Identifying the "demon whale-biter":patterns of scarring on large whales attributed to a cookie-cutter shark Isistius sp
The presence of crater-like wounds on cetaceans and other large marine vertebrates and invertebrates has been attributed to various organisms. We review the evidence for the identity of the biting agent responsible for crater wounds on large whales, using data collected from sei ( Balaenoptera borea...
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ftunstandrewcris:oai:risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk:publications/2c8601a7-1071-429b-baba-921980feeee0 2023-05-15T13:39:30+02:00 Identifying the "demon whale-biter":patterns of scarring on large whales attributed to a cookie-cutter shark Isistius sp Best, Peter B. Photopoulou, Theoni 2016-04-07 application/pdf https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/identifying-the-demon-whalebiter(2c8601a7-1071-429b-baba-921980feeee0).html https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0152643 https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/13113/1/Best_2016_PLoSONE_demonwhale_biter_CC.pdf eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Best , P B & Photopoulou , T 2016 , ' Identifying the "demon whale-biter" : patterns of scarring on large whales attributed to a cookie-cutter shark Isistius sp ' , PLoS ONE , vol. 11 , no. 4 , e0152643 . https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0152643 article 2016 ftunstandrewcris https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0152643 2022-06-02T07:48:35Z The presence of crater-like wounds on cetaceans and other large marine vertebrates and invertebrates has been attributed to various organisms. We review the evidence for the identity of the biting agent responsible for crater wounds on large whales, using data collected from sei ( Balaenoptera borealis ), fin ( B. physalus ), inshore and offshore Bryde's ( B. brydeii sp) and sperm whales ( Physeter macrocephalus ) examined at the Donkergat whaling station, Saldanha Bay, South Africa between March and October 1963. We then analyse the intensity and trends in its predation on large whales. Despite the scarcity of local records, we conclude that a cookie-cutter shark Isistius sp is the most likely candidate. We make inferences about the trends in (1) total counts of unhealed bitemarks, and (2) the proportion of unhealed bitemarks that were recent. We use day of the year; reproductive class, social grouping or sex; depth interval and body length as candidate covariates. The models with highest support for total counts of unhealed bitemarks involve the day of the year in all species. Depth was an important predictor in all species except offshore Bryde's whales. Models for the proportion of recent bites were only informative for sei and fin whales. We conclude that temporal scarring patterns support what is currently hypothesized about the distribution and movements of these whale species, given that Isistius does not occur in the Antarctic and has an oceanic habitat. The incidence of fresh bites confirms the presence of Isistius in the region. The lower numbers of unhealed bites on medium-sized sperm whales suggests that this group spends more time outside the area in which bites are incurred, providing a clue to one of the biggest gaps in our understanding of the movements of mature and maturing sperm males. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Balaenoptera borealis Physeter macrocephalus University of St Andrews: Research Portal Antarctic The Antarctic PLOS ONE 11 4 e0152643 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
University of St Andrews: Research Portal |
op_collection_id |
ftunstandrewcris |
language |
English |
description |
The presence of crater-like wounds on cetaceans and other large marine vertebrates and invertebrates has been attributed to various organisms. We review the evidence for the identity of the biting agent responsible for crater wounds on large whales, using data collected from sei ( Balaenoptera borealis ), fin ( B. physalus ), inshore and offshore Bryde's ( B. brydeii sp) and sperm whales ( Physeter macrocephalus ) examined at the Donkergat whaling station, Saldanha Bay, South Africa between March and October 1963. We then analyse the intensity and trends in its predation on large whales. Despite the scarcity of local records, we conclude that a cookie-cutter shark Isistius sp is the most likely candidate. We make inferences about the trends in (1) total counts of unhealed bitemarks, and (2) the proportion of unhealed bitemarks that were recent. We use day of the year; reproductive class, social grouping or sex; depth interval and body length as candidate covariates. The models with highest support for total counts of unhealed bitemarks involve the day of the year in all species. Depth was an important predictor in all species except offshore Bryde's whales. Models for the proportion of recent bites were only informative for sei and fin whales. We conclude that temporal scarring patterns support what is currently hypothesized about the distribution and movements of these whale species, given that Isistius does not occur in the Antarctic and has an oceanic habitat. The incidence of fresh bites confirms the presence of Isistius in the region. The lower numbers of unhealed bites on medium-sized sperm whales suggests that this group spends more time outside the area in which bites are incurred, providing a clue to one of the biggest gaps in our understanding of the movements of mature and maturing sperm males. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Best, Peter B. Photopoulou, Theoni |
spellingShingle |
Best, Peter B. Photopoulou, Theoni Identifying the "demon whale-biter":patterns of scarring on large whales attributed to a cookie-cutter shark Isistius sp |
author_facet |
Best, Peter B. Photopoulou, Theoni |
author_sort |
Best, Peter B. |
title |
Identifying the "demon whale-biter":patterns of scarring on large whales attributed to a cookie-cutter shark Isistius sp |
title_short |
Identifying the "demon whale-biter":patterns of scarring on large whales attributed to a cookie-cutter shark Isistius sp |
title_full |
Identifying the "demon whale-biter":patterns of scarring on large whales attributed to a cookie-cutter shark Isistius sp |
title_fullStr |
Identifying the "demon whale-biter":patterns of scarring on large whales attributed to a cookie-cutter shark Isistius sp |
title_full_unstemmed |
Identifying the "demon whale-biter":patterns of scarring on large whales attributed to a cookie-cutter shark Isistius sp |
title_sort |
identifying the "demon whale-biter":patterns of scarring on large whales attributed to a cookie-cutter shark isistius sp |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/identifying-the-demon-whalebiter(2c8601a7-1071-429b-baba-921980feeee0).html https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0152643 https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/13113/1/Best_2016_PLoSONE_demonwhale_biter_CC.pdf |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Balaenoptera borealis Physeter macrocephalus |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Balaenoptera borealis Physeter macrocephalus |
op_source |
Best , P B & Photopoulou , T 2016 , ' Identifying the "demon whale-biter" : patterns of scarring on large whales attributed to a cookie-cutter shark Isistius sp ' , PLoS ONE , vol. 11 , no. 4 , e0152643 . https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0152643 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0152643 |
container_title |
PLOS ONE |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
e0152643 |
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1766119674790019072 |