Timing of migratory baleen whales at the Azores in relation to the North Atlantic spring bloom
Each year, a phytoplankton spring bloom starts just north of the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre, and then expands northwards across the entire North Atlantic. Here, we investigate whether the timing of the spring migration of baleen whales is related to the timing of the phytoplankton spring bloom,...
Published in: | Marine Ecology Progress Series |
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2011
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Online Access: | https://dare.uva.nl/personal/pure/en/publications/timing-of-migratory-baleen-whales-at-the-azores-in-relation-to-the-north-atlantic-spring-bloom(ac719ea2-c57a-4126-8c50-d280d2cf70c4).html https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09349 |
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ftunivamstpubl:oai:dare.uva.nl:openaire_cris_publications/ac719ea2-c57a-4126-8c50-d280d2cf70c4 2024-09-30T14:32:43+00:00 Timing of migratory baleen whales at the Azores in relation to the North Atlantic spring bloom Visser, F. Hartman, K.L. Pierce, G.J. Valavanis, V.D. Huisman, J. 2011 https://dare.uva.nl/personal/pure/en/publications/timing-of-migratory-baleen-whales-at-the-azores-in-relation-to-the-north-atlantic-spring-bloom(ac719ea2-c57a-4126-8c50-d280d2cf70c4).html https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09349 eng eng https://dare.uva.nl/personal/pure/en/publications/timing-of-migratory-baleen-whales-at-the-azores-in-relation-to-the-north-atlantic-spring-bloom(ac719ea2-c57a-4126-8c50-d280d2cf70c4).html info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess Visser , F , Hartman , K L , Pierce , G J , Valavanis , V D & Huisman , J 2011 , ' Timing of migratory baleen whales at the Azores in relation to the North Atlantic spring bloom ' , Marine Ecology - Progress Series , vol. 440 , pp. 267-279 . https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09349 article 2011 ftunivamstpubl https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09349 2024-09-12T16:38:26Z Each year, a phytoplankton spring bloom starts just north of the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre, and then expands northwards across the entire North Atlantic. Here, we investigate whether the timing of the spring migration of baleen whales is related to the timing of the phytoplankton spring bloom, using 4 yr of dedicated whale observations at the Azores in combination with satellite data on ocean chlorophyll concentration. Peak abundances of blue whale Balaenoptera musculus, fin whale B. physalus, humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae and sei whale B. borealis were recorded in April-May. The timing of their presence tracked the onset of the spring bloom with mean time lags of 13, 15, 15 and 16 wk, respectively, and was more strongly related to the onset of the spring bloom than to the actual time of year. Baleen whales were actively feeding on northern krill Meganyctiphanes norvegica in the area, and some photo-identified individuals stayed in Azorean waters for at least 17 d. Baleen whales were not observed in this area in autumn, during their southward migration, consistent with low chlorophyll concentrations during summer and autumn. Our results support the hypothesis that baleen whales track the secondary production generated by the North Atlantic spring bloom, utilizing mid-latitude areas such as the Azores as foraging areas en route towards their summer feeding grounds. Article in Journal/Newspaper Balaenoptera musculus baleen whales Blue whale Fin whale Humpback Whale Meganyctiphanes norvegica Megaptera novaeangliae North Atlantic Northern krill Sei Whale Universiteit van Amsterdam: Digital Academic Repository (UvA DARE) Marine Ecology Progress Series 440 267 279 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Universiteit van Amsterdam: Digital Academic Repository (UvA DARE) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivamstpubl |
language |
English |
description |
Each year, a phytoplankton spring bloom starts just north of the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre, and then expands northwards across the entire North Atlantic. Here, we investigate whether the timing of the spring migration of baleen whales is related to the timing of the phytoplankton spring bloom, using 4 yr of dedicated whale observations at the Azores in combination with satellite data on ocean chlorophyll concentration. Peak abundances of blue whale Balaenoptera musculus, fin whale B. physalus, humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae and sei whale B. borealis were recorded in April-May. The timing of their presence tracked the onset of the spring bloom with mean time lags of 13, 15, 15 and 16 wk, respectively, and was more strongly related to the onset of the spring bloom than to the actual time of year. Baleen whales were actively feeding on northern krill Meganyctiphanes norvegica in the area, and some photo-identified individuals stayed in Azorean waters for at least 17 d. Baleen whales were not observed in this area in autumn, during their southward migration, consistent with low chlorophyll concentrations during summer and autumn. Our results support the hypothesis that baleen whales track the secondary production generated by the North Atlantic spring bloom, utilizing mid-latitude areas such as the Azores as foraging areas en route towards their summer feeding grounds. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Visser, F. Hartman, K.L. Pierce, G.J. Valavanis, V.D. Huisman, J. |
spellingShingle |
Visser, F. Hartman, K.L. Pierce, G.J. Valavanis, V.D. Huisman, J. Timing of migratory baleen whales at the Azores in relation to the North Atlantic spring bloom |
author_facet |
Visser, F. Hartman, K.L. Pierce, G.J. Valavanis, V.D. Huisman, J. |
author_sort |
Visser, F. |
title |
Timing of migratory baleen whales at the Azores in relation to the North Atlantic spring bloom |
title_short |
Timing of migratory baleen whales at the Azores in relation to the North Atlantic spring bloom |
title_full |
Timing of migratory baleen whales at the Azores in relation to the North Atlantic spring bloom |
title_fullStr |
Timing of migratory baleen whales at the Azores in relation to the North Atlantic spring bloom |
title_full_unstemmed |
Timing of migratory baleen whales at the Azores in relation to the North Atlantic spring bloom |
title_sort |
timing of migratory baleen whales at the azores in relation to the north atlantic spring bloom |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://dare.uva.nl/personal/pure/en/publications/timing-of-migratory-baleen-whales-at-the-azores-in-relation-to-the-north-atlantic-spring-bloom(ac719ea2-c57a-4126-8c50-d280d2cf70c4).html https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09349 |
genre |
Balaenoptera musculus baleen whales Blue whale Fin whale Humpback Whale Meganyctiphanes norvegica Megaptera novaeangliae North Atlantic Northern krill Sei Whale |
genre_facet |
Balaenoptera musculus baleen whales Blue whale Fin whale Humpback Whale Meganyctiphanes norvegica Megaptera novaeangliae North Atlantic Northern krill Sei Whale |
op_source |
Visser , F , Hartman , K L , Pierce , G J , Valavanis , V D & Huisman , J 2011 , ' Timing of migratory baleen whales at the Azores in relation to the North Atlantic spring bloom ' , Marine Ecology - Progress Series , vol. 440 , pp. 267-279 . https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09349 |
op_relation |
https://dare.uva.nl/personal/pure/en/publications/timing-of-migratory-baleen-whales-at-the-azores-in-relation-to-the-north-atlantic-spring-bloom(ac719ea2-c57a-4126-8c50-d280d2cf70c4).html |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09349 |
container_title |
Marine Ecology Progress Series |
container_volume |
440 |
container_start_page |
267 |
op_container_end_page |
279 |
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1811636784500572160 |