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Tervo OM, Blackwell SB, Ditlevsen S, Garde E, Hansen RG, Samson AL, Conrad AS, Heide-Jørgensen MP. Stuck in a corner: Anthropogenic noise threatens narwhals in their once pristine Arctic habitat. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eade0440. [PMID: 37494430 PMCID: PMC10371008 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ade0440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/28/2023]
Abstract
Niche-conservative species are especially susceptible to changes in their environment, and detecting the negative effects of new stressors in their habitats is vital for safeguarding of these species. In the Arctic, human disturbance including marine traffic and exploration of resources is increasing rapidly due to climate change-induced reduction of sea ice. Here, we show that the narwhal, Monodon monoceros, is extremely sensitive to human-made noise. Narwhals avoided deep diving (> 350 m) with simultaneous reduction of foraging and increased shallow diving activity as a response to either ship sound alone or ship sound with concurrent seismic airgun pulses. Normal behavior decreased by 50 to 75% at distances where received sound levels were below background noise. Narwhals were equally responsive to both disturbance types, hence demonstrating their acute sensitivity to ship sound. This sensitivity coupled with their special behavioral-ecological strategy including a narrow ecological niche and high site fidelity makes them thus especially vulnerable to human impacts in the Arctic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Outi M. Tervo
- Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Strandgade 91,2, DK-1401 Copenhagen K, Denmark
| | - Susanna B. Blackwell
- Greeneridge Sciences Inc., Santa Barbara, CA, USA
- Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Susanne Ditlevsen
- Data Science Laboratory, Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Eva Garde
- Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Strandgade 91,2, DK-1401 Copenhagen K, Denmark
| | - Rikke G. Hansen
- Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Strandgade 91,2, DK-1401 Copenhagen K, Denmark
| | - Adeline L. Samson
- University Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble Institute of Engineering, LJK, 38000 Grenoble, France
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Shuert CR, Hussey NE, Marcoux M, Heide-Jørgensen MP, Dietz R, Auger-Méthé M. Divergent migration routes reveal contrasting energy-minimization strategies to deal with differing resource predictability. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2023; 11:31. [PMID: 37280701 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-023-00397-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Seasonal long-distance movements are a common feature in many taxa allowing animals to deal with seasonal habitats and life-history demands. Many species use different strategies to prioritize time- or energy-minimization, sometimes employing stop-over behaviours to offset the physiological burden of the directed movement associated with migratory behaviour. Migratory strategies are often limited by life-history and environmental constraints, but can also be modulated by the predictability of resources en route. While theory on population-wide strategies (e.g. energy-minimization) are well studied, there are increasing evidence for individual-level variation in movement patterns indicative of finer scale differences in migration strategies. METHODS We aimed to explore sources of individual variation in migration strategies for long-distance migrators using satellite telemetry location data from 41 narwhal spanning a 21-year period. Specifically, we aimed to determine and define the long-distance movement strategies adopted and how environmental variables may modulate these movements. Fine-scale movement behaviours were characterized using move-persistence models, where changes in move-persistence, highlighting autocorrelation in a movement trajectory, were evaluated against potential modulating environmental covariates. Areas of low move-persistence, indicative of area-restricted search-type behaviours, were deemed to indicate evidence of stop-overs along the migratory route. RESULTS Here, we demonstrate two divergent migratory tactics to maintain a similar overall energy-minimization strategy within a single population of narwhal. Narwhal migrating offshore exhibited more tortuous movement trajectories overall with no evidence of spatially-consistent stop-over locations across individuals. Nearshore migrating narwhal undertook more directed routes, contrasted by spatially-explicit stop-over behaviour in highly-productive fjord and canyon systems along the coast of Baffin Island for periods of several days to several weeks. CONCLUSIONS Within a single population, divergent migratory tactics can achieve a similar overall energy-minimizing strategy within a species as a response to differing trade-offs between predictable and unpredictable resources. Our methodological approach, which revealed the modulators of fine-scale migratory movements and predicted regional stop-over sites, is widely applicable to a variety of other aquatic and terrestrial species. Quantifying marine migration strategies will be key for adaptive conservation in the face of climate change and ever increasing human pressures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Courtney R Shuert
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, N9B 3P4, Canada.
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Freshwater Institute, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N6, Canada.
| | - Nigel E Hussey
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, N9B 3P4, Canada
| | - Marianne Marcoux
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Freshwater Institute, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N6, Canada
| | | | - Rune Dietz
- Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000, Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Marie Auger-Méthé
- Institute for the Oceans & Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Department of Statistics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
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Decadal migration phenology of a long-lived Arctic icon keeps pace with climate change. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2121092119. [PMID: 36279424 PMCID: PMC9659343 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2121092119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals migrate in response to seasonal environments, to reproduce, to benefit from resource pulses, or to avoid fluctuating hazards. Although climate change is predicted to modify migration, only a few studies to date have demonstrated phenological shifts in marine mammals. In the Arctic, marine mammals are considered among the most sensitive to ongoing climate change due to their narrow habitat preferences and long life spans. Longevity may prove an obstacle for species to evolutionarily respond. For species that exhibit high site fidelity and strong associations with migration routes, adjusting the timing of migration is one of the few recourses available to respond to a changing climate. Here, we demonstrate evidence of significant delays in the timing of narwhal autumn migrations with satellite tracking data spanning 21 y from the Canadian Arctic. Measures of migration phenology varied annually and were explained by sex and climate drivers associated with ice conditions, suggesting that narwhals are adopting strategic migration tactics. Male narwhals were found to lead the migration out of the summering areas, while females, potentially with dependent young, departed later. Narwhals are remaining longer in their summer areas at a rate of 10 d per decade, a similar rate to that observed for climate-driven sea ice loss across the region. The consequences of altered space use and timing have yet to be evaluated but will expose individuals to increasing natural changes and anthropogenic activities on the summering areas.
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Chambault P, Kovacs KM, Lydersen C, Shpak O, Teilmann J, Albertsen CM, Heide-Jørgensen MP. Future seasonal changes in habitat for Arctic whales during predicted ocean warming. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabn2422. [PMID: 35867786 PMCID: PMC9307241 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abn2422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Ocean warming is causing shifts in the distributions of marine species, but the location of suitable habitats in the future is unknown, especially in remote regions such as the Arctic. Using satellite tracking data from a 28-year-long period, covering all three endemic Arctic cetaceans (227 individuals) in the Atlantic sector of the Arctic, together with climate models under two emission scenarios, species distributions were projected to assess responses of these whales to climate change by the end of the century. While contrasting responses were observed across species and seasons, long-term predictions suggest northward shifts (243 km in summer versus 121 km in winter) in distribution to cope with climate change. Current summer habitats will decline (mean loss: -25%), while some expansion into new winter areas (mean gain: +3%) is likely. However, comparing gains versus losses raises serious concerns about the ability of these polar species to deal with the disappearance of traditional colder habitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philippine Chambault
- Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Strandgade 91, 2, DK-1401 Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Kit M. Kovacs
- Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre, N-9296 Tromsø, Norway
| | | | - Olga Shpak
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119071, Russia (Independent scientist, Kharkov, Ukraine)
| | - Jonas Teilmann
- Marine Mammal Research, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
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Hamilton CD, Lydersen C, Aars J, Acquarone M, Atwood T, Baylis A, Biuw M, Boltunov AN, Born EW, Boveng P, Brown TM, Cameron M, Citta J, Crawford J, Dietz R, Elias J, Ferguson SH, Fisk A, Folkow LP, Frost KJ, Glazov DM, Granquist SM, Gryba R, Harwood L, Haug T, Heide‐Jørgensen MP, Hussey NE, Kalinek J, Laidre KL, Litovka DI, London JM, Loseto LL, MacPhee S, Marcoux M, Matthews CJD, Nilssen K, Nordøy ES, O’Corry‐Crowe G, Øien N, Olsen MT, Quakenbush L, Rosing‐Asvid A, Semenova V, Shelden KEW, Shpak OV, Stenson G, Storrie L, Sveegaard S, Teilmann J, Ugarte F, Von Duyke AL, Watt C, Wiig Ø, Wilson RR, Yurkowski DJ, Kovacs KM. Marine mammal hotspots across the circumpolar Arctic. DIVERS DISTRIB 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
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Pagano AM, Williams TM. Physiological consequences of Arctic sea ice loss on large marine carnivores: unique responses by polar bears and narwhals. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:224/Suppl_1/jeb228049. [PMID: 33627459 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.228049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Rapid environmental changes in the Arctic are threatening the survival of marine species that rely on the predictable presence of the sea ice. Two Arctic marine mammal specialists, the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) and narwhal (Monodon monoceros), appear especially vulnerable to the speed and capriciousness of sea ice deterioration as a consequence of their unique hunting behaviors and diet, as well as their physiological adaptations for slow-aerobic exercise. These intrinsic characteristics limit the ability of these species to respond to extrinsic threats associated with environmental change and increased industrial activity in a warming Arctic. In assessing how sea ice loss may differentially affect polar bears that hunt on the ice surface and narwhals that hunt at extreme depths below, we found that major ice loss translated into elevated locomotor costs that range from 3- to 4-fold greater than expected for both species. For polar bears this instigates an energy imbalance from the combined effects of reduced caloric intake and increased energy expenditure. For narwhals, high locomotor costs during diving increase the risk of ice entrapment due to the unreliability of breathing holes. These species-specific physiological constraints and extreme reliance on the polar sea ice conspire to make these two marine mammal specialists sentinels of climate change within the Arctic marine ecosystem that may foreshadow rapid changes to the marine ecosystem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony M Pagano
- Institute for Conservation Research, San Diego Zoo Global, San Diego, CA 92027, USA
| | - Terrie M Williams
- University of California, Santa Cruz, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA
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Wysokowski M, Zaslansky P, Ehrlich H. Macrobiomineralogy: Insights and Enigmas in Giant Whale Bones and Perspectives for Bioinspired Materials Science. ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2020; 6:5357-5367. [PMID: 33320547 DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.0c00364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
The giant bones of whales (Cetacea) are the largest extant biomineral-based constructs known. The fact that such mammalian bones can grow up to 7 m long raises questions about differences and similarities to other smaller bones. Size and exposure to environmental stress are good reasons to suppose that an unexplored level of hierarchical organization may be present that is not needed in smaller bones. The existence of such a macroscopic naturally grown structure with poorly described mechanisms for biomineralization is an example of the many yet unexplored phenomena in living organisms. In this article, we describe key observations in macrobiomineralization and suggest that the large scale of biomineralization taking place in selected whale bones implies they may teach us fundamental principles of the chemistry, biology, and biomaterials science governing bone formation, from atomistic to the macrolevel. They are also associated with a very lipid rich environment on those bones. This has implications for bone development and damage sensing that has not yet been fully addressed. We propose that whale bone construction poses extreme requirements for inorganic material storage, mediated by biomacromolecules. Unlike extinct large mammals, cetaceans still live deep in large terrestrial water bodies following eons of adaptation. The nanocomposites from which the bones are made, comprising biomacromolecules and apatite nanocrystals, must therefore be well adapted to create the macroporous hierarchically structured architectures of the bones, with mechanical properties that match the loads imposed in vivo. This massive skeleton directly contributes to the survival of these largest mammals in the aquatic environments of Earth, with structural refinements being the result of 60 million years of evolution. We also believe that the concepts presented in this article highlight the beneficial uses of multidisciplinary and multiscale approaches to study the structural peculiarities of both organic and inorganic phases as well as mechanisms of biomineralization in highly specialized and evolutionarily conserved hard tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcin Wysokowski
- Institute of Chemical Technology and Engineering, Faculty of Chemical Technology, Poznan University of Technology, Berdychowo 4, Poznan 60965, Poland.,Institute of Electronics and Sensor Materials, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Gustav-Zeuner Strasse 3, Freiberg 09599, Germany
| | - Paul Zaslansky
- Department for Restorative and Preventive Dentistry, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin 10117, Germany
| | - Hermann Ehrlich
- Institute of Electronics and Sensor Materials, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Gustav-Zeuner Strasse 3, Freiberg 09599, Germany
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Heide‐Jørgensen MP, Blackwell SB, Williams TM, Sinding MHS, Skovrind M, Tervo OM, Garde E, Hansen RG, Nielsen NH, Ngô MC, Ditlevsen S. Some like it cold: Temperature-dependent habitat selection by narwhals. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:8073-8090. [PMID: 32788962 PMCID: PMC7417212 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2019] [Revised: 05/11/2020] [Accepted: 05/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The narwhal (Monodon monoceros) is a high-Arctic species inhabiting areas that are experiencing increases in sea temperatures, which together with reduction in sea ice are expected to modify the niches of several Arctic marine apex predators. The Scoresby Sound fjord complex in East Greenland is the summer residence for an isolated population of narwhals. The movements of 12 whales instrumented with Fastloc-GPS transmitters were studied during summer in Scoresby Sound and at their offshore winter ground in 2017-2019. An additional four narwhals provided detailed hydrographic profiles on both summer and winter grounds. Data on diving of the whales were obtained from 20 satellite-linked time-depth recorders and 16 Acousonde™ recorders that also provided information on the temperature and depth of buzzes. In summer, the foraging whales targeted depths between 300 and 850 m where the preferred areas visited by the whales had temperatures ranging between 0.6 and 1.5°C (mean = 1.1°C, SD = 0.22). The highest probability of buzzing activity during summer was at a temperature of 0.7°C and at depths > 300 m. The whales targeted similar depths at their offshore winter ground where the temperature was slightly higher (range: 0.7-1.7°C, mean = 1.3°C, SD = 0.29). Both the probability of buzzing events and the spatial distribution of the whales in both seasons demonstrated a preferential selection of cold water. This was particularly pronounced in winter where cold coastal water was selected and warm Atlantic water farther offshore was avoided. It is unknown if the small temperature niche of whales while feeding is because prey is concentrated at these temperature gradients and is easier to capture at low temperatures, or because there are limitations in the thermoregulation of the whales. In any case, the small niche requirements together with their strong site fidelity emphasize the sensitivity of narwhals to changes in the thermal characteristics of their habitats.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Terrie M. Williams
- Center for Ocean Health – Long Marine LaboratoryUniversity of California‐Santa CruzSanta CruzCAUSA
| | - Mikkel Holger S. Sinding
- Greenland Institute of Natural ResourcesCopenhagenDenmark
- Smurfit Institute of GeneticsTrinity College DublinDublinIreland
| | | | - Outi M. Tervo
- Greenland Institute of Natural ResourcesCopenhagenDenmark
| | - Eva Garde
- Greenland Institute of Natural ResourcesCopenhagenDenmark
| | | | | | - Mạnh Cường Ngô
- Greenland Institute of Natural ResourcesCopenhagenDenmark
| | - Susanne Ditlevsen
- Data Science LaboratoryDepartment of Mathematical SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenCopenhagenDenmark
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