Coping with copepods: do right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) forage visually in dark waters

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dc.contributor.authorCronin, Thomas W.
dc.contributor.authorFasick, Jeffry I.
dc.contributor.authorSchweikert, Lorian E.
dc.contributor.authorJohnsen, Sönke
dc.contributor.authorKezmoh, Lorren J.
dc.contributor.authorBaumgartner, Mark F.
dc.date.accessioned2019-04-02T15:20:14Z
dc.date.available2019-04-02T15:20:14Z
dc.date.issued2017-04-05
dc.description.abstractNorth Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) feed during the spring and early summer in marine waters off the northeast coast of North America. Their food primarily consists of planktonic copepods, Calanus finmarchicus, which they consume in large numbers by ram filter feeding. The coastal waters where these whales forage are turbid, but they successfully locate copepod swarms during the day at depths exceeding 100 m, where light is very dim and copepod patches may be difficult to see. Using models of E. glacialis visual sensitivity together with measurements of light in waters near Cape Cod where they feed and of light attenuation by living copepods in seawater, we evaluated the potential for visual foraging by these whales. Our results suggest that vision may be useful for finding copepod patches, particularly if E. glacialis searches overhead for silhouetted masses or layers of copepods. This should permit the whales to locate C. finmarchicus visually throughout most daylight hours at depths throughout their foraging range. Looking laterally, the whales might also be able to see copepod patches at short range near the surface.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipT.W.C. is supported by theAir ForceOffice of ScientificResearch, under grant no. FA9550-12-1-0321. Support for field observations by M.F.B. was provided by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Northeast Fisheries Science Center.en_US
dc.description.urihttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28193812en_US
dc.format.extent8 pagesen_US
dc.genrejournal articlesen_US
dc.identifierdoi:10.13016/m2xidc-iape
dc.identifier.citationCronin TW, Fasick JI, Schweikert LE, Johnsen S, Kezmoh LJ, Baumgartner MF. 2017 Coping with copepods: do right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) forage visually in dark waters? Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 372: 20160067en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2016.0067
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11603/13300
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherThe Royal Societyen_US
dc.relation.isAvailableAtThe University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Biological Sciences Department Collection
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Faculty Collection
dc.rightsThis item is likely protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Unless on a Creative Commons license, for uses protected by Copyright Law, contact the copyright holder or the author.
dc.subjectright whaleen_US
dc.subjectvisual sensitivityen_US
dc.subjectcontrast visionen_US
dc.subjectenvironmental radiometryen_US
dc.titleCoping with copepods: do right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) forage visually in dark watersen_US
dc.title.alternativeCoping with copepods: do right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) forage visually in dark waters?en_US
dc.typeTexten_US

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