MARMAM Subscribers,
We are pleased to announce the following paper, published online this week in
Marine Mammal Science:
van der Hoop, J., Moore, M., Fahlman, A., Bocconcelli, A., George, C., Jackson,
K., Miller, C., Morin, D., Pitchford, T., Rowles, T., Smith, J. and Zoodsma, B.
(2013), Behavioral impacts of disentanglement of a right whale under sedation
and the energetic cost of entanglement. Marine Mammal Science. doi:
10.1111/mms.12042
Abstract: Protracted entanglement in fishing gear often leads to emaciation
through reduced mobility and foraging ability, and energy budget depletion from
the added drag of towing gear for months or years. We examined changes in
kinematics of a tagged entangled North Atlantic right whale (Eg 3911), before,
during, and after disentanglement on 15 January 2011. To calculate the
additional drag forces and energetic demand associated with various gear
configurations, we towed three sets of gear attached to a load-cell tensiometer
at multiple speeds. Tag analyses revealed significant increases in dive depth
and duration; ascent, descent and fluke stroke rates; and decreases in root
mean square fluke amplitude (a proxy for thrust) following disentanglement.
Conservative drag coefficients while entangled in all gear configurations (mean
± SD Cd,e,go = 3.4 × 10−3 ± 0.0003, Cd,e,gb = 3.7 × 10−3 ± 0.0003, Cd,e,sl =
3.8 × 10−3 ± 0.0004) were significantly greater than in the nonentangled case
(Cd,n = 3.2 × 10−3 ± 0.0003; P = 0.0156, 0.0312, 0.0078, respectively).
Increases in total power input (including standard metabolism) over the
nonentangled condition ranged from 1.6% to 120.9% for all gear configurations
tested; locomotory power requirements increased 60.0%–164.6%. These results
highlight significant alteration to swimming patterns, and the magnitude of
energy depletion in a chronically entangled whale.
The article can be downloaded from
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mms.12042/full
Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions, or to request an
electronic copy of the article.
Julie van der Hoop
Graduate Student
MIT/WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography
Woods Hole MA 02543
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