Aerial photogrammetry and tag-derived tissue density reveal patterns of lipid-store body condition of humpback whales on their feeding grounds

Aoki, Kosuke; Isojunno, Saana; Bellot, Charlotte; Iwata, Takahashi; Kershaw, Joanna L.; Akiyama, Yu; López, Lucía Martina Martín; Ramp, Christian; Biuw, Martin; Swift, René; Wensveen, Paul J.; Pomeroy, Patrick P.; Narazaki, Tomoko; Hall, Ailsa J.; Sato, Katsufumi; Miller, Patrick J. O.

doi:10.1098/rspb.2020.2307

Cited by 33 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…They also provide information on the physical and biological environment that can characterise the prey landscape ( Arranz et al, 2011 ; Goulet et al, 2019 ; McMahon et al, 2019 , 2021 ). Unmanned systems are currently being applied to marine mammal bioenergetics, particularly the use of aerial systems to estimate body condition and growth ( Fearnbach et al, 2018 ; Lemos et al, 2020 ; Aoki et al, 2021 ; Currie et al, 2021 ; Shero et al, 2021 ; Stewart et al, 2021a ; Christiansen et al, 2022 ), and surface and underwater systems to survey prey communities ( Kuhn et al, 2019 ; Benoit-Bird et al, 2020 ). Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a promising emerging tool for addressing questions related to prey landscapes, as it appears able to characterise the distribution and diversity of prey communities ( Visser et al, 2021 ) as well as prey biomass ( Rourke et al, 2022 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Key questions in marine mammal bioenergetics

McHuron

Adamczak

Arnould

et al. 2022

Conservation Physiology

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Bioenergetic approaches are increasingly used to understand how marine mammal populations could be affected by a changing and disturbed aquatic environment. There remain considerable gaps in our knowledge of marine mammal bioenergetics, which hinder the application of bioenergetic studies to inform policy decisions. We conducted a priority-setting exercise to identify high-priority unanswered questions in marine mammal bioenergetics, with an emphasis on questions relevant to conservation and management. Electronic communication and a virtual workshop were used to solicit and collate potential research questions from the marine mammal bioenergetic community. From a final list of 39 questions, 11 were identified as ‘key’ questions because they received votes from at least 50% of survey participants. Key questions included those related to energy intake (prey landscapes, exposure to human activities) and expenditure (field metabolic rate, exposure to human activities, lactation, time-activity budgets), energy allocation priorities, metrics of body condition and relationships with survival and reproductive success and extrapolation of data from one species to another. Existing tools to address key questions include labelled water, animal-borne sensors, mark-resight data from long-term research programs, environmental DNA and unmanned vehicles. Further validation of existing approaches and development of new methodologies are needed to comprehensively address some key questions, particularly for cetaceans. The identification of these key questions can provide a guiding framework to set research priorities, which ultimately may yield more accurate information to inform policies and better conserve marine mammal populations.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Key questions in marine mammal bioenergetics

McHuron

Adamczak

Arnould

et al. 2022

Conservation Physiology

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“…Known behavioral cues associated with non-feeding behaviors could also be incorporated into the event detection algorithm, for example to investigate patterns and trends in male singing (85,86) or agonistic interactions (87). The tags could also be used to monitor changes in body condition over time based on trends in buoyancy, as implemented through hydrodynamic glide models (88)(89)(90). Such information would further inform studies of the effects of anthropogenic disturbance on individuals and how related changes in fitness might scale up to the larger population (e.g., (91,92)).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Satellite-linked Tag for the Long-term Monitoring of Diving Behavior in Large Whales

Palacios

Irvine

Lagerquist

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Despite spending much of their time on activities underwater, the technology in use to track whales over large geographic ranges via satellite has been largely limited to locational data, with most applications focusing on characterizing their horizontal movements. We describe the development of the RDW tag, a new Argos-based satellite telemetry device that incorporates sensors for monitoring the movements and dive behavior of large whales over several months without requiring recovery. Based on an implantable design, the tag features a saltwater conductivity switch, a tri-axial accelerometer, and an optional pressure transducer, along with onboard software for data processing and detection of behavioral events or activities of interest for transmission. We configured the software to detect dives and create per-dive summaries describing behavioral events associated with feeding activities in rorqual whales. We conducted a validation by proxy of the dive summary and event detection algorithms using data from a medium-duration archival tag. The dive summary algorithm accurately reported dive depth and duration, while the accuracy of the lunge-feeding event detection algorithm was dependent on the precision of the accelerometer data that was used, with a predicted accuracy of 0.74 for correctly classifying feeding dives from 1/64-G precision data and 0.95 from 1-mG precision data. We also present data from field deployments of the tag on seven humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) and one blue whale ( Balaenoptera musculus ). The eight tags transmitted over a median tracking period of 17.5 d (range: 3.9-76.4 d) across both species. The median proportion of the tracking period summarized by received dives for the eight tags was 50.4% (range: 11.1-88.7%). The median number of received dives per day was 76.5 (range: 1-191). The results documented diel and longer-term variability in diving and feeding behavior, showing marked differences within and among individuals tracked contemporaneously. By monitoring the per-dive behavior of large whales over multi-month timescales of movement, the RDW tags provided some of the first assessments of previously unobservable behaviors across entire geographic ranges, linking local-scale behavior to broader, ecosystem-scale processes. The RDW tag extends the applications of whale satellite telemetry to new areas of physiology, ecology, and conservation.

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“…So far, the behavioural single suction cup tags that include multiple sensor loggers (but not ECG sensor), a VHF transmitter and/or satellite transmitter have been applied to free-ranging sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus), long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas), killer whales (Orcinus orca), a northern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus) and humpback whales (electronic supplementary material, figure S1, e.g. [10,[26][27][28][29][30], K.A. 2010, unpublished data).…”

Section: (B) Sinus Arrhythmia Associated With Respiration Observed From Motionless Individuals At Surfacementioning

confidence: 99%

Towards non-invasive heart rate monitoring in free-ranging cetaceans: a unipolar suction cup tag measured the heart rate of trained Risso's dolphins

Aoki

Watanabe²,

Inamori³

et al. 2021

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Heart rate monitoring in free-ranging cetaceans to understand their behavioural ecology and diving physiology is challenging. Here, we developed a simple, non-invasive method to monitor the heart rate of cetaceans in the field using an electrocardiogram-measuring device and a single suction cup equipped with an electrode. The unipolar suction cup was placed on the left lateral body surface behind the pectoral fin of Risso's dolphins ( Grampus griseus ) and a false killer whale ( Pseudorca crassidens ) in captivity; their heart rate was successfully monitored. We observed large heart rate oscillations corresponding to respiration in the motionless whales during surfacing (a false killer whale, mean 47 bpm, range 20–75 bpm; Risso's dolphins, mean ± s.d. 61 ± 15 bpm, range 28–120 bpm, n = 4 individuals), which was consistent with the sinus arrhythmia pattern (eupneic tachycardia and apneic bradycardia) observed in other cetaceans. Immediately after respiration, the heart rate rapidly increased to approximately twice that observed prior to the breath. Heart rate then gradually decreased at around 20–50 s and remained relatively constant until the next breath. Furthermore, we successfully monitored the heart rate of a free-swimming Risso's dolphin. The all-in-one suction cup device is feasible for field use without restraining animals and is helpful in further understanding the diving physiology of free-ranging cetaceans. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Measuring physiology in free-living animals (Part II)’.

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Aerial photogrammetry and tag-derived tissue density reveal patterns of lipid-store body condition of humpback whales on their feeding grounds

Cited by 33 publications

References 48 publications

Key questions in marine mammal bioenergetics

Key questions in marine mammal bioenergetics

A Satellite-linked Tag for the Long-term Monitoring of Diving Behavior in Large Whales

Towards non-invasive heart rate monitoring in free-ranging cetaceans: a unipolar suction cup tag measured the heart rate of trained Risso's dolphins

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