Diet of the social groups of long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) in the Strait of Gibraltar

Stephanis, Renaud de; García-Tiscar, Susana; Verborgh, Philippe; Esteban, Ruth; Pérez, Sergi; Minvielle‐Sebastia, Lionel; Guinet, Christophe

doi:10.1007/s00227-008-0953-8

Cited by 52 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…The collection of small tissue samples from live cetaceans is essential to addressing questions in population genetics (Baker et al 1990;), phylogenetics (Caballero et al 2008), taxonomy (Rosenbaum et al 2002;Caballero et al 2007), foraging ecology (de Stephanis et al 2008;Valenzuela et al 2009), social structure (Duffield & Wells 1991;Kru¨tzen et al 2005), toxicology (Fossi et al 2000), reproductive success (Rosenbaum et al 2002), population dynamics (Oremus et al 2007) and aging of individuals (Herman et al 2009). Methods used for the collection of samples from wild cetaceans include 'skin swabbing' the animals using a velcro pad (Harlin et al 1999), collection of sloughed skin (Amos & Hoelzel 1990), faeces from the water column (Parsons et al 1999), use of a biopsy dart mounted on a pole (Bilgmann et al 2008), the deployment of a remote biopsy dart using a crossbow (Lambertsen 1987) or a modified veterinary capture rifle (Kru¨tzen et al 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short-term reactions and long-term responses of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) to remote biopsy sampling

Tezanos‐Pinto

Baker

2012

New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research

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We analyse short-term individual and group behavioural reactions and long-term individual responses of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in New Zealand to remote skin biopsy sampling. The biopsy system employed uses a small stainless steel tip (5-mm diameter, 9-mm length) mounted on a lightweight polycarbonate projectile, fired from a modified veterinary rifle with adjustable pressure. Individual and group behavioural reactions were scored on a 5-point scale from 0 (no reaction) to 5 (strenuous reaction). A total of 187 individual and 145 group behavioural reactions were recorded from the Bay of Islands subpopulation, while 38 individual and 39 group behavioural reactions were recorded from the Doubtful Sound subpopulation. Short-term reactions (B1 min duration) were ranked from low or mild (levels 1Á2), as evidenced by startle responses, to moderate (level 3), as evidenced by multiple leaps of the sampled individual. Most attempts (99%) resulted in only mild reactions with only two attempts resulting in moderate reactions. There were no strenuous reactions by individuals or groups and no significant differences in behavioural reactions between the two subpopulations. Analyses of resighting rates and capture probabilities based on individual identification records for 40 of the biopsied dolphins showed no evidence of long-term avoidance responses. Wound healing was documented in for 10 dolphins across periods of 3 days to 7 months. Results reported here agree with previous findings showing that remote biopsy sampling causes only short-term reactions in both the targeted individual and its group.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short-term reactions and long-term responses of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) to remote biopsy sampling

Tezanos‐Pinto

Baker

2012

New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research

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“…C values of 11.3 ± 0.4‰ and À16.4 ± 0.4‰, respectively (De Stephanis et al, 2008). These differences could mean that populations from the NWMS and the Strait of Gibraltar have different food sources and could be, at least partially, segregated.…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

Toothed whales in the northwestern Mediterranean: Insight into their feeding ecology using chemical tracers

Praca

Laran²,

Lepoint

et al. 2011

Marine Pollution Bulletin

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a b s t r a c tRisso's dolphins, pilot whales and sperm whales rarely strand in the northwestern Mediterranean. Thus, their feeding ecology, through the analysis of stomach contents, is poorly known. The aim of this study was to gain further insight into the segregation/superposition of the diet and habitat of Risso's dolphins, pilot whales and sperm whales using chemical tracers, namely, stable isotopes (d N values were obtained in Risso's dolphins (11.7 ± 0.7‰), sperm whales (10.8 ± 0.3‰) and pilot whales (9.8 ± 0.3‰), revealing different trophic levels. These differences are presumably due to various proportions of Histioteuthidae cephalopods in each toothed whale's diet. Similar d 13 C contents between species indicated long-term habitat superposition or corroborated important seasonal migrations. Lower congener 180 concentrations (8.20 vs. 21.73 lg.g À1 lw) and higher tDDT/ tPCB ratios (0.93 vs. 0.42) were observed in sperm whales compared with Risso's dolphins and may indicate wider migrations for the former. Therefore, competition between these species seems to depend on different trophic levels and migration patterns.

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“…A certain degree of diversity in diet specialization has been reported between social units in the Strait of Gibraltar (de Stephanis et al, 2008c). The variance in synchronization is better explained considering social units as a random effect.…”

Section: Synchronization Within Social Unitsmentioning

confidence: 95%

The role of synchronized swimming as affiliative and anti-predatory behavior in long-finned pilot whales

Senigaglia

Stephanis

Verborgh

et al. 2012

Behavioural Processes

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a b s t r a c t Keywords: Synchronization Strait of Gibraltar Cape Breton Long finned pilot whales GLMM Synchronized swimming in cetaceans has been hypothesized to play a role in affiliative processes as well as anti-predatory responses. We compared observed variation in synchronized swimming at two research sites in relation to disturbance exposure to test these two hypotheses. This study describes and quantifies pair synchronization in long-finned pilot whales at the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain and Cape Breton, Canada. Synchronization differed depending on the behavioral state and the response is different in the two sites leading to the conclusion that environment can shape the occurrence and magnitude of certain behaviors. We also analyzed intra-population variations in synchronization among 4 social units of Pilot whales in the Strait of Gibraltar and the results of this study confirmed the affiliative role of synchronization and highlighted an influence of disturbance on synchronization. We can conclude that synchronization is a common behavior in long-finned pilot whales that allow for close proximity and rapid coordinated response of individuals, with the multiple functions of showing affiliation and reacting to disturbance..

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Diet of the social groups of long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) in the Strait of Gibraltar

Cited by 52 publications

References 44 publications

Short-term reactions and long-term responses of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) to remote biopsy sampling

Short-term reactions and long-term responses of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) to remote biopsy sampling

Toothed whales in the northwestern Mediterranean: Insight into their feeding ecology using chemical tracers

The role of synchronized swimming as affiliative and anti-predatory behavior in long-finned pilot whales

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