Evidence for seasonal migration by a cryptic top predator of the deep sea.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In ecosystems influenced by strong seasonal variation in insolation, the fitness of diverse taxa depends on seasonal movements to track resources along latitudinal or elevational gradients. Deep pelagic ecosystems, where sunlight is extremely limited, represent Earth's largest habitable space and yet ecosystem phenology and effective animal movement strategies in these systems are little understood. Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) provide a valuable acoustic window into this world: the echolocation clicks they produce while foraging in the deep sea are the loudest known biological sounds on Earth and convey detailed information about their behavior.

Methods

We analyze seven years of continuous passive acoustic observations from the Central California Current

SUBMITTER: Oestreich WK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11421108 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature