RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Following a foraging fish-finder: diel habitat use of Blainville's beaked whales revealed by echolocation
A1 Arranz Alonso, Patricia
A1 Aguilar de Soto, Natacha
A1 Madsen, Peter T.
A1 Brito Hernández, Alberto
A1 Bordes, Fernando
A1 Johnson, Mark P.
A2 Biología Animal y Edafología y Geología
A2 BIOECOMAC
AB Simultaneous high resolution sampling of predator behavior and habitat characteristics is often difficult to achieve despiteits importance in understanding the foraging decisions and habitat use of predators. Here we tap into the biosonar systemof Blainville’s beaked whales, Mesoplodon densirostris, using sound and orientation recording tags to uncover prey-findingcues available to echolocating predators in the deep-sea. Echolocation sounds indicate where whales search and encounterprey, as well as the altitude of whales above the sea-floor and the density of organisms around them, providing a linkbetween foraging activity and the bio-physical environment. Tagged whales (n = 9) hunted exclusively at depth, investingmost of their search time either in the lower part of the deep scattering layer (DSL) or near the sea-floor with little dielchange. At least 43% (420/974) of recorded prey-capture attempts were performed within the benthic boundary layerdespite a wide range of dive depths, and many dives included both meso- and bentho-pelagic foraging. Blainville’s beakedwhales only initiate searching when already deep in the descent and encounter prey suitable for capture within 2 min of thestart of echolocation, suggesting that these whales are accessing prey in reliable vertical strata. Moreover, these preyresources are sufficiently dense to feed the animals in what is effectively four hours of hunting per day enabling a strategyin which long dives to exploit numerous deep-prey with low nutritional value require protracted recovery periods (average1.5 h) between dives. This apparent searching efficiency maybe aided by inhabiting steep undersea slopes with access toboth the DSL and the sea-floor over small spatial scales. Aggregations of prey in these biotopes are located using biosonarderivedlandmarks and represent stable and abundant resources for Blainville’s beaked whales in the otherwise food-limiteddeep-ocean.
YR 2011
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LK http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/41389
UL http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/41389
LA en
NO https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0028353
NO The work was funded by the Office of Naval Research and the National Ocean Partnership Program (US), by a consortium consisting of the CanaryIslands Government, the Spanish Ministry of Environment and the Spanish Ministry of Defense, and by the European environmental funding LIFE-INDEMARESprogram for the inventory and designation of the Natura 2000 network in marine areas of the Spanish territory, headed by Fundacion Biodiversidad, withadditional support from the Cabildo Insular of El Hierro. PA is currently supported by the National Research Project: Cetacean, Oceanography and Biodiversityfrom La Palma and El Hierro (CGL2009-13112) of the Spanish Ministry of Science and NAS by a Marie Curie fellowship from the 7th European Frame Program. MJwas supported by grants from the Strategic Environmental Research Development Program and from the National Ocean Partnership Program. PTM wassupported by frame grants from the National Danish Science Foundation. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision topublish, or preparation of the manuscript.
DS Repositorio institucional de la Universidad de La Laguna
RD 18-nov-2025