Dear colleagues,
We are happy to announce the publication of the following paper in
Marine Biology:
Movements and site fidelity of killer whales (/Orcinus orca/) relative
to seasonal and long-term shifts in herring (/Clupea harengus/) distribution
Filipa I. P. Samarra, S. B. Tavares, J. Béesau, V. B. Deecke, A.
Fennell, P. J. O. Miller, H. Pétursson, J Sigurjónsson and G. A. Víkingsson
Marine Biology 164: 159
The paper is available online at
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00227-017-3187-9 or you can
contact me at fipsama...@gmail.com <mailto:fipsama...@gmail.com> for a
reprint or if you have any questions.
This study is part of the Icelandic Orca Project, a long-term research
project dedicated to the study of killer whales in Iceland. You can find
out more about the project on www.icelandic-orcas.com
<http://www.icelandic-orcas.com>
Abstract
Predators specialising on migratory prey that frequently change
migration route face the challenge of finding prey with an unpredictable
distribution. Here, we used photo-identification data to investigate
whether killer whales observed in herring overwintering and spawning
grounds off Iceland follow herring year-round, as previously proposed,
and have the ability to adapt to long-term changes in herring
distribution. Of 327 identified whales seen more than once, 45% were
seen in both grounds, and were thus presumed herring-specialists, likely
following herring year-round, while others were only seen on one of the
grounds, possibly following herring to unsampled grounds or moving to
other locations and exploiting different prey. High seasonal site
fidelity to herring grounds, long-term site fidelity to herring spawning
grounds, and matches of individual whales between past and recently
occupied herring overwintering grounds showed an ability to adapt to
long-term changes in prey distribution as well as diversity of movement
patterns which are maintained over time, likely as socially-learnt
traditions. Such population structuring shows that the movement patterns
and foraging ecology of herring-eating killer whales are more complex
than previously assumed and must be taken into account in future
population assessments. Identifying the factors driving these
differences in movements and resource use will be relevant towards our
understanding of how prey predictability may drive specialization in
this and other top predator species.
Best regards,
Filipa
--
Filipa Samarra
Postdoctoral Researcher
Marine and Freshwater Research Institute
Skúlagata 4
121 Reykjavík, Iceland
Tel: +354-5752082
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Filipa_Samarra
Follow us on: www.facebook.com/icelandic.orcas
www.icelandic-orcas.com
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