Tools
Tools
Clay, TA, Carroll, G, Cimino, MA, Miksis-Olds, JL, Kowarski, KA, Lyons, AP, Miller, PI, Moore, TS, Warren, JD and Hazen, EL 2025 Environmental drivers of foraging by deep-diving cetaceans: Roles of mesoscale oceanography and light-driven cycles. Progress in Oceanography, 239. 103581. 10.1016/j.pocean.2025.103581
Preview |
Text
1-s2.0-S0079661125001697-main.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (5MB) | Preview |
Abstract/Summary
Foraging by deep-diving marine predators is shaped by the interplay between oceanographic features and light-driven (diel and lunar) cycles that structure the three-dimensional distributions of their mesopelagic prey. While mesoscale features such as fronts and eddies are important for epipelagic predators, their role in driving the foraging behaviour of deep-divers remains poorly understood. We investigated bio-physical drivers of habitat use for dwarf and pygmy sperm whales Kogia spp. and beaked whales Mesoplodon spp. using three years of passive acoustic monitoring at seven sites on the Outer Continental Shelf of the northwest Atlantic Ocean. We analysed acoustic detections alongside satellite- and model-derived oceanographic variables spanning meso- and seasonal scales, and diel and lunar cycles. The two deepest sites, on the Blake Plateau (870 m) and the outer continental slope (790 m), emerged as foraging hotspots with year-round vocal presence of kogiid and beaked whales. Mesoscale activity associated with the Gulf Stream – including current strength and eddy kinetic energy – were foraging predictors, alongside sea surface temperature and primary productivity. However, site-specific habitat models explained only 3–37 % deviance. Blainville’s beaked whale M. densirostris foraging activity peaked during the full moon, likely due to lunar effects on prey concentrations at depth, while there was no clear diel variation for any detected beaked whale species. In contrast, kogiid foraging activity was elevated around sunrise and sunset. These findings suggest a role of near-surface features such as eddies in addition to light-driven cycles in shaping predator–prey dynamics, even in deep continental slope ecosystems.
| Item Type: | Publication - Article |
|---|---|
| Additional Keywords: | Beaked whaleEddiesGulf StreamHabitatKogiaLunar cyclePassive acoustic monitoring |
| Divisions: | Plymouth Marine Laboratory > Science Areas > Marine Processes and Observations |
| Depositing User: | S Hawkins |
| Date made live: | 22 Jan 2026 11:38 |
| Last Modified: | 22 Jan 2026 11:38 |
| URI: | https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/10552 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |