Potential energy gain by whales outside of the Antarctic: prey preferences and consumption rates of migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae)
The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) makes annual migrations from Antarctic feeding grounds to tropical breeding grounds. The extent to which it feeds during migration is unknown, but thought to be very low. Whether an animal feeds during migration is likely dependent on prey availability and...
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ftunivqespace:oai:espace.library.uq.edu.au:UQ:386556 2023-05-15T13:47:31+02:00 Potential energy gain by whales outside of the Antarctic: prey preferences and consumption rates of migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) Owen, Kylie Kavanagh, Ailbhe S. Warren, Joseph Noad, Michael J. Donnelly, David Goldizen, Anne W. Dunlop, Rebecca A. 2016-04-28 https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:386556 eng eng Springer doi:10.1007/s00300-016-1951-9 issn:0722-4060 issn:1432-2056 orcid:0000-0002-2799-8320 orcid:0000-0003-0101-4108 orcid:0000-0002-0427-6317 Not set Energy budget Krill Lunge feeding Megaptera novaeangliae Migratory stopover Southern Ocean 1100 Agricultural and Biological Sciences Journal Article 2016 ftunivqespace https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-016-1951-9 2020-11-24T01:23:39Z The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) makes annual migrations from Antarctic feeding grounds to tropical breeding grounds. The extent to which it feeds during migration is unknown, but thought to be very low. Whether an animal feeds during migration is likely dependent on prey availability and on the ease with which it can capture the available prey. This study used digital tags (DTAGs) and concurrent prey sampling to measure how changes in the depth and type of prey influenced the lunge feeding rates and the amount of energy consumed by migrating humpback whales. Whales targeting krill lunged at significantly higher rates than whales targeting fish; however, the depth of the prey did not influence lunge rate. The observed lunge rates when feeding on krill, to the best of our knowledge, are higher than any previously reported rates of whales feeding. Estimates of the energetic content of the prey ingested revealed that whales may consume between 1.2 and 3.4 times their daily energy requirements per day while feeding on krill during migration, but less when feeding on fish. This suggests that whales may begin to restock energy supplies prior to reaching the Antarctic. Determining how often this high rate of energy intake occurs along the migratory route will assist with understanding the contribution of migratory energy intake to annual energy budgets. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Southern Ocean The University of Queensland: UQ eSpace Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Polar Biology 40 2 277 289 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The University of Queensland: UQ eSpace |
op_collection_id |
ftunivqespace |
language |
English |
topic |
Energy budget Krill Lunge feeding Megaptera novaeangliae Migratory stopover Southern Ocean 1100 Agricultural and Biological Sciences |
spellingShingle |
Energy budget Krill Lunge feeding Megaptera novaeangliae Migratory stopover Southern Ocean 1100 Agricultural and Biological Sciences Owen, Kylie Kavanagh, Ailbhe S. Warren, Joseph Noad, Michael J. Donnelly, David Goldizen, Anne W. Dunlop, Rebecca A. Potential energy gain by whales outside of the Antarctic: prey preferences and consumption rates of migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) |
topic_facet |
Energy budget Krill Lunge feeding Megaptera novaeangliae Migratory stopover Southern Ocean 1100 Agricultural and Biological Sciences |
description |
The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) makes annual migrations from Antarctic feeding grounds to tropical breeding grounds. The extent to which it feeds during migration is unknown, but thought to be very low. Whether an animal feeds during migration is likely dependent on prey availability and on the ease with which it can capture the available prey. This study used digital tags (DTAGs) and concurrent prey sampling to measure how changes in the depth and type of prey influenced the lunge feeding rates and the amount of energy consumed by migrating humpback whales. Whales targeting krill lunged at significantly higher rates than whales targeting fish; however, the depth of the prey did not influence lunge rate. The observed lunge rates when feeding on krill, to the best of our knowledge, are higher than any previously reported rates of whales feeding. Estimates of the energetic content of the prey ingested revealed that whales may consume between 1.2 and 3.4 times their daily energy requirements per day while feeding on krill during migration, but less when feeding on fish. This suggests that whales may begin to restock energy supplies prior to reaching the Antarctic. Determining how often this high rate of energy intake occurs along the migratory route will assist with understanding the contribution of migratory energy intake to annual energy budgets. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Owen, Kylie Kavanagh, Ailbhe S. Warren, Joseph Noad, Michael J. Donnelly, David Goldizen, Anne W. Dunlop, Rebecca A. |
author_facet |
Owen, Kylie Kavanagh, Ailbhe S. Warren, Joseph Noad, Michael J. Donnelly, David Goldizen, Anne W. Dunlop, Rebecca A. |
author_sort |
Owen, Kylie |
title |
Potential energy gain by whales outside of the Antarctic: prey preferences and consumption rates of migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) |
title_short |
Potential energy gain by whales outside of the Antarctic: prey preferences and consumption rates of migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) |
title_full |
Potential energy gain by whales outside of the Antarctic: prey preferences and consumption rates of migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) |
title_fullStr |
Potential energy gain by whales outside of the Antarctic: prey preferences and consumption rates of migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Potential energy gain by whales outside of the Antarctic: prey preferences and consumption rates of migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) |
title_sort |
potential energy gain by whales outside of the antarctic: prey preferences and consumption rates of migrating humpback whales (megaptera novaeangliae) |
publisher |
Springer |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:386556 |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
doi:10.1007/s00300-016-1951-9 issn:0722-4060 issn:1432-2056 orcid:0000-0002-2799-8320 orcid:0000-0003-0101-4108 orcid:0000-0002-0427-6317 Not set |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-016-1951-9 |
container_title |
Polar Biology |
container_volume |
40 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
277 |
op_container_end_page |
289 |
_version_ |
1766247258368507904 |