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Kahane-Rapport SR, Savoca MS, Cade DE, Segre PS, Bierlich KC, Calambokidis J, Dale J, Fahlbusch JA, Friedlaender AS, Johnston DW, Werth AJ, Goldbogen JA. Lunge filter feeding biomechanics constrain rorqual foraging ecology across scale. J Exp Biol 2020; 223:jeb224196. [PMID: 32820028 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.224196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2020] [Accepted: 08/13/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Fundamental scaling relationships influence the physiology of vital rates, which in turn shape the ecology and evolution of organisms. For diving mammals, benefits conferred by large body size include reduced transport costs and enhanced breath-holding capacity, thereby increasing overall foraging efficiency. Rorqual whales feed by engulfing a large mass of prey-laden water at high speed and filtering it through baleen plates. However, as engulfment capacity increases with body length (engulfment volume∝body length3.57), the surface area of the baleen filter does not increase proportionally (baleen area∝body length1.82), and thus the filtration time of larger rorquals predictably increases as the baleen surface area must filter a disproportionally large amount of water. We predicted that filtration time should scale with body length to the power of 1.75 (filter time∝body length1.75). We tested this hypothesis on four rorqual species using multi-sensor tags with corresponding unoccupied aircraft systems-based body length estimates. We found that filter time scales with body length to the power of 1.79 (95% CI: 1.61-1.97). This result highlights a scale-dependent trade-off between engulfment capacity and baleen area that creates a biomechanical constraint to foraging through increased filtration time. Consequently, larger whales must target high-density prey patches commensurate to the gulp size to meet their increased energetic demands. If these optimal patches are absent, larger rorquals may experience reduced foraging efficiency compared with smaller whales if they do not match their engulfment capacity to the size of targeted prey aggregations.
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Affiliation(s)
- S R Kahane-Rapport
- Department of Biology, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA 93950, USA
| | - M S Savoca
- Department of Biology, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA 93950, USA
| | - D E Cade
- Department of Biology, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA 93950, USA
- Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - P S Segre
- Department of Biology, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA 93950, USA
| | - K C Bierlich
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Laboratory, Beaufort, NC 27710, USA
| | - J Calambokidis
- Cascadia Research Collective, 218 W. 4th Ave., Olympia, WA 98501, USA
| | - J Dale
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Laboratory, Beaufort, NC 27710, USA
| | - J A Fahlbusch
- Department of Biology, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA 93950, USA
| | - A S Friedlaender
- Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - D W Johnston
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Laboratory, Beaufort, NC 27710, USA
| | - A J Werth
- Department of Biology, Hampden-Sydney College, Hampden-Sydney, VA 23943, USA
| | - J A Goldbogen
- Department of Biology, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA 93950, USA
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Goldbogen JA, Cade DE, Wisniewska DM, Potvin J, Segre PS, Savoca MS, Hazen EL, Czapanskiy MF, Kahane-Rapport SR, DeRuiter SL, Gero S, Tønnesen P, Gough WT, Hanson MB, Holt MM, Jensen FH, Simon M, Stimpert AK, Arranz P, Johnston DW, Nowacek DP, Parks SE, Visser F, Friedlaender AS, Tyack PL, Madsen PT, Pyenson ND. Why whales are big but not bigger: Physiological drivers and ecological limits in the age of ocean giants. Science 2020; 366:1367-1372. [PMID: 31831666 DOI: 10.1126/science.aax9044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2019] [Accepted: 10/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The largest animals are marine filter feeders, but the underlying mechanism of their large size remains unexplained. We measured feeding performance and prey quality to demonstrate how whale gigantism is driven by the interplay of prey abundance and harvesting mechanisms that increase prey capture rates and energy intake. The foraging efficiency of toothed whales that feed on single prey is constrained by the abundance of large prey, whereas filter-feeding baleen whales seasonally exploit vast swarms of small prey at high efficiencies. Given temporally and spatially aggregated prey, filter feeding provides an evolutionary pathway to extremes in body size that are not available to lineages that must feed on one prey at a time. Maximum size in filter feeders is likely constrained by prey availability across space and time.
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Affiliation(s)
- J A Goldbogen
- Hopkins Marine Station, Department of Biology, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA, USA.
| | - D E Cade
- Hopkins Marine Station, Department of Biology, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA, USA
| | - D M Wisniewska
- Hopkins Marine Station, Department of Biology, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA, USA
| | - J Potvin
- Department of Physics, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - P S Segre
- Hopkins Marine Station, Department of Biology, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA, USA
| | - M S Savoca
- Hopkins Marine Station, Department of Biology, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA, USA
| | - E L Hazen
- Hopkins Marine Station, Department of Biology, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA, USA.,Environmental Research Division, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Monterey, CA, USA.,Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - M F Czapanskiy
- Hopkins Marine Station, Department of Biology, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA, USA
| | - S R Kahane-Rapport
- Hopkins Marine Station, Department of Biology, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA, USA
| | - S L DeRuiter
- Mathematics and Statistics Department, Calvin University, Grand Rapids, MI, USA
| | - S Gero
- Zoophysiology, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - P Tønnesen
- Zoophysiology, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - W T Gough
- Hopkins Marine Station, Department of Biology, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA, USA
| | - M B Hanson
- Conservation Biology Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - M M Holt
- Conservation Biology Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - F H Jensen
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA
| | - M Simon
- Greenland Climate Research Centre, Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Nuuk, Greenland
| | - A K Stimpert
- Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, Moss Landing, CA, USA
| | - P Arranz
- Biodiversity, Marine Ecology and Conservation Group, Department of Animal Biology, University of La Laguna, La Laguna, Spain
| | - D W Johnston
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University Marine Laboratory, Beaufort, NC, USA
| | - D P Nowacek
- Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - S E Parks
- Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - F Visser
- Department of Freshwater and Marine Ecology, IBED, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.,Department of Coastal Systems, NIOZ and Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands.,Kelp Marine Research, Hoorn, Netherlands
| | - A S Friedlaender
- Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - P L Tyack
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, School of Biology, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - P T Madsen
- Zoophysiology, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - N D Pyenson
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, USA.,Department of Paleontology and Geology, Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, Seattle, WA, USA
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Goldbogen JA, Cade DE, Boersma AT, Calambokidis J, Kahane-Rapport SR, Segre PS, Stimpert AK, Friedlaender AS. Using Digital Tags With Integrated Video and Inertial Sensors to Study Moving Morphology and Associated Function in Large Aquatic Vertebrates. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2018; 300:1935-1941. [PMID: 28971623 DOI: 10.1002/ar.23650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2017] [Revised: 06/20/2017] [Accepted: 06/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The anatomy of large cetaceans has been well documented, mostly through dissection of dead specimens. However, the difficulty of studying the world's largest animals in their natural environment means the functions of anatomical structures must be inferred. Recently, non-invasive tracking devices have been developed that measure body position and orientation, thereby enabling the detailed reconstruction of underwater trajectories. The addition of cameras to the whale-borne tags allows the sensor data to be matched with real-time observations of how whales use their morphological structures, such as flukes, flippers, feeding apparatuses, and blowholes for the physiological functions of locomotion, feeding, and breathing. Here, we describe a new tag design with integrated video and inertial sensors and how it can be used to provide insights to the function of whale anatomy. This technology has the potential to facilitate a wide range of discoveries and comparative studies, but many challenges remain to increase the resolution and applicability of the data. Anat Rec, 300:1935-1941, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- J A Goldbogen
- Department of Biology, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, California
| | - D E Cade
- Department of Biology, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, California
| | - A T Boersma
- Department of Biology, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, California
| | | | - S R Kahane-Rapport
- Department of Biology, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, California
| | - P S Segre
- Department of Biology, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, California
| | - A K Stimpert
- Vertebrate Ecology Laboratory, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, Moss Landing, California
| | - A S Friedlaender
- Marine Mammal Institute, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University, Newport, Oregon
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