Publication Date
5-17-2024
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Science Advances
Volume
10
Issue
20
DOI
10.1126/sciadv.adj7132
Abstract
Many large terrestrial mammalian predators use energy-intensive, high-risk, high-gain strategies to pursue large, high-quality prey. However, similar-sized marine mammal predators with even higher field metabolic rates (FMRs) consistently target prey three to six orders of magnitude smaller than themselves. Here, we address the question of how these active and expensive marine mammal predators can gain sufficient energy from consistently targeting small prey during breath-hold dives. Using harbor porpoises as model organisms, we show that hunting small aquatic prey is energetically cheap (<20% increase in FMR) for these marine predators, but it requires them to spend a large proportion (>60%) of time foraging. We conclude that this grazing foraging strategy on small prey is viable for marine mammal predators despite their high FMR because they can hunt near continuously at low marginal expense. Consequently, cessation of foraging due to human disturbance comes at a high cost, as porpoises must maintain their high thermoregulation costs with a reduced energy intake.
Funding Number
FKZ 3515822000
Funding Sponsor
Aarhus Universitet
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Department
Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
Recommended Citation
Laia Rojano-Doñate, Jonas Teilmann, Danuta M. Wisniewska, Frants H. Jensen, Ursula Siebert, Birgitte I. McDonald, Siri L. Elmegaard, Signe Sveegaard, Rune Dietz, Mark Johnson, and Peter T. Madsen. "Low hunting costs in an expensive marine mammal predator" Science Advances (2024). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adj7132
