Structure and dynamics of minke whale surfacing patterns in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada.

ABSTRACT: Animal behavioral patterns can help us understand physiological and ecological constraints on animals and its influence on fitness. The surfacing patterns of aquatic air-breathing mammals constitute a behavioral pattern that has evolved as a trade-off between the need to replenish oxygen stores at the surface and the need to conduct other activities underwater. This study aims to better understand the surfacing pattern of a marine top predator, the minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), by investigating how their dive duration and surfacing pattern changes across their activity range. Activities were classified into resting, traveling, surface feeding and foraging at depth. For each activity, we classified dives into short and long dives and then estimated the temporal dependence betwee

SUBMITTER: Christiansen F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4430536 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature