Observations of killer whale ( Orcinus orca ) feeding behavior in the tropical waters of the Northern Mozambique Channel Island of Mayotte, southwest Indian Ocean
Very little is known about the foraging ecology of killer whales ( Orcinus orca ) in tropical oceans and on how these large apex predators affect prey communities. In most tropical waters, the presence of killer whales is unpredictable, and most information on their ecology is inferred from opportun...
Published in: | Aquatic Mammals |
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Language: | English |
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2021
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Online Access: | https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/observations-of-killer-whale-orcinus-orca-feeding-behavior-in-the-tropical-waters-of-the-northern-mozambique-channel-island-of-mayotte-southwest-indian-ocean(f166e6c4-0e7c-4ad3-8a26-15a02054b1ac).html https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.47.2.2021.196 |
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ftunstandrewcris:oai:research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk:publications/f166e6c4-0e7c-4ad3-8a26-15a02054b1ac 2024-06-23T07:53:35+00:00 Observations of killer whale ( Orcinus orca ) feeding behavior in the tropical waters of the Northern Mozambique Channel Island of Mayotte, southwest Indian Ocean Terrapon, Maeva Kiszka, Jeremy Wagner, Jeanne 2021-03-12 https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/observations-of-killer-whale-orcinus-orca-feeding-behavior-in-the-tropical-waters-of-the-northern-mozambique-channel-island-of-mayotte-southwest-indian-ocean(f166e6c4-0e7c-4ad3-8a26-15a02054b1ac).html https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.47.2.2021.196 eng eng https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/observations-of-killer-whale-orcinus-orca-feeding-behavior-in-the-tropical-waters-of-the-northern-mozambique-channel-island-of-mayotte-southwest-indian-ocean(f166e6c4-0e7c-4ad3-8a26-15a02054b1ac).html info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess Terrapon , M , Kiszka , J & Wagner , J 2021 , ' Observations of killer whale ( Orcinus orca ) feeding behavior in the tropical waters of the Northern Mozambique Channel Island of Mayotte, southwest Indian Ocean ' , Aquatic Mammals , vol. 47 , no. 2 , pp. 196-205 . https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.47.2.2021.196 Tropical ecosystems Killer whale Orcinus orca Indian Ocean Elasmobranchs Humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae Pantropical spotted dolphin Stenella attenuata Feeding ecology article 2021 ftunstandrewcris https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.47.2.2021.196 2024-06-13T01:16:46Z Very little is known about the foraging ecology of killer whales ( Orcinus orca ) in tropical oceans and on how these large apex predators affect prey communities. In most tropical waters, the presence of killer whales is unpredictable, and most information on their ecology is inferred from opportunistic records. This is particularly the case in the Indian Ocean where limited information is available. Between 2002 and 2017, killer whales were opportunistically encountered around the Mozambique Channel island of Mayotte in the eastern Comoros Archipelago (southwest Indian Ocean). A total of 15 killer whale sightings collected by various local experts were compiled and used to describe observed feeding events. Twenty-seven distinct individuals from four separate groups were identified by photo-identification, highlighting short-term site fidelity (minimum 7 days) to this area. Feeding was observed on seven occasions, and recorded prey included two species of elasmobranchs ( Centroscymnus coelolepi and Mobula spp .) and two species of cetaceans: a humpback whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) calf and a pantropical spotted dolphin ( Stenella attenuata ). This study represents the first account of killer whales foraging on a combination of marine mammals and elasmobranchs in tropical waters, and describes the first presumed predation on a humpback whale calf in the southwest Indian Ocean. Article in Journal/Newspaper Humpback Whale Killer Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Orca Orcinus orca Killer whale University of St Andrews: Research Portal Indian Aquatic Mammals 47 2 196 205 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of St Andrews: Research Portal |
op_collection_id |
ftunstandrewcris |
language |
English |
topic |
Tropical ecosystems Killer whale Orcinus orca Indian Ocean Elasmobranchs Humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae Pantropical spotted dolphin Stenella attenuata Feeding ecology |
spellingShingle |
Tropical ecosystems Killer whale Orcinus orca Indian Ocean Elasmobranchs Humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae Pantropical spotted dolphin Stenella attenuata Feeding ecology Terrapon, Maeva Kiszka, Jeremy Wagner, Jeanne Observations of killer whale ( Orcinus orca ) feeding behavior in the tropical waters of the Northern Mozambique Channel Island of Mayotte, southwest Indian Ocean |
topic_facet |
Tropical ecosystems Killer whale Orcinus orca Indian Ocean Elasmobranchs Humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae Pantropical spotted dolphin Stenella attenuata Feeding ecology |
description |
Very little is known about the foraging ecology of killer whales ( Orcinus orca ) in tropical oceans and on how these large apex predators affect prey communities. In most tropical waters, the presence of killer whales is unpredictable, and most information on their ecology is inferred from opportunistic records. This is particularly the case in the Indian Ocean where limited information is available. Between 2002 and 2017, killer whales were opportunistically encountered around the Mozambique Channel island of Mayotte in the eastern Comoros Archipelago (southwest Indian Ocean). A total of 15 killer whale sightings collected by various local experts were compiled and used to describe observed feeding events. Twenty-seven distinct individuals from four separate groups were identified by photo-identification, highlighting short-term site fidelity (minimum 7 days) to this area. Feeding was observed on seven occasions, and recorded prey included two species of elasmobranchs ( Centroscymnus coelolepi and Mobula spp .) and two species of cetaceans: a humpback whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) calf and a pantropical spotted dolphin ( Stenella attenuata ). This study represents the first account of killer whales foraging on a combination of marine mammals and elasmobranchs in tropical waters, and describes the first presumed predation on a humpback whale calf in the southwest Indian Ocean. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Terrapon, Maeva Kiszka, Jeremy Wagner, Jeanne |
author_facet |
Terrapon, Maeva Kiszka, Jeremy Wagner, Jeanne |
author_sort |
Terrapon, Maeva |
title |
Observations of killer whale ( Orcinus orca ) feeding behavior in the tropical waters of the Northern Mozambique Channel Island of Mayotte, southwest Indian Ocean |
title_short |
Observations of killer whale ( Orcinus orca ) feeding behavior in the tropical waters of the Northern Mozambique Channel Island of Mayotte, southwest Indian Ocean |
title_full |
Observations of killer whale ( Orcinus orca ) feeding behavior in the tropical waters of the Northern Mozambique Channel Island of Mayotte, southwest Indian Ocean |
title_fullStr |
Observations of killer whale ( Orcinus orca ) feeding behavior in the tropical waters of the Northern Mozambique Channel Island of Mayotte, southwest Indian Ocean |
title_full_unstemmed |
Observations of killer whale ( Orcinus orca ) feeding behavior in the tropical waters of the Northern Mozambique Channel Island of Mayotte, southwest Indian Ocean |
title_sort |
observations of killer whale ( orcinus orca ) feeding behavior in the tropical waters of the northern mozambique channel island of mayotte, southwest indian ocean |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/observations-of-killer-whale-orcinus-orca-feeding-behavior-in-the-tropical-waters-of-the-northern-mozambique-channel-island-of-mayotte-southwest-indian-ocean(f166e6c4-0e7c-4ad3-8a26-15a02054b1ac).html https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.47.2.2021.196 |
geographic |
Indian |
geographic_facet |
Indian |
genre |
Humpback Whale Killer Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Orca Orcinus orca Killer whale |
genre_facet |
Humpback Whale Killer Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Orca Orcinus orca Killer whale |
op_source |
Terrapon , M , Kiszka , J & Wagner , J 2021 , ' Observations of killer whale ( Orcinus orca ) feeding behavior in the tropical waters of the Northern Mozambique Channel Island of Mayotte, southwest Indian Ocean ' , Aquatic Mammals , vol. 47 , no. 2 , pp. 196-205 . https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.47.2.2021.196 |
op_relation |
https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/observations-of-killer-whale-orcinus-orca-feeding-behavior-in-the-tropical-waters-of-the-northern-mozambique-channel-island-of-mayotte-southwest-indian-ocean(f166e6c4-0e7c-4ad3-8a26-15a02054b1ac).html |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.47.2.2021.196 |
container_title |
Aquatic Mammals |
container_volume |
47 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
196 |
op_container_end_page |
205 |
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1802645315228008448 |