At night, the smaller sized, more maneuverable minke whales are well suited for pursuing little, scattered patches of krill at the surface. Lunge feeding is thought to have actually emerged initially in whales about the size of todays Antarctic minke whales. This made it possible for the development of whales with gigantic body sizes, such as blue whales, during the past 5 million years when changing ocean conditions led to the development of foreseeable areas with big victim patches that might be effectively exploited by lunge-feeding whales.
Lunge feeding whales speed up toward a patch of prey, swallow up a huge volume of water, and after that filter out the victim through the baleen plates in their mouths. This method is utilized by the biggest group of baleen whales, known as rorquals, which includes blue, humpback, minke, and fin whales.
Baleen whales, also understood as mysticetes, are a type of marine mammal that have a comb-like structure called baleen plates in their upper jaw rather of teeth. For minke whales, other xamples of baleen whales include humpback whales, blue whales, and gray whales.
The capability to engulf large quantities of prey-laden water is important to making this feeding method settle, and the energy effectiveness increases with larger body size. An 80-ton blue whale, for instance, can swallow up a water volume comparable to 135% of its body mass, whereas a 5-ton minke whale can engulf a volume equivalent to 42% of its body mass.
Minke whales are the tiniest of the rorqual group of baleen whales, which utilize a “lunge feeding” method to catch big amounts of small prey such as krill. Credit: Duke Marine Robotics and Remote Sensing
In the new study, released today, March 13, in the journal Nature Ecology & & Evolution, scientists utilized noninvasive suction tags to observe 23 Antarctic minke whales in the waters off the West Antarctic Peninsula, tracking their nighttime and daytime foraging behavior as they fed upon Antarctic krill. Data from previous studies of krill-feeding blue whales and humpback whales were utilized for contrast.
” When we determine how much energy they utilize in foraging and what their total consumption must be based on their size, we discover that minke whales are right at the threshold,” stated very first author David Cade, who led the study as a postdoctoral researcher at UC Santa Cruz and is now at Stanfords Hopkins Marine Station. “Anything smaller than a minke might not attain the foraging rates essential to endure.”
Minke whales are not as well studied as other types of baleen whales, in part because they can be harder to discover and tag.
Scientists utilized noninvasive suction tags to observe Antarctic minke whales habits as they fed on Antarctic krill in the waters off of the West Antarctic Peninsula. Credit: Photo by David Cade, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University
” The data in this study represent more information on a poorly studied types than has ever been published formerly and is assisting us to better understand not just the species, but the role of baleen whales in marine communities,” said coauthor Ari Friedlaender, professor of ocean sciences at UC Santa Cruz. “With so unknown about this species that is being impacted by climate change, the more we understand their ecology and behavior the much better we can secure them.”
The scientists observed incredibly high feeding rates for minke whales, particularly in the evening, when they were typically lunging every 15 seconds approximately. Krill concern the surface area in the evening and remain in the depths during the day, so daytime feeding needs deep dives, which are less effective for smaller sized animals.
” During the day they feed at depths equivalent to humpbacks and blue whales, but their foraging rates arent as high due to the fact that theyre smaller,” Cade stated. “Their nighttime feeding rates are 2 to 5 times the day rate.”
In the evening, the smaller sized, more maneuverable minke whales are well matched for pursuing little, scattered spots of krill at the surface area. “When theyre surface feeding, they do not have to hold their breath during dives and they can do lunges over and over again,” Cade stated. “Only in the evening can they get the actually high feeding rates they need.”
The study also deals with concerns about the evolution of baleen whales and the origins of a feeding strategy that depends on large body size. Lunge feeding is thought to have actually occurred first in whales about the size of todays Antarctic minke whales. This made it possible for the development of whales with enormous body sizes, such as blue whales, throughout the previous 5 million years when altering ocean conditions led to the formation of predictable areas with large victim spots that could be efficiently exploited by lunge-feeding whales.
” Minke whales represent one severe, at the small end of the spectrum, for how filter feeding in ocean predators progressed,” Friedlaender stated. “Understanding both the optimum and minimum size restrictions on baleen whale size truly assists us comprehend how this group of animals has evolved and how they affect and are affected by marine ecosystems.”
Reference: “Minke whale feeding rate limitations recommend constraints on the minimum body size for engulfment filtering feeding” 13 March 2023, Nature Ecology & & Evolution.DOI: 10.1038/ s41559-023-01993-2.
In addition to Cade and Friedlaender, the coauthors of the paper include Shirel Kahane-Rapport, William Gough, and Jeremy Goldbogen at Hopkins Marine Station; K.C. Bierlich and David Johnston at Duke University; Jacob Linsky at UC Santa Cruz; and John Calambokidis at Cascadia Research Collective. This work was moneyed by the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research.
A new research study found that smaller sized Antarctic minke whales would not have the ability to endure, as they would not record sufficient food utilizing the lunge-feeding method of baleen whales.
Minke whales are as little as a lunge-feeding baleen whale can be.
Research on the feeding habits of Antarctic minke whales found that a smaller sized whale could not record sufficient food to make it through using the lunge-feeding method of baleen whales.
A brand-new study of Antarctic minke whales exposes a minimum size limit for whales employing the highly effective “lunge-feeding” strategy that made it possible for the blue whale to become the biggest animal on Earth.
Baleen whales, also known as mysticetes, are a kind of marine mammal that have a comb-like structure called baleen plates in their upper jaw instead of teeth. They utilize these baleen plates to filter out small prey, such as krill and plankton, from the water as they swim with their mouths open. For minke whales, other xamples of baleen whales consist of humpback whales, blue whales, and gray whales.
