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Predator sound playbacks reveal strong avoidance responses in a fight strategist baleen whale

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Date
22/04/2015
Author
Cure, Charlotte
Doksaeter-Sivle, Lise
Visser, Fleur
Wensveen, Paulus Jacobus
Isojunno, Saana
Harris, Catriona M
Kvadsheim, Petter
Lam, Frans-Peter
Miller, Patrick
Funder
Office of Naval Research
Grant ID
N00014-12-1-0204
Keywords
Anti-predator strategy
Predator sound playbacks
Multi-sensor tag
Behavioural responses
Horizontal avoidance
Baleen whale
Humpback whale
QH301 Biology
NDAS
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Abstract
Anti-predator strategies are often defined as ‘flight’ or ‘fight’, based upon prey anatomical adaptations for size, morphology and weapons, as well as observed behaviours in the presence of predators. The humpback whale Megaptera nova eangliae is considered a ‘fight’ specialist based upon anatomy and observations of grouping behaviour and active defence when attacked by killer whales. However, the early stage of humpback whale anti-predator strategy, when the prey detects the presence of a distant potential predator that may not have perceived it, has never been described. Our aim was to experimentally examine this initial stage of anti-predator responses. Humpbacks are likely to hear well at the frequencies of killer whale vocalisations, thus the perception of killer whale sounds could trigger anti-predator responses. To address this hypothesis, we played mammal-eating killer whale sounds to 8 solitary or paired humpback whales in North Atlantic feeding grounds and monitored their behavioural responses. We found that predator sound playbacks induced a cessation of feeding, a change in the diving pattern and a clear directional and rapid horizontal avoidance away from the speaker. Interestingly, in mothercalf pairs with young calves, the directional horizontal avoidance was atypically alternated by 90 degree turns, which may serve as a mechanism to better track the pre dator or a stealth tactic when more vulnerable animals are present. These results provide experimental evidence that humpback whales can exhibit a strong horizontal avoidance as an initial stage of anti-predator defence, indicating that anti-predator responses may be more graded and mixed than previously recognized.
Citation
Cure , C , Doksaeter-Sivle , L , Visser , F , Wensveen , P J , Isojunno , S , Harris , C M , Kvadsheim , P , Lam , F-P & Miller , P 2015 , ' Predator sound playbacks reveal strong avoidance responses in a fight strategist baleen whale ' , Marine Ecology Progress Series , vol. 526 , pp. 267-282 . https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11231
Publication
Marine Ecology Progress Series
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps11231
ISSN
0171-8630
Type
Journal article
Rights
© Inter-Research 2015 · www.int-res.com
Collections
  • University of St Andrews Research
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/19835

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