Behavioural responses of humpback whales to food-related chemical stimuli
International audience Baleen whales face the challenge of finding patchily distributed food in the open ocean. Their relatively well-developed olfactory structures suggest that they could identify the specific odours given off by planktonic prey such as krill aggregations. Like other marine predato...
Published in: | PLOS ONE |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
Other Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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HAL CCSD
2019
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://hal.science/hal-04132529 https://hal.science/hal-04132529/document https://hal.science/hal-04132529/file/Behavioural%20responses%20of%20humpback%20whales.pdf https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0212515 |
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ftunivtoulon:oai:HAL:hal-04132529v1 |
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openpolar |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Université de Toulon: HAL |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtoulon |
language |
English |
topic |
MESH: Algorithms MESH: Animals MESH: Food Chain MESH: Humpback Whale MESH: Iceland MESH: Madagascar MESH: Models Biological MESH: Odorants MESH: Predatory Behavior MESH: Respiratory Rate MESH: Smell MESH: Sulfides MESH: Antarctic Regions MESH: Vocalization Animal MESH: Birds MESH: Chemoreceptor Cells MESH: Cues MESH: Ecosystem MESH: Euphausiacea MESH: Feeding Behavior MESH: Food [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology |
spellingShingle |
MESH: Algorithms MESH: Animals MESH: Food Chain MESH: Humpback Whale MESH: Iceland MESH: Madagascar MESH: Models Biological MESH: Odorants MESH: Predatory Behavior MESH: Respiratory Rate MESH: Smell MESH: Sulfides MESH: Antarctic Regions MESH: Vocalization Animal MESH: Birds MESH: Chemoreceptor Cells MESH: Cues MESH: Ecosystem MESH: Euphausiacea MESH: Feeding Behavior MESH: Food [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology Bouchard, Bertrand Barnagaud, Jean-Yves Poupard, Marion Glotin, Hervé Gauffier, Pauline Torres Ortiz, Sara Lisney, Thomas Campagna, Sylvie Rasmussen, Marianne Aurélie, Celerier Behavioural responses of humpback whales to food-related chemical stimuli |
topic_facet |
MESH: Algorithms MESH: Animals MESH: Food Chain MESH: Humpback Whale MESH: Iceland MESH: Madagascar MESH: Models Biological MESH: Odorants MESH: Predatory Behavior MESH: Respiratory Rate MESH: Smell MESH: Sulfides MESH: Antarctic Regions MESH: Vocalization Animal MESH: Birds MESH: Chemoreceptor Cells MESH: Cues MESH: Ecosystem MESH: Euphausiacea MESH: Feeding Behavior MESH: Food [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology |
description |
International audience Baleen whales face the challenge of finding patchily distributed food in the open ocean. Their relatively well-developed olfactory structures suggest that they could identify the specific odours given off by planktonic prey such as krill aggregations. Like other marine predators, they may also detect dimethyl sulfide (DMS), a chemical released in areas of high marine productivity. However, dedicated behavioural studies still have to be conducted in baleen whales in order to confirm the involvement of chemoreception in their feeding ecology. We implemented 56 behavioural response experiments in humpback whales using two food-related chemical stimuli, krill extract and DMS, as well as their respective controls (orange clay and vegetable oil) in their breeding (Madagascar) and feeding grounds (Iceland and Antarctic Peninsula). The whales approached the stimulus area and stayed longer in the trial zone during krill extract trials compared to control trials, suggesting that they were attracted to the chemical source and spent time exploring its surroundings, probably in search of prey. This response was observed in Iceland, and to a lesser extend in Madagascar, but not in Antarctica. Surface behaviours indicative of sensory exploration, such as diving under the stimulus area and stopping navigation, were also observed more often during krill extract trials than during control trials. Exposure to DMS did not elicit such exploration behaviours in any of the study areas. However, acoustic analyses suggest that DMS and krill extract both modified the whales' acoustic activity in Madagascar. Altogether, these results provide the first behavioural evidence that baleen whales actually perceive prey-derived chemical cues over distances of several hundred metres. Chemoreception, especially olfaction, could thus be used for locating prey aggregations and for navigation at sea, as it has been shown in other marine predators including seabirds. |
author2 |
Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE) Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD France-Sud )-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro) DYNamiques de l’Information (DYNI) Laboratoire d'Informatique et des Systèmes (LIS) (Marseille, Toulon) (LIS) Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Université de Toulon (UTLN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Université de Toulon (UTLN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) CIRCE (Conservation, Information and Research on Cetaceans) University of Southern Denmark (SDU) Université de Nîmes (UNIMES) University of Iceland Reykjavik This research was funded by the Fondation Total (www.fondation.total.com), grant#144903 to A.C., and the Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérrieur et de la Recherche( www.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr) to B.B., Bourse doctorale. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bouchard, Bertrand Barnagaud, Jean-Yves Poupard, Marion Glotin, Hervé Gauffier, Pauline Torres Ortiz, Sara Lisney, Thomas Campagna, Sylvie Rasmussen, Marianne Aurélie, Celerier |
author_facet |
Bouchard, Bertrand Barnagaud, Jean-Yves Poupard, Marion Glotin, Hervé Gauffier, Pauline Torres Ortiz, Sara Lisney, Thomas Campagna, Sylvie Rasmussen, Marianne Aurélie, Celerier |
author_sort |
Bouchard, Bertrand |
title |
Behavioural responses of humpback whales to food-related chemical stimuli |
title_short |
Behavioural responses of humpback whales to food-related chemical stimuli |
title_full |
Behavioural responses of humpback whales to food-related chemical stimuli |
title_fullStr |
Behavioural responses of humpback whales to food-related chemical stimuli |
title_full_unstemmed |
Behavioural responses of humpback whales to food-related chemical stimuli |
title_sort |
behavioural responses of humpback whales to food-related chemical stimuli |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://hal.science/hal-04132529 https://hal.science/hal-04132529/document https://hal.science/hal-04132529/file/Behavioural%20responses%20of%20humpback%20whales.pdf https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0212515 |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica baleen whales Humpback Whale Iceland |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica baleen whales Humpback Whale Iceland |
op_source |
ISSN: 1932-6203 EISSN: 1932-6203 PLoS ONE https://hal.science/hal-04132529 PLoS ONE, 2019, 14 (2), pp.e0212515. ⟨10.1371/journal.pone.0212515⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0212515 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pmid/30807595 hal-04132529 https://hal.science/hal-04132529 https://hal.science/hal-04132529/document https://hal.science/hal-04132529/file/Behavioural%20responses%20of%20humpback%20whales.pdf doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0212515 PUBMED: 30807595 PUBMEDCENTRAL: PMC6391047 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0212515 |
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PLOS ONE |
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14 |
container_issue |
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container_start_page |
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spelling |
ftunivtoulon:oai:HAL:hal-04132529v1 2024-06-23T07:46:53+00:00 Behavioural responses of humpback whales to food-related chemical stimuli Bouchard, Bertrand Barnagaud, Jean-Yves Poupard, Marion Glotin, Hervé Gauffier, Pauline Torres Ortiz, Sara Lisney, Thomas Campagna, Sylvie Rasmussen, Marianne Aurélie, Celerier Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE) Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD France-Sud )-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro) DYNamiques de l’Information (DYNI) Laboratoire d'Informatique et des Systèmes (LIS) (Marseille, Toulon) (LIS) Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Université de Toulon (UTLN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Université de Toulon (UTLN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) CIRCE (Conservation, Information and Research on Cetaceans) University of Southern Denmark (SDU) Université de Nîmes (UNIMES) University of Iceland Reykjavik This research was funded by the Fondation Total (www.fondation.total.com), grant#144903 to A.C., and the Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérrieur et de la Recherche( www.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr) to B.B., Bourse doctorale. 2019-02-26 https://hal.science/hal-04132529 https://hal.science/hal-04132529/document https://hal.science/hal-04132529/file/Behavioural%20responses%20of%20humpback%20whales.pdf https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0212515 en eng HAL CCSD Public Library of Science info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0212515 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pmid/30807595 hal-04132529 https://hal.science/hal-04132529 https://hal.science/hal-04132529/document https://hal.science/hal-04132529/file/Behavioural%20responses%20of%20humpback%20whales.pdf doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0212515 PUBMED: 30807595 PUBMEDCENTRAL: PMC6391047 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess ISSN: 1932-6203 EISSN: 1932-6203 PLoS ONE https://hal.science/hal-04132529 PLoS ONE, 2019, 14 (2), pp.e0212515. ⟨10.1371/journal.pone.0212515⟩ MESH: Algorithms MESH: Animals MESH: Food Chain MESH: Humpback Whale MESH: Iceland MESH: Madagascar MESH: Models Biological MESH: Odorants MESH: Predatory Behavior MESH: Respiratory Rate MESH: Smell MESH: Sulfides MESH: Antarctic Regions MESH: Vocalization Animal MESH: Birds MESH: Chemoreceptor Cells MESH: Cues MESH: Ecosystem MESH: Euphausiacea MESH: Feeding Behavior MESH: Food [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2019 ftunivtoulon https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0212515 2024-06-11T00:02:22Z International audience Baleen whales face the challenge of finding patchily distributed food in the open ocean. Their relatively well-developed olfactory structures suggest that they could identify the specific odours given off by planktonic prey such as krill aggregations. Like other marine predators, they may also detect dimethyl sulfide (DMS), a chemical released in areas of high marine productivity. However, dedicated behavioural studies still have to be conducted in baleen whales in order to confirm the involvement of chemoreception in their feeding ecology. We implemented 56 behavioural response experiments in humpback whales using two food-related chemical stimuli, krill extract and DMS, as well as their respective controls (orange clay and vegetable oil) in their breeding (Madagascar) and feeding grounds (Iceland and Antarctic Peninsula). The whales approached the stimulus area and stayed longer in the trial zone during krill extract trials compared to control trials, suggesting that they were attracted to the chemical source and spent time exploring its surroundings, probably in search of prey. This response was observed in Iceland, and to a lesser extend in Madagascar, but not in Antarctica. Surface behaviours indicative of sensory exploration, such as diving under the stimulus area and stopping navigation, were also observed more often during krill extract trials than during control trials. Exposure to DMS did not elicit such exploration behaviours in any of the study areas. However, acoustic analyses suggest that DMS and krill extract both modified the whales' acoustic activity in Madagascar. Altogether, these results provide the first behavioural evidence that baleen whales actually perceive prey-derived chemical cues over distances of several hundred metres. Chemoreception, especially olfaction, could thus be used for locating prey aggregations and for navigation at sea, as it has been shown in other marine predators including seabirds. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica baleen whales Humpback Whale Iceland Université de Toulon: HAL Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula PLOS ONE 14 2 e0212515 |