Deep-diving foraging behaviour of the sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus
Digital tags were used to describe diving and vocal behaviour of sperm whales during 198 complete and partial foraging dives made by 37 individual sperm whales in the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Ligurian Sea. The maximum depth of dive averaged by individual differed across the three r...
Published in: | Journal of Animal Ecology |
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Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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2006
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Online Access: | https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/deepdiving-foraging-behaviour-of-the-sperm-whale-physeter-macrocephalus(f5b788cd-a8a8-4e53-887f-f390af0eece8).html https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2656.2006.01101.x http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33646564362&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
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ftunstandrewcris:oai:research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk:publications/f5b788cd-a8a8-4e53-887f-f390af0eece8 2024-06-23T07:56:12+00:00 Deep-diving foraging behaviour of the sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus Watwood, S. Miller, Patrick Johnson, Mark Madsen, P. T. Tyack, Peter Lloyd 2006-05 https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/deepdiving-foraging-behaviour-of-the-sperm-whale-physeter-macrocephalus(f5b788cd-a8a8-4e53-887f-f390af0eece8).html https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2656.2006.01101.x http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33646564362&partnerID=8YFLogxK eng eng https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/deepdiving-foraging-behaviour-of-the-sperm-whale-physeter-macrocephalus(f5b788cd-a8a8-4e53-887f-f390af0eece8).html info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess Watwood , S , Miller , P , Johnson , M , Madsen , P T & Tyack , P L 2006 , ' Deep-diving foraging behaviour of the sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus ' , Journal of Animal Ecology , vol. 75 , no. 3 , pp. 814-825 . https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2656.2006.01101.x diving behaviour echolocation foraging behaviour Physeter macrocephalus sperm whales MARINE MAMMALS ROCKHOPPER PENGUINS WEDDELL SEALS SEASONAL-CHANGES CLICKS DIET VOCALIZATIONS UNDERWATER BUOYANCY article 2006 ftunstandrewcris https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2656.2006.01101.x 2024-06-13T00:18:44Z Digital tags were used to describe diving and vocal behaviour of sperm whales during 198 complete and partial foraging dives made by 37 individual sperm whales in the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Ligurian Sea. The maximum depth of dive averaged by individual differed across the three regions and was 985 m (SD = 124.3), 644 m (123.4) and 827 m (60.3), respectively. An average dive cycle consisted of a 45 min (6.3) dive with a 9 min (3.0) surface interval, with no significant differences among regions. On average, whales spent greater than 72% of their time in foraging dive cycles. Whales produced regular clicks for 81% (4.1) of a dive and 64% (14.6) of the descent phase. The occurrence of buzz vocalizations (also called 'creaks') as an indicator of the foraging phase of a dive showed no difference in mean prey capture attempts per dive between regions [18 buzzes/dive (7.6)]. Sperm whales descended a mean of 392 m (144) from the start of regular clicking to the first buzz, which supports the hypothesis that regular clicks function as a long-range biosonar. There were no significant differences in the duration of the foraging phase [28 min (6.0)] or percentage of the dive duration in the foraging phase [62% (7.3)] between the three regions, with an overall average proportion of time spent actively encountering prey during dive cycles of 0.53 (0.05). Whales maintained their time in the foraging phase by decreasing transit time for deeper foraging dives. Similarity in foraging behaviour in the three regions and high diving efficiencies suggest that the success of sperm whales as mesopelagic predators is due in part to long-range echolocation of deep prey patches, efficient locomotion and a large aerobic capacity during diving. Article in Journal/Newspaper Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale Weddell Seals University of St Andrews: Research Portal Weddell Journal of Animal Ecology 75 3 814 825 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of St Andrews: Research Portal |
op_collection_id |
ftunstandrewcris |
language |
English |
topic |
diving behaviour echolocation foraging behaviour Physeter macrocephalus sperm whales MARINE MAMMALS ROCKHOPPER PENGUINS WEDDELL SEALS SEASONAL-CHANGES CLICKS DIET VOCALIZATIONS UNDERWATER BUOYANCY |
spellingShingle |
diving behaviour echolocation foraging behaviour Physeter macrocephalus sperm whales MARINE MAMMALS ROCKHOPPER PENGUINS WEDDELL SEALS SEASONAL-CHANGES CLICKS DIET VOCALIZATIONS UNDERWATER BUOYANCY Watwood, S. Miller, Patrick Johnson, Mark Madsen, P. T. Tyack, Peter Lloyd Deep-diving foraging behaviour of the sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus |
topic_facet |
diving behaviour echolocation foraging behaviour Physeter macrocephalus sperm whales MARINE MAMMALS ROCKHOPPER PENGUINS WEDDELL SEALS SEASONAL-CHANGES CLICKS DIET VOCALIZATIONS UNDERWATER BUOYANCY |
description |
Digital tags were used to describe diving and vocal behaviour of sperm whales during 198 complete and partial foraging dives made by 37 individual sperm whales in the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Ligurian Sea. The maximum depth of dive averaged by individual differed across the three regions and was 985 m (SD = 124.3), 644 m (123.4) and 827 m (60.3), respectively. An average dive cycle consisted of a 45 min (6.3) dive with a 9 min (3.0) surface interval, with no significant differences among regions. On average, whales spent greater than 72% of their time in foraging dive cycles. Whales produced regular clicks for 81% (4.1) of a dive and 64% (14.6) of the descent phase. The occurrence of buzz vocalizations (also called 'creaks') as an indicator of the foraging phase of a dive showed no difference in mean prey capture attempts per dive between regions [18 buzzes/dive (7.6)]. Sperm whales descended a mean of 392 m (144) from the start of regular clicking to the first buzz, which supports the hypothesis that regular clicks function as a long-range biosonar. There were no significant differences in the duration of the foraging phase [28 min (6.0)] or percentage of the dive duration in the foraging phase [62% (7.3)] between the three regions, with an overall average proportion of time spent actively encountering prey during dive cycles of 0.53 (0.05). Whales maintained their time in the foraging phase by decreasing transit time for deeper foraging dives. Similarity in foraging behaviour in the three regions and high diving efficiencies suggest that the success of sperm whales as mesopelagic predators is due in part to long-range echolocation of deep prey patches, efficient locomotion and a large aerobic capacity during diving. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Watwood, S. Miller, Patrick Johnson, Mark Madsen, P. T. Tyack, Peter Lloyd |
author_facet |
Watwood, S. Miller, Patrick Johnson, Mark Madsen, P. T. Tyack, Peter Lloyd |
author_sort |
Watwood, S. |
title |
Deep-diving foraging behaviour of the sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus |
title_short |
Deep-diving foraging behaviour of the sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus |
title_full |
Deep-diving foraging behaviour of the sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus |
title_fullStr |
Deep-diving foraging behaviour of the sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus |
title_full_unstemmed |
Deep-diving foraging behaviour of the sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus |
title_sort |
deep-diving foraging behaviour of the sperm whale, physeter macrocephalus |
publishDate |
2006 |
url |
https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/deepdiving-foraging-behaviour-of-the-sperm-whale-physeter-macrocephalus(f5b788cd-a8a8-4e53-887f-f390af0eece8).html https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2656.2006.01101.x http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33646564362&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
geographic |
Weddell |
geographic_facet |
Weddell |
genre |
Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale Weddell Seals |
genre_facet |
Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale Weddell Seals |
op_source |
Watwood , S , Miller , P , Johnson , M , Madsen , P T & Tyack , P L 2006 , ' Deep-diving foraging behaviour of the sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus ' , Journal of Animal Ecology , vol. 75 , no. 3 , pp. 814-825 . https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2656.2006.01101.x |
op_relation |
https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/deepdiving-foraging-behaviour-of-the-sperm-whale-physeter-macrocephalus(f5b788cd-a8a8-4e53-887f-f390af0eece8).html |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2656.2006.01101.x |
container_title |
Journal of Animal Ecology |
container_volume |
75 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
814 |
op_container_end_page |
825 |
_version_ |
1802649156079058944 |