MARMAM subscribers,
We are proud to announce the publication of a new paper on blue whale
feeding behavior that features tagging data collected within the
Southern California Behavioral Response Study (SOCAL-BRS) project. The
paper is entitled “Underwater acrobatics by the world’s largest
predator: 360° rolling manoeuvres by lunge-feeding blue whales“ Dr.
Jeremy Goldbogen, a post-doctoral researcher at Cascadia Research, was
the lead author paper with a number of other colleagues, including
partners from the SOCAL-BRS team.
You can link to the paper at:
<http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/9/1/20120986> and to the
video supplement at:
http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/9/1/20120986/suppl/DC1
The full citation of the paper is: Goldbogen JA, Calambokidis J,
Friedlaender AS, Francis J, DeRuiter SL, Stimpert AK, Falcone E,
Southall BL. 2012. Underwater acrobatics by the world’s largest
predator: 360° rolling manoeuvres by lunge-feeding blue whales. Biol
Lett 9:20120986. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2012.0986 and the
abstract of the paper is given below.
ABSTRACT: The extreme body size of blue whales requires a high-energy
intake and therefore demands efficient foraging strategies. As an
obligate lunge feeder on aggregations of small zooplankton, blue whales
engulf a large volume of prey-laden water in a single, rapid gulp. The
efficiency of this feeding mechanism is strongly dependent on the amount
of prey that can be captured during each lunge, yet food resources tend
to be patchily-distributed in both space and time. Here, we measured the
three-dimensional kinematics and foraging behaviour of blue whales
feeding on krill, using suction-cup attached multi-sensor tags. Our
analyses revealed 360° rolling lunge-feeding manoeuvres that reorient
the body and position the lower jaws so that a krill patch can be
engulfed with the whale’s body inverted. We also recorded these rolling
behaviours when whales were in a searching mode in between lunges,
suggesting that this behavior also enables the whale to visually process
the prey field and maximize foraging efficiency by surveying for the
densest prey aggregations. These results reveal the complex
manoeuvrability that is required for large rorqual whales to exploit
prey patches and highlight the need to fully understand the
three-dimensional interactions between predator and prey in the natural
environment.
Additionally, please see the following links to some of the media
coverage of these new and intriguing findings about foraging behavior in
blue whales.
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/11/video-rolling-in-the-deep.html
http://www.nature.com/news/blue-whales-pirouette-for-food-1.11892
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/04/science/acrobatic-blue-whales-can-sneak-up-on-krill.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/20509831
http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/blue-whales-roll-360-degrees-to-feed-study-finds.htm
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/346683/title/Blue_whales’_diet_and_exercise_rolled_into_one
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49987245/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/blue-whales-use-underwater-ballet-trick-their-prey/#.UMFTcqVOTdl
http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/smartnews/2012/11/sometimes-blue-whales-do-barrel-rolls-while-they-eat/
http://sciencefriday.com/segment/12/07/2012/blue-whale-barrel-roll-caught-on-camera.html
Note: many of the above links include photos of blue whales but not all
include the relevant permit information (as requested); all photos taken
during the SOCAL-BRS project were obtained under NMFS permit #14534.
--
Brandon L. Southall, Ph.D.
President, Senior Scientist, SEA, Inc.
Research Associate, University of California, Santa Cruz
9099 Soquel Drive, Suite 8, Aptos, CA 95003, USA
831.332.8744 (mobile); 831.661.5177 (office); 831.661.5178 (fax)
brandon.south...@sea-inc.net; www.sea-inc.net
http://www.fastpencil.com/publications/4263-Ocean-Journeys-Beginnings
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