breeding at Kerguelen Islands and Península Valdés, Argentina. In situ light levels in combination with duration of prey capture attempts indicated that seals were targeting a variety of prey types. For some individuals, bioluminescent flashes occurred in a large proportion of prey strikes, with the timing of flashes closely connected with the predator's attack motion, suggestive of anti-predator emissions. Marked differences across individuals and location indicate that SES do exploit bioluminescent organisms but the proportion of these in the diet varies widely with location. The combination of wideband light and acceleration data provides new insight into where and when different prey types are encountered and how effectively they might be captured. Article in Journal/Newspaper Elephant Seal Elephant Seals Kerguelen Islands Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seal Southern Elephant Seals Aarhus University: Research Journal of Experimental Biology 223 10 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Aarhus University: Research |
op_collection_id |
ftuniaarhuspubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Anti-predator tactic Biologging Bioluminescence Foraging ecology Mirounga leonina Predator–prey interactions |
spellingShingle |
Anti-predator tactic Biologging Bioluminescence Foraging ecology Mirounga leonina Predator–prey interactions Goulet, Pauline Guinet, Christophe Campagna, Claudio Campagna, Julieta Tyack, Peter Lloyd Johnson, Mark Flash and grab:deep-diving southern elephant seals trigger anti-predator flashes in bioluminescent prey |
topic_facet |
Anti-predator tactic Biologging Bioluminescence Foraging ecology Mirounga leonina Predator–prey interactions |
description |
Bioluminescence, which occurs in approximately 80% of the world's mesopelagic fauna, can take the form of a low-intensity continuous glow (e.g. for counter-illumination or signalling) or fast repetitions of brighter anti-predatory flashes. The southern elephant seal (SES) is a major consumer of mesopelagic organisms, in particular the abundant myctophid fish, yet the fine-scale relationship between this predator's foraging behaviour and bioluminescent prey remains poorly understood. We hypothesised that brief, intense light emissions should be closely connected with prey strikes when the seal is targeting bioluminescent prey that reacts by emitting anti-predator flashes. To test this, we developed a biologging device containing a fast-sampling light sensor together with location and movement sensors to measure simultaneously anti-predator bioluminescent emissions and the predator's attack motions with a 20 ms resolution. Tags were deployed on female SES breeding at Kerguelen Islands and Península Valdés, Argentina. In situ light levels in combination with duration of prey capture attempts indicated that seals were targeting a variety of prey types. For some individuals, bioluminescent flashes occurred in a large proportion of prey strikes, with the timing of flashes closely connected with the predator's attack motion, suggestive of anti-predator emissions. Marked differences across individuals and location indicate that SES do exploit bioluminescent organisms but the proportion of these in the diet varies widely with location. The combination of wideband light and acceleration data provides new insight into where and when different prey types are encountered and how effectively they might be captured. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Goulet, Pauline Guinet, Christophe Campagna, Claudio Campagna, Julieta Tyack, Peter Lloyd Johnson, Mark |
author_facet |
Goulet, Pauline Guinet, Christophe Campagna, Claudio Campagna, Julieta Tyack, Peter Lloyd Johnson, Mark |
author_sort |
Goulet, Pauline |
title |
Flash and grab:deep-diving southern elephant seals trigger anti-predator flashes in bioluminescent prey |
title_short |
Flash and grab:deep-diving southern elephant seals trigger anti-predator flashes in bioluminescent prey |
title_full |
Flash and grab:deep-diving southern elephant seals trigger anti-predator flashes in bioluminescent prey |
title_fullStr |
Flash and grab:deep-diving southern elephant seals trigger anti-predator flashes in bioluminescent prey |
title_full_unstemmed |
Flash and grab:deep-diving southern elephant seals trigger anti-predator flashes in bioluminescent prey |
title_sort |
flash and grab:deep-diving southern elephant seals trigger anti-predator flashes in bioluminescent prey |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/publications/5ed6ffcb-2a6e-44c6-9412-7cc2b9dcee17 https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.222810 https://pure.au.dk/ws/files/224577519/jeb222810.pdf http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85084965151&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
genre |
Elephant Seal Elephant Seals Kerguelen Islands Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seal Southern Elephant Seals |
genre_facet |
Elephant Seal Elephant Seals Kerguelen Islands Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seal Southern Elephant Seals |
op_source |
Goulet , P , Guinet , C , Campagna , C , Campagna , J , Tyack , P L & Johnson , M 2020 , ' Flash and grab : deep-diving southern elephant seals trigger anti-predator flashes in bioluminescent prey ' , Journal of Experimental Biology , vol. 223 , no. 10 , jeb222810 . https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.222810 |
op_relation |
https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/publications/5ed6ffcb-2a6e-44c6-9412-7cc2b9dcee17 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.222810 |
container_title |
Journal of Experimental Biology |
container_volume |
223 |
container_issue |
10 |
_version_ |
1799479268433985536 |