Energy expenditure of southern right whales varies with body size, reproductive state and activity level
Quantifying the energy expenditure of animals is critical to understanding the cost of anthropogenic disturbance relative to their overall energy requirements. We used novel drone focal follows (776 follows, 185 individuals) and aerial photogrammetry (5372 measurements, 791 individuals) to measure t...
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2023
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ftuniaarhuspubl:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/82e1e96f-2711-412c-89c1-d54328e12143 2024-05-19T07:38:01+00:00 Energy expenditure of southern right whales varies with body size, reproductive state and activity level Christiansen, Fredrik Sprogis, Kate R. Nielsen, Mia L.K. Glarou, Maria Bejder, Lars 2023-07 https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/publications/82e1e96f-2711-412c-89c1-d54328e12143 https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.245137 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85166767744&partnerID=8YFLogxK eng eng https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/publications/82e1e96f-2711-412c-89c1-d54328e12143 info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess Christiansen , F , Sprogis , K R , Nielsen , M L K , Glarou , M & Bejder , L 2023 , ' Energy expenditure of southern right whales varies with body size, reproductive state and activity level ' , Journal of Experimental Biology , vol. 226 , no. 13 , jeb245137 . https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.245137 Aerial photogrammetry Baleen whale Bioenergetics Drones Field metabolic rate Total energy expenditure article 2023 ftuniaarhuspubl https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.245137 2024-05-01T23:48:43Z Quantifying the energy expenditure of animals is critical to understanding the cost of anthropogenic disturbance relative to their overall energy requirements. We used novel drone focal follows (776 follows, 185 individuals) and aerial photogrammetry (5372 measurements, 791 individuals) to measure the respiration rate and body condition loss of southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) on a breeding ground in Australia. Respiration rates were converted to oxygen consumption rate and field metabolic rate (FMR) using published bioenergetic models. The intra-seasonal loss in body condition of different reproductive classes (calves, juveniles, adults, pregnant and lactating females) was converted to blubber energy loss and total energy expenditure (TEE). Using these two metrics, we tested the effects of body size, reproductive state and activity level on right whale energy expenditure. Respiration rates and mass-specific FMR decreased exponentially with an increase in body size, as expected based on allometric scaling. FMR increased curvilinearly with an increase in swim speed, probably as a result of increased drag and increased locomotion costs. Respiration rates and FMR were 44% higher for pregnant and lactating females compared with those of adults, suggesting significant costs of fetal maintenance and milk production, respectively. The estimated FMR of adults based on their respiration rates corresponded well with the estimated TEE based on body condition loss. The rate of decline in body condition of pregnant and lactating females was considerably higher than expected based on respiration rates, which probably reflects the milk energy transfer from mothers to calves, which is not reflected in their FMR. Article in Journal/Newspaper baleen whale Aarhus University: Research Journal of Experimental Biology 226 13 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Aarhus University: Research |
op_collection_id |
ftuniaarhuspubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Aerial photogrammetry Baleen whale Bioenergetics Drones Field metabolic rate Total energy expenditure |
spellingShingle |
Aerial photogrammetry Baleen whale Bioenergetics Drones Field metabolic rate Total energy expenditure Christiansen, Fredrik Sprogis, Kate R. Nielsen, Mia L.K. Glarou, Maria Bejder, Lars Energy expenditure of southern right whales varies with body size, reproductive state and activity level |
topic_facet |
Aerial photogrammetry Baleen whale Bioenergetics Drones Field metabolic rate Total energy expenditure |
description |
Quantifying the energy expenditure of animals is critical to understanding the cost of anthropogenic disturbance relative to their overall energy requirements. We used novel drone focal follows (776 follows, 185 individuals) and aerial photogrammetry (5372 measurements, 791 individuals) to measure the respiration rate and body condition loss of southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) on a breeding ground in Australia. Respiration rates were converted to oxygen consumption rate and field metabolic rate (FMR) using published bioenergetic models. The intra-seasonal loss in body condition of different reproductive classes (calves, juveniles, adults, pregnant and lactating females) was converted to blubber energy loss and total energy expenditure (TEE). Using these two metrics, we tested the effects of body size, reproductive state and activity level on right whale energy expenditure. Respiration rates and mass-specific FMR decreased exponentially with an increase in body size, as expected based on allometric scaling. FMR increased curvilinearly with an increase in swim speed, probably as a result of increased drag and increased locomotion costs. Respiration rates and FMR were 44% higher for pregnant and lactating females compared with those of adults, suggesting significant costs of fetal maintenance and milk production, respectively. The estimated FMR of adults based on their respiration rates corresponded well with the estimated TEE based on body condition loss. The rate of decline in body condition of pregnant and lactating females was considerably higher than expected based on respiration rates, which probably reflects the milk energy transfer from mothers to calves, which is not reflected in their FMR. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Christiansen, Fredrik Sprogis, Kate R. Nielsen, Mia L.K. Glarou, Maria Bejder, Lars |
author_facet |
Christiansen, Fredrik Sprogis, Kate R. Nielsen, Mia L.K. Glarou, Maria Bejder, Lars |
author_sort |
Christiansen, Fredrik |
title |
Energy expenditure of southern right whales varies with body size, reproductive state and activity level |
title_short |
Energy expenditure of southern right whales varies with body size, reproductive state and activity level |
title_full |
Energy expenditure of southern right whales varies with body size, reproductive state and activity level |
title_fullStr |
Energy expenditure of southern right whales varies with body size, reproductive state and activity level |
title_full_unstemmed |
Energy expenditure of southern right whales varies with body size, reproductive state and activity level |
title_sort |
energy expenditure of southern right whales varies with body size, reproductive state and activity level |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/publications/82e1e96f-2711-412c-89c1-d54328e12143 https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.245137 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85166767744&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
genre |
baleen whale |
genre_facet |
baleen whale |
op_source |
Christiansen , F , Sprogis , K R , Nielsen , M L K , Glarou , M & Bejder , L 2023 , ' Energy expenditure of southern right whales varies with body size, reproductive state and activity level ' , Journal of Experimental Biology , vol. 226 , no. 13 , jeb245137 . https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.245137 |
op_relation |
https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/publications/82e1e96f-2711-412c-89c1-d54328e12143 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.245137 |
container_title |
Journal of Experimental Biology |
container_volume |
226 |
container_issue |
13 |
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1799477406930567168 |