Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) diet and dive behaviour as an assessment of foraging adaptability with changing climate

Narwhals (Monodon monoceros) are sentinel species in the Arctic environment and are a vital component for Inuit culture and subsistence. The Arctic is undergoing rapid changes in temperature and sea ice cover and relatively little is known about how this has and will change narwhal foraging behaviou...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine Mammal Science
Main Author: Watt, Cortney
Other Authors: Ferguson, Steve (Biological Sciences), Roth, Jim (Biological Sciences) Manseau, Micheline (Natural Resources Institute) Brigham, Mark (Biology, University of Regina)
Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
Language:English
Published: Ecosphere 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1993/30138
id ftunivmanitoba:oai:mspace.lib.umanitoba.ca:1993/30138
record_format openpolar
spelling ftunivmanitoba:oai:mspace.lib.umanitoba.ca:1993/30138 2023-06-18T03:39:14+02:00 Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) diet and dive behaviour as an assessment of foraging adaptability with changing climate Watt, Cortney Ferguson, Steve (Biological Sciences) Roth, Jim (Biological Sciences) Manseau, Micheline (Natural Resources Institute) Brigham, Mark (Biology, University of Regina) 2014 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/1993/30138 eng eng Ecosphere Marine Mammal Science Watt, C. A., M. P. Heide-Jørgensen, and S. H. Ferguson. 2013. How adaptable are narwhal: a comparison of foraging patterns among the world’s three narwhal populations. Ecosphere 4(6):71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ ES13-00137.1 Watt, C. A., and Ferguson, S. H. 2014. Fatty acids and stable isotopes (δ13C and δ15N) reveal temporal changes in narwhal (Monodon monoceros) diet linked to migration patterns. Marine Mammal Science. doi:10.1111/mms.12131 http://hdl.handle.net/1993/30138 open access narwhal foraging stable isotope fatty acid satellite tagging doctoral thesis 2014 ftunivmanitoba https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12131 2023-06-04T17:46:42Z Narwhals (Monodon monoceros) are sentinel species in the Arctic environment and are a vital component for Inuit culture and subsistence. The Arctic is undergoing rapid changes in temperature and sea ice cover and relatively little is known about how this has and will change narwhal foraging behaviour. There are three narwhal populations in the world, the Baffin Bay (BB), Northern Hudson Bay (NHB), and East Greenland (EG) populations; however, foraging behaviour, in terms of dive behaviour and primary dietary components, has really only been investigated in the BB population. Using a combination of stable isotopes, fatty acids, genetic techniques, and satellite tracking technologies I evaluated foraging behaviour in all three of the world’s narwhal populations. I also investigated social structure in the BB population to determine how adaptable narwhals are to a changing and dynamic Arctic environment. Stable isotopes (δ13C and δ15N) and fatty acids are chemical signatures in the tissues of an organism that can provide long-term information on their diet over varying temporal scales depending upon the tissue. Stable isotope analysis in the three narwhal populations found they forage on different primary prey, suggesting narwhal are adaptable in their preferred prey and that there is potential for them to adjust foraging behavior in the face of changing climate. Dietary changes were also assessed over three decades to determine how sea ice changes have affected narwhal foraging for the NHB and BB populations. Dietary changes were evident and can be attributed to changes in sea ice patterns and an altered migratory pathway for narwhals. An understanding of narwhal social structure is also needed to determine how behaviourally flexible narwhal are in diet and site fidelity. Genetic relatedness and dietary signatures from fatty acids were assessed for an entrapped group to determine if individuals that are closely related forage together, which would support a matrilineally driven social structure where females teach ... Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin East Greenland Greenland Hudson Bay inuit Monodon monoceros narwhal* Sea ice MSpace at the University of Manitoba Arctic Baffin Bay Greenland Hudson Hudson Bay Marine Mammal Science 31 1 21 44
institution Open Polar
collection MSpace at the University of Manitoba
op_collection_id ftunivmanitoba
language English
topic narwhal
foraging
stable isotope
fatty acid
satellite tagging
spellingShingle narwhal
foraging
stable isotope
fatty acid
satellite tagging
Watt, Cortney
Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) diet and dive behaviour as an assessment of foraging adaptability with changing climate
topic_facet narwhal
foraging
stable isotope
fatty acid
satellite tagging
description Narwhals (Monodon monoceros) are sentinel species in the Arctic environment and are a vital component for Inuit culture and subsistence. The Arctic is undergoing rapid changes in temperature and sea ice cover and relatively little is known about how this has and will change narwhal foraging behaviour. There are three narwhal populations in the world, the Baffin Bay (BB), Northern Hudson Bay (NHB), and East Greenland (EG) populations; however, foraging behaviour, in terms of dive behaviour and primary dietary components, has really only been investigated in the BB population. Using a combination of stable isotopes, fatty acids, genetic techniques, and satellite tracking technologies I evaluated foraging behaviour in all three of the world’s narwhal populations. I also investigated social structure in the BB population to determine how adaptable narwhals are to a changing and dynamic Arctic environment. Stable isotopes (δ13C and δ15N) and fatty acids are chemical signatures in the tissues of an organism that can provide long-term information on their diet over varying temporal scales depending upon the tissue. Stable isotope analysis in the three narwhal populations found they forage on different primary prey, suggesting narwhal are adaptable in their preferred prey and that there is potential for them to adjust foraging behavior in the face of changing climate. Dietary changes were also assessed over three decades to determine how sea ice changes have affected narwhal foraging for the NHB and BB populations. Dietary changes were evident and can be attributed to changes in sea ice patterns and an altered migratory pathway for narwhals. An understanding of narwhal social structure is also needed to determine how behaviourally flexible narwhal are in diet and site fidelity. Genetic relatedness and dietary signatures from fatty acids were assessed for an entrapped group to determine if individuals that are closely related forage together, which would support a matrilineally driven social structure where females teach ...
author2 Ferguson, Steve (Biological Sciences)
Roth, Jim (Biological Sciences) Manseau, Micheline (Natural Resources Institute) Brigham, Mark (Biology, University of Regina)
format Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
author Watt, Cortney
author_facet Watt, Cortney
author_sort Watt, Cortney
title Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) diet and dive behaviour as an assessment of foraging adaptability with changing climate
title_short Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) diet and dive behaviour as an assessment of foraging adaptability with changing climate
title_full Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) diet and dive behaviour as an assessment of foraging adaptability with changing climate
title_fullStr Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) diet and dive behaviour as an assessment of foraging adaptability with changing climate
title_full_unstemmed Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) diet and dive behaviour as an assessment of foraging adaptability with changing climate
title_sort narwhal (monodon monoceros) diet and dive behaviour as an assessment of foraging adaptability with changing climate
publisher Ecosphere
publishDate 2014
url http://hdl.handle.net/1993/30138
geographic Arctic
Baffin Bay
Greenland
Hudson
Hudson Bay
geographic_facet Arctic
Baffin Bay
Greenland
Hudson
Hudson Bay
genre Arctic
Baffin Bay
Baffin Bay
Baffin
East Greenland
Greenland
Hudson Bay
inuit
Monodon monoceros
narwhal*
Sea ice
genre_facet Arctic
Baffin Bay
Baffin Bay
Baffin
East Greenland
Greenland
Hudson Bay
inuit
Monodon monoceros
narwhal*
Sea ice
op_relation Watt, C. A., M. P. Heide-Jørgensen, and S. H. Ferguson. 2013. How adaptable are narwhal: a comparison of foraging patterns among the world’s three narwhal populations. Ecosphere 4(6):71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ ES13-00137.1
Watt, C. A., and Ferguson, S. H. 2014. Fatty acids and stable isotopes (δ13C and δ15N) reveal temporal changes in narwhal (Monodon monoceros) diet linked to migration patterns. Marine Mammal Science. doi:10.1111/mms.12131
http://hdl.handle.net/1993/30138
op_rights open access
op_doi https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12131
container_title Marine Mammal Science
container_volume 31
container_issue 1
container_start_page 21
op_container_end_page 44
_version_ 1769004015034564608