Ultra-high foraging rates of harbor porpoises make them vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbance

D.M. Wisniewska; M. Johnson; J. Teilmann; L. Rojano-Doñate; J. Shearer; S. Sveegaard; L.A. Miller; U. Siebert; P.T. Madsen

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2016.03.069

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Ultra-high foraging rates of harbor porpoises make them vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbance

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Ultra-high foraging rates of harbor porpoises make them vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbance

D.M. Wisniewska, M. Johnson, J. Teilmann, L. Rojano-Doñate, J. Shearer, S. Sveegaard, L.A. Miller, U. Siebert and P.T. Madsen

Current Biology, Vol.26(11), pp.1441-1446

2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.03.069

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Abstract

The question of how individuals acquire and allocate resources to maximize fitness is central in evolutionary ecology. Basic information on prey selection, search effort, and capture rates are critical for understanding a predator's role in its ecosystem and for predicting its response to natural and anthropogenic disturbance. Yet, for most marine species, foraging interactions cannot be observed directly. The high costs of thermoregulation in water require that small marine mammals have elevated energy intakes compared to similar-sized terrestrial mammals [1]. The combination of high food requirements and their position at the apex of most marine food webs may make small marine mammals particularly vulnerable to changes within the ecosystem [2-4], but the lack of detailed information about their foraging behavior often precludes an informed conservation effort. Here, we use high-resolution movement and prey echo recording tags on five wild harbor porpoises to examine foraging interactions in one of the most metabolically challenged cetacean species. We report that porpoises forage nearly continuously day and night, attempting to capture up to 550 small (3-10 cm) fish prey per hour with a remarkable prey capture success rate of >90%. Porpoises therefore target fish that are smaller than those of commercial interest, but must forage almost continually to meet their metabolic demands with such small prey, leaving little margin for compensation. Thus, for these "aquatic shrews," even a moderate level of anthropogenic disturbance in the busy shallow waters they share with humans may have severe fitness consequences at individual and population levels.

Details

Title: Ultra-high foraging rates of harbor porpoises make them vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbance
Authors/Creators: D.M. Wisniewska (Author/Creator) - Aarhus University
M. Johnson (Author/Creator) - University of St Andrews
J. Teilmann (Author/Creator) - Aarhus University
L. Rojano-Doñate (Author/Creator) - Aarhus University
J. Shearer (Author/Creator) - University of St Andrews
S. Sveegaard (Author/Creator) - Aarhus University
L.A. Miller (Author/Creator) - University of Southern Denmark
U. Siebert (Author/Creator) - University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation
P.T. Madsen (Author/Creator) - Murdoch University
Publication Details: Current Biology, Vol.26(11), pp.1441-1446
Publisher: Elsevier
Identifiers: 991005539993007891
Copyright: © 2016 Elsevier Ltd.
Murdoch Affiliation: School of Veterinary and Life Sciences
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Citation topics: 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology; 3.35 Zoology & Animal Ecology; 3.35.796 Marine Mammal Ecology
Web Of Science research areas: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; Biology; Cell Biology
ESI research areas: Biology & Biochemistry