Migratory and diurnal activity of North Atlantic killer whales (Orcinus orca) off northern Norway (original) (raw)
Related papers
Vessel traffic disrupts foraging behaviour of southern resident killer whales
Endangered Species Research, 2009
Vessel traffic may have contributed to southern resident killer whales Orcinus orca becoming endangered. To determine the importance of this threat, we measured the behavior of southern residents in the presence and absence of vessels from 2003 to 2005 at 2 different sites along San Juan Island, Washington, USA. We observed activity states of killer whale schools using scan sampling and collected information on the number of vessels present at various distances from those. We use first-order, time-discrete Markov chains to estimate state-transition probability matrices under varying boat exposure conditions. Transition probabilities between activity states were significantly affected by vessel traffic. In addition, there was a reduction in time spent foraging, as estimated from the stationary state budget from the Markov chains, confirming an effect also previously observed in northern resident killer whales. If reduced foraging effort results in reduced prey capture, this would result in decreased energy acquisition. Each school was within 400 m of a vessel most of the time during daylight hours from May through September. The high proportion of time southern resident killer whales spend in proximity to vessels raises the possibility that the short-term behavioral changes reported here can lead to biologically significant consequences.
Scientific Reports, 2020
Insight into animal movements is essential for understanding habitat use by individuals as well as population processes and species life-history strategies. In this study, we instrumented 25 fin whales with ARGOS satellite-transmitters in Svalbard, Norway, to study their movement patterns and behaviour (Area Restricted Search (ARS), transiting or unknown) during boreal autumn/early winter. Ten of the whales stayed in the tagging area (most northerly location: 81.68°N) for their entire tracking periods (max 45 days). The other 15 whales moved in a south-westerly direction; the longest track ended off the coast of northern Africa (> 5000 km from the tagging location) after 96 days. The whales engaged in ARS behaviour intermittently throughout their southward migrations. During transit phases the whales moved quickly; one individual maintained an average horizontal speed of 9.3 km/h (travelling 223 km per day) for a period of a week. This study documents that: (1) some fin whales mi...
Vessel traffic disrupts the foraging behavior of southern resident killer whales Orcinus orca
Endangered Species Research, 2009
Vessel traffic may have contributed to southern resident killer whales Orcinus orca becoming endangered. To determine the importance of this threat, we measured the behavior of southern residents in the presence and absence of vessels from 2003 to 2005 at 2 different sites along San Juan Island, Washington, USA. We observed activity states of killer whale schools using scan sampling and collected information on the number of vessels present at various distances from those. We use first-order, time-discrete Markov chains to estimate state-transition probability matrices under varying boat exposure conditions. Transition probabilities between activity states were significantly affected by vessel traffic. In addition, there was a reduction in time spent foraging, as estimated from the stationary state budget from the Markov chains, confirming an effect also previously observed in northern resident killer whales. If reduced foraging effort results in reduced prey capture, this would result in decreased energy acquisition. Each school was within 400 m of a vessel most of the time during daylight hours from May through September. The high proportion of time southern resident killer whales spend in proximity to vessels raises the possibility that the short-term behavioral changes reported here can lead to biologically significant consequences.
Movement and diving of killer whales (Orcinus orca) at a Southern Ocean archipelago
Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 2015
Eleven satellite tags were deployed on 9 killer whales at the Prince Edwards Islands in the Southern Ocean. State-space switching models were used to generate position estimates from Argos location data, while two behavioural modes were estimated from the data. Individuals were tracked for 5.6-53.2 days, during which time they moved 416-4,470 km (mean 82.7 km day-1) but 69% of position estimates were within the 1000 m depth contour around the islands (<35 km from the tagging site). Killer whales showed restricted behaviour close to the islands, particularly inshore where they can effectively hunt seals and penguins, and at seamounts to the north of the islands. Generalized linear mixed effect models were used to explore the relationship between environmental variables and behavioural mode. The best model included depth, sea surface temperature, latitude, sea surface height anomaly and bottom slope, but killer whales did not clearly target features such as fronts and apparent mesoscale eddies. Killer whales showed restricted behaviour in shallow water, at high latitudes and low sea surface temperature-the conditions characterising the archipelago. Dive data from two individuals largely revealed shallow dives (7.5-50 m deep), but deeper dive bouts to around 368 m were also recorded. Dives were significantly deeper during the day and maximum dive depths were 767.5 and 499.5 m, respectively. This suggests that killer whales might also prey on vertically migrating cephalopods and perhaps Patagonian toothfish. Three individuals made rapid and directed long-distance movements northwards of the islands, the reasons for which are speculative.
Sustained disruption of narwhal habitat use and behavior in the presence of Arctic killer whales
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2017
Although predators influence behavior of prey, analyses of electronic tracking data in marine environments rarely consider how predators affect the behavior of tracked animals. We collected an unprecedented dataset by synchronously tracking predator (killer whales, [Formula: see text] = 1; representing a family group) and prey (narwhal, [Formula: see text] = 7) via satellite telemetry in Admiralty Inlet, a large fjord in the Eastern Canadian Arctic. Analyzing the movement data with a switching-state space model and a series of mixed effects models, we show that the presence of killer whales strongly alters the behavior and distribution of narwhal. When killer whales were present (within about 100 km), narwhal moved closer to shore, where they were presumably less vulnerable. Under predation threat, narwhal movement patterns were more likely to be transiting, whereas in the absence of threat, more likely resident. Effects extended beyond discrete predatory events and persisted steadi...
Studies in the Pacific have identified distinct killer whale ecotypes that are either specialized mammal-or fish-eaters. The different types have developed hunting strategies that would suggest specialization could be more advantageous than generalism. However, it has been suggested, based on long-term dietary markers of tooth wear and stable isotope values, that lineages in the North Atlantic are generalist, but with individual variation in the proportion of prey types consumed. Here, we present the results of ten years of observational and photo-identification data of a population of killer whales that follows the Norwegian spring-spawning stock of Atlantic herring. Although the whales were predominantly observed while feeding upon herring, one pod of herring-eating whales was also observed interacting with seals. This supports the hypothesis based on the long-term markers, of a degree of specialization, with a small number of groups persistently feeding upon mammals, but switching between herring and seals. We further investigated this prey switching by conducting playbacks of herring-eating killer whale sounds to harbour seals at haul-out sites on the herring spawning grounds. We recorded changes in behaviour consistent with an anti-predator response, suggesting the seals perceived the herring-eating killer whales as a potential predatory threat and had not habituated to their calls. This could be due to the risk of herring-eating killer whales switching to mammalian prey, or the difficulty of discriminating between killer whale pods due to the large population size and number of killer whale call dialects in this population, or a combination of both.
Movement, site fidelity and connectivity in a top marine predator, the killer whale
Evolutionary Ecology, 2010
Movement, site fidelity and connectivity have important consequences for the evolution of population structure and therefore the conservation and management of a species. In this study photographs of naturally marked killer whales collected from sites across the Northeast Atlantic are used to estimate fidelity to sampling locations and movement between locations, expressed as transition probabilities, pt, using maximum likelihood methods. High transition probabilities suggest there is high inter-annual site fidelity to all locations, and large-scale movement between the spawning and wintering grounds of both Norwegian and Iceland stocks of Atlantic herring. There was no evidence of movement between the Norwegian herring grounds and Icelandic herring grounds, or between the mackerel fishing grounds and the herring fishing grounds. Thus the movement of predictable and abundant prey resources can lead to intrinsic isolation in this species We also find movement between the Northern Isles, Scotland and East Iceland. An association network indicates that killer whales predating seals around the Northern Isles, Scotland are linked to the community of killer whales that follow the Icelandic summer-spawning herring. This adds support to existing evidence of a broad niche width in some populations.
Scientific reports, 2017
Mediterranean fin whales comprise a genetically distinct population, listed as Vulnerable (VU) in the IUCN Red List. Collisions with vessels are believed to represent the main cause of human-induced mortality. The identification of critical habitats (including migration routes) incorporating satellite telemetry data is therefore crucial to develop focussed conservation efforts. Between 2012 and 2015 thirteen fin whales were equipped with satellite transmitters, 8 in the Pelagos Sanctuary (although two ceased within two days) and 5 in the Strait of Sicily, to evaluate movements and habitat use. A hierarchical switching state-space model was used to identify transiting and area-restricted search (ARS) behaviours, believed to indicate foraging activities. All whales undertook mid- to long-distance migrations, crossing some of the world's busiest maritime routes. Areas where the animals predominantly engaged in ARS behaviour were identified in both study areas. The telemetry data we...
The need to balance energy reserves during migration is a critical factor for most long-distance migrants and an important determinant of migratory strategies in birds, insects and land mammals. Large baleen whales migrate annually between foraging and breeding sites, crossing vast ocean areas where food is seldom abundant. How whales respond to the demands and constraints of such long migrations remains unknown. We applied a behaviour discriminating hierarchical state-space model to the satellite tracking data of 12 fin whales and 3 blue whales tagged off the Azores, to investigate their movements, behaviour (transiting and area-restricted search, ARS) and daily activity cycles during the spring migration. Fin and blue whales remained at middle latitudes for prolonged periods, spending most of their time there in ARS behaviour. While near the Azores, fin whale ARS behaviour occurred within a restricted area, with a high degree of overlap among whales. There were noticeable behavioural differences along the migratory pathway of fin whales tracked to higher latitudes: ARS occurred only in the Azores and north of 56uN, whereas in between these areas whales travelled at higher overall speeds while maintaining a nearly direct trajectory. This suggests fin whales may alternate periods of active migration with periods of extended use of specific habitats along the migratory route. ARS behaviour in blue whales occurred over a much wider area as whales slowly progressed northwards. The tracks of these whales terminated still at middle latitudes, before any behavioural switch was detected. Fin whales exhibited behavioural-specific diel rhythms in swimming speed but these varied significantly between geographic areas, possibly due to differences in the day-night cycle across areas. Finally, we show a link between fin whales seen in the Azores and those summering in eastern Greenlandwestern Iceland along a migratory corridor located in central Atlantic waters.
Endangered Species Research, 2009
Baleen whale migrations typically consist of annual movements between productive, high-latitude feeding grounds and unproductive, low-latitude breeding grounds. However, the actual migratory path and whales' behaviour in these locations are poorly known. The objectives of this study were to apply a switching state-space model to the satellite tracks of blue whales Balaenoptera musculus in the Northeast Pacific to improve location estimation and gain insight into the migratory (transiting) and foraging (area-restricted search, ARS) behaviours of this population. During the period 1993 to 2007, Argos satellite tags were attached to 159 whales, mainly off the coast of California during late summer, of which 92 tracks were > 7 d in duration. There was generally a southward movement during the winter to Baja California and to an area west of the Costa Rica Dome, in the eastern tropical Pacific (ETP). Travel speeds during transit were significantly faster than during ARS movements (mean = 3.70 and 1.05 km h-1 , respectively). On average, 29% of the track time was spent in ARS, and the mean time within an ARS patch was 21 d. The occurrence of ARS behaviour throughout the migration cycle suggests that these animals may forage year-round, but could also indicate limited movements during the reproductive season. The extent of their northward migration from Baja California to Washington varied significantly interannually, likely in response to environmental changes affecting their prey. The long track durations obtained from electronic tagging have provided essential new information about the critical habitats of Northeast Pacific blue whales.