Shearer Jeanne M, Quick Nicola J, Cioffi William R, Baird Robin W, Webster Daniel L, Foley Heather J, Swaim Zachary T, Waples Danielle M, Bell Joel T, Read Andrew J
Duke Marine Lab, University Program in Ecology, 135 Duke Marine Lab Rd, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA.
Duke University Marine Lab, 135 Duke Marine Lab Rd, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA.
R Soc Open Sci. 2019 Feb 6;6(2):181728. doi: 10.1098/rsos.181728. eCollection 2019 Feb.
Cuvier's beaked whales exhibit exceptionally long and deep foraging dives. The species is little studied due to their deep-water, offshore distribution and limited time spent at the surface. We used LIMPET satellite tags to study the diving behaviour of Cuvier's beaked whales off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina from 2014 to 2016. We deployed 11 tags, recording 3242 h of behaviour data, encompassing 5926 dives. Dive types were highly bimodal; deep dives (greater than 800 m, = 1408) had a median depth of 1456 m and median duration of 58.9 min; shallow dives (50-800 m, = 4518) were to median depths of 280 m with a median duration of 18.7 min. Most surface intervals were very short (median 2.2 min), but all animals occasionally performed extended surface intervals. We found no diel differences in dive depth or the percentage of time spent deep diving, but whales spent significantly more time near the surface at night. Other populations of this species exhibit similar dive patterns, but with regional differences in depth, duration and inter-dive intervals. Satellite-linked tags allow for the collection of long periods of dive records, including the occurrence of anomalous behaviours, bringing new insights into the lives of these deep divers.
柯氏喙鲸展现出异常漫长且深度极大的觅食潜水行为。由于它们分布于深水、近海区域，且在海面停留的时间有限，该物种鲜少被研究。我们使用LIMPET卫星标签，于2014年至2016年期间研究了北卡罗来纳州哈特拉斯角附近的柯氏喙鲸的潜水行为。我们部署了11个标签，记录了3242小时的行为数据，涵盖5926次潜水。潜水类型呈现出高度的双峰分布；深潜（深度大于800米，n = 1408）的平均深度为1456米，平均时长为58.9分钟；浅潜（50 - 800米，n = 4518）的平均深度为280米，平均时长为18.7分钟。大多数水面间隔时间非常短（平均为2.2分钟），但所有个体偶尔都会出现较长的水面间隔时间。我们发现潜水深度或深潜时间占比没有昼夜差异，但鲸鱼在夜间在海面附近停留的时间显著更长。该物种的其他种群也呈现出类似的潜水模式，但在深度、时长和潜水间隔方面存在区域差异。卫星连接标签能够收集长时间的潜水记录，包括异常行为的发生情况，为这些深海潜水者的生活带来了新的见解。
