Growing into it: evidence of an ontogenetic shift in grey whale use of foraging tactics

Bird, Clara N.; Pirotta, Enrico; New, Leslie; Bierlich, K.C.; Donnelly, Marc; Hildebrand, Lisa; Fernandez Ajó, Alejandro; Torres, Leigh G.

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2024.06.004

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Animal Behaviour

2024

DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2024.06.004

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Growing into it: evidence of an ontogenetic shift in grey whale use of foraging tactics

Clara N. Bird,

Enrico Pirotta,

Leslie New

et al.

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Bubble blasts! An adaptation for buoyancy regulation in shallow foraging gray whales

Bird,

Pirotta,

New

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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Foraging efficiency is key to animal fitness. Consequently, animals evolved a variety of kinematic, morphological, physiological, and behavioral adaptations for efficient locomotion to reduce energy expenditure while moving to find, capture, and consume prey. Often suited to specific habitat and prey types, these adaptations correspond to the terrain or substrate the animal moves through. In aquatic systems, adaptations focus on overcoming drag, buoyancy, and hydrostatic forces. Buoyancy both benefits and hinders diving animals; in particular, shallow divers constantly contend with the costs of overcoming buoyancy to dive and maintain position. Pacific Coast Feeding Group (PCFG) gray whales forage in shallow habitats where they work against buoyancy to dive and feed using various foraging tactics. Bubble blasts (underwater exhalations) have been observed during several foraging tactics performed by PCFG whales. As exhalations aid buoyancy regulation in other diving animals, we hypothesize that bubble blasts are performed by longer, more buoyant whales in shallower water and that bubble blasts increase dive duration while accounting for size and tactic. We test our hypotheses using Bayesian linear mixed effects models and a 7‐year dataset of drone footage containing concurrent individual morphological and behavioral data. We find that while headstanding – a stationary, head‐down tactic – bubble blasts are performed by longer, more buoyant whales and extend the dive duration, whereas whales using forward‐swimming tactics are less likely to bubble blast. Our results suggest that PCFG gray whales may use bubble blasts as a behavioral adaption to mitigate the cost of energetically expensive tactics in their shallow habitat foraging niche.

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Bubble blasts! An adaptation for buoyancy regulation in shallow foraging gray whales

Bird,

Pirotta,

New

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

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Growing into it: evidence of an ontogenetic shift in grey whale use of foraging tactics

Cited by 1 publication

References 74 publications

Bubble blasts! An adaptation for buoyancy regulation in shallow foraging gray whales

Bubble blasts! An adaptation for buoyancy regulation in shallow foraging gray whales

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