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- Friedlaender, Ari S., et al.
(författare)
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Context-dependent lateralized feeding strategies in blue whales
- 2017
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Ingår i: Current Biology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0960-9822 .- 1879-0445. ; 27:22, s. R1206-R1208
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Lateralized behaviors benefit individuals by increasing task efficiency in foraging and anti-predator behaviors [1–4]. The conventional lateralization paradigm suggests individuals are left or right lateralized, although the direction of this laterality can vary for different tasks (e.g. foraging or predator inspection/avoidance). By fitting tri-axial movement sensors to blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus), and by recording the direction and size of their rolls during lunge feeding events, we show how these animals differ from such a paradigm. The strength and direction of individuals’ lateralization were related to where and how the whales were feeding in the water column. Smaller rolls (≤180°) predominantly occurred at depth (>70 m), with whales being more likely to rotate clockwise around their longest axis (right lateralized). Larger rolls (>180°), conversely, occurred more often at shallower depths (<70 m) and were more likely to be performed anti-clockwise (left lateralized). More acrobatic rolls are typically used to target small, less dense krill patches near the water’s surface [5,6], and we posit that the specialization of lateralized feeding strategies may enhance foraging efficiency in environments with heterogeneous prey distributions.
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