Blue whales increase feeding rates at fine-scale ocean features

Area of Science:

• Marine ecology
• Oceanography
• Animal behavior

Background:

• Marine predators struggle to find patchy prey.
• Submesoscale ocean processes (<100 km) may create dense prey patches, enhancing predator foraging.
• Understanding multi-scale habitat selection is crucial for foraging performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between submesoscale surface current features and blue whale habitat selection and foraging performance.
• To evaluate how blue whales utilize dynamic oceanographic features for feeding.

Main Methods:

• Integration of environmental remote-sensing data with high-resolution animal-borne biologging data.
• Analysis of blue whale movement and foraging behavior in relation to submesoscale current features.
• Assessment across seasons, regions, and years in the California Current System.

Main Results:

• Blue whales showed a consistent preference for foraging within dynamic aggregative submesoscale features.
• This habitat selection occurred at both regional and feeding site scales.
• Increased blue whale feeding rates correlated with stronger aggregative features, indicating higher prey density.

Conclusions:

• Submesoscale features are critical foraging hotspots for blue whales.
• Blue whale foraging behavior is strongly influenced by fine-scale, dynamic oceanographic processes.
• Incorporating submesoscale features into critical habitat designations and conservation strategies is essential for mitigating human impacts on blue whales.