Wandering whales?:Relationships between baleen whales and the sea ice environment in the Southern Ocean
Each austral summer large baleen whales migrate into the Southern Ocean to feed on krill. The melting of sea ice leads to algal blooms which allow rapid growth and development of krill. In order to predict how baleen whales will respond to long-term changes in the physical environment, we need to un...
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Format: | Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis |
Language: | English |
Published: |
University of Groningen
2017
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/11370/2e012223-f1b1-41c9-a7f0-eabbc7e729f7 https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/wandering-whales(2e012223-f1b1-41c9-a7f0-eabbc7e729f7).html https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/39331317/Complete_thesis.pdf https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/39331319/Propositions.pdf |
id |
ftunigroningenpu:oai:pure.rug.nl:publications/2e012223-f1b1-41c9-a7f0-eabbc7e729f7 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftunigroningenpu:oai:pure.rug.nl:publications/2e012223-f1b1-41c9-a7f0-eabbc7e729f7 2023-05-15T14:03:17+02:00 Wandering whales?:Relationships between baleen whales and the sea ice environment in the Southern Ocean Beekmans, Bas 2017 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/11370/2e012223-f1b1-41c9-a7f0-eabbc7e729f7 https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/wandering-whales(2e012223-f1b1-41c9-a7f0-eabbc7e729f7).html https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/39331317/Complete_thesis.pdf https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/39331319/Propositions.pdf eng eng University of Groningen info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Beekmans , B 2017 , ' Wandering whales? Relationships between baleen whales and the sea ice environment in the Southern Ocean ' , Doctor of Philosophy , University of Groningen , [Groningen] . doctoralThesis 2017 ftunigroningenpu 2022-01-22T18:58:29Z Each austral summer large baleen whales migrate into the Southern Ocean to feed on krill. The melting of sea ice leads to algal blooms which allow rapid growth and development of krill. In order to predict how baleen whales will respond to long-term changes in the physical environment, we need to understand the relationships between baleen whales, their prey and the physical environment. The spatial models in this thesis are based on visual observations by whale observers onboard ships in open waters. The model analyses suggest that Antarctic minke whales are more often found close to the sea ice edge, continental shelf and frontal systems. Estimates show higher numbers of minke whales in regions that experienced more sea ice melting during austral spring and summer. These findings strongly suggest that the amount of sea ice cover, and especially its seasonal change, affects populations of minke whales at the regional scale. For the Scotia Sea, different species of baleen whales may target different types of krill. Minke whales and humpback whales were more often found in waters inhabited by juvenile krill, while fin whales were more often found in deeper waters, inhabited by adult krill. Improved understanding of whale behaviour will help us to better predict how baleen whales will respond to environmental change. We hardly know how far away baleen whales can detect krill swarms and how they forage in a three-dimensional environment. Recent advances in infrared detection and acoustic research are promising techniques to remedy this knowledge gap. Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis Antarc* Antarctic baleen whales Scotia Sea Sea ice Southern Ocean University of Groningen research database Antarctic Austral Scotia Sea Southern Ocean |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Groningen research database |
op_collection_id |
ftunigroningenpu |
language |
English |
description |
Each austral summer large baleen whales migrate into the Southern Ocean to feed on krill. The melting of sea ice leads to algal blooms which allow rapid growth and development of krill. In order to predict how baleen whales will respond to long-term changes in the physical environment, we need to understand the relationships between baleen whales, their prey and the physical environment. The spatial models in this thesis are based on visual observations by whale observers onboard ships in open waters. The model analyses suggest that Antarctic minke whales are more often found close to the sea ice edge, continental shelf and frontal systems. Estimates show higher numbers of minke whales in regions that experienced more sea ice melting during austral spring and summer. These findings strongly suggest that the amount of sea ice cover, and especially its seasonal change, affects populations of minke whales at the regional scale. For the Scotia Sea, different species of baleen whales may target different types of krill. Minke whales and humpback whales were more often found in waters inhabited by juvenile krill, while fin whales were more often found in deeper waters, inhabited by adult krill. Improved understanding of whale behaviour will help us to better predict how baleen whales will respond to environmental change. We hardly know how far away baleen whales can detect krill swarms and how they forage in a three-dimensional environment. Recent advances in infrared detection and acoustic research are promising techniques to remedy this knowledge gap. |
format |
Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis |
author |
Beekmans, Bas |
spellingShingle |
Beekmans, Bas Wandering whales?:Relationships between baleen whales and the sea ice environment in the Southern Ocean |
author_facet |
Beekmans, Bas |
author_sort |
Beekmans, Bas |
title |
Wandering whales?:Relationships between baleen whales and the sea ice environment in the Southern Ocean |
title_short |
Wandering whales?:Relationships between baleen whales and the sea ice environment in the Southern Ocean |
title_full |
Wandering whales?:Relationships between baleen whales and the sea ice environment in the Southern Ocean |
title_fullStr |
Wandering whales?:Relationships between baleen whales and the sea ice environment in the Southern Ocean |
title_full_unstemmed |
Wandering whales?:Relationships between baleen whales and the sea ice environment in the Southern Ocean |
title_sort |
wandering whales?:relationships between baleen whales and the sea ice environment in the southern ocean |
publisher |
University of Groningen |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/11370/2e012223-f1b1-41c9-a7f0-eabbc7e729f7 https://research.rug.nl/en/publications/wandering-whales(2e012223-f1b1-41c9-a7f0-eabbc7e729f7).html https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/39331317/Complete_thesis.pdf https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/39331319/Propositions.pdf |
geographic |
Antarctic Austral Scotia Sea Southern Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Austral Scotia Sea Southern Ocean |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic baleen whales Scotia Sea Sea ice Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic baleen whales Scotia Sea Sea ice Southern Ocean |
op_source |
Beekmans , B 2017 , ' Wandering whales? Relationships between baleen whales and the sea ice environment in the Southern Ocean ' , Doctor of Philosophy , University of Groningen , [Groningen] . |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
_version_ |
1766273901969539072 |