scholarly journals Geographical variation in the body size of adult female sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) – an example of McNab’s resource rule?

Mammalia ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter B. Best ◽  
Dmitri Tormosov ◽  
Anabela Brandão ◽  
Yuri Mikhalev

AbstractThis study investigates possible regional variations in size composition of adult female sperm whales (

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
DEWI HIDAYATI ◽  
BUGGIE OCLANDHI ◽  
NOVA MAULIDINIA ◽  
NOOR NAILIS SA’ADAH ◽  
AWIK PUJI DYAH NURHAYATI

Abstract. Hidayati D, Oclandhi B, Maulidinia N, Sa’adah NN, Nurhayati APD. 2019. Short Communication: The species and body size composition of pelagic fishes that caught by troll line in the fish landing of Sendang Biru, East Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 20: 1764-1769. Troll line is the most used pelagic fishing gear for fishermen in Sendang Biru, the part of Indian ocean at East Java, which have an impact on the catch composition. The study was aimed to obtain data on species composition and size of pelagic fish caught in troll line in Sendang Biru, East Java, Indonesia. Fish samples were collected from nine different vessels landed in Sendang Biru for three days in April 2018. The composition of fish species was measured based on relative abundance. The fish size composition was obtained by measuring fork length which is also used to determine the stage of development of juvenile (Jv) or adult (Ad) fish. The results of the research showed there were four pelagic fish species which dominated by Katsuwonus pelamis or skipjack tuna (50.05%) and Thunnus albacares or yellowfin tuna (47.95%) and a small amount of Coryphaena hippurus and Makaira mazara. According to the body size, the fish caught by troll line in Sendang Biru is dominated by adult skipjack tuna (41-60 cm) and juvenile yellowfin tuna (21-78 cm).


2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 609-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne Marcoux ◽  
Hal Whitehead ◽  
Luke Rendell

We investigated the use and function of coda communication by sperm whales ( Physeter macrocephalus L., 1758 (= Physeter catodon L., 1758)). Codas are stereotyped patterns of clicks often made by sperm whales in social contexts. We used the pulsed structure of coda clicks recorded from socializing female/immature groups to estimate the body-length distribution of the animals producing the codas. Ninety-five percent of the 10 653 codas that we measured were produced by whales measuring from 9 to 11 m. This size range corresponds to the lengths of mature females. We compared these data to a length distribution calculated from photographic measurements of individuals from the same groups encountered during the same studies. There were more whales shorter than 8.5 m (10.0%) and longer than 12.5 m (2.7%) in the photographic length distribution than in that of the coda producers (0.30% and 0.08%, respectively). Since males leave their natal group when they are shorter than 9 m and return to breeding areas when they measure 13 m or more, our data show that the codas were produced almost entirely by mature females. We suggest that coda communication serves several functions, including social bonding.


Author(s):  
Violaine Drouot ◽  
Alexandre Gannier ◽  
John C. Goold

Sperm whale social distribution was investigated in the Mediterranean Sea, using data collected during summer surveys from 1997 to 2002. Variations in the size of sperm whale schools/underwater aggregations were assessed using both visual and acoustic data. Individual body lengths were estimated acoustically, using the click inter-pulse intervals. Regional comparisons were undertaken, taking the 41° parallel as a north/south boundary. In the southern region, schools of up to seven sperm whales were sighted and calves were relatively frequent. The animals ranged between 8·6 m and 13·1 m long. In the northern region, school sizes were significantly smaller, with a maximum of three whales sighted at the surface. However, the acoustic survey showed that sperm whales form loose aggregations of up to five animals in certain areas. Whales detected in the north were 12·6 m long on average, and the body size range was relatively small. This summer survey demonstrated a segregation of males, in the north, from larger schools including calves, which seemed to be confined to the southern region.


2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (10) ◽  
pp. 2363-2377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tinglei Jiang ◽  
Jing Wang ◽  
Hui Wu ◽  
Gabor Csorba ◽  
Sébastien J. Puechmaille ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 161
Author(s):  
Sławomir Mitrus ◽  
Bartłomiej Najbar ◽  
Adam Kotowicz ◽  
Anna Najbar
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  

Author(s):  
Adrian Marciszak ◽  
Yuriy Semenov ◽  
Piotr Portnicki ◽  
Tamara Derkach

AbstractCranial material ofPachycrocuta brevirostrisfrom the late Early Pleistocene site of Nogaisk is the first record of this species in Ukraine. This large hyena was a representative of the Tamanian faunal complex and a single specialised scavenger in these faunas. The revisited European records list ofP.brevirostrisdocumented the presence of this species in 101 sites, dated in the range of 3.5–0.4 Ma. This species first disappeared in Africa, survived in Europe until ca. 0.8–0.7 Ma, and its last, relict occurrence was known from south-eastern Asia. The main reason of extinction ofP.brevirostrisprobably was the competition withCrocuta crocuta. The cave hyena was smaller, but its teeth were proportionally larger to the body size, better adapted to crushing bones and slicing meat, and could also hunt united in larger groups.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 444
Author(s):  
Charlotte Curé ◽  
Saana Isojunno ◽  
Marije L. Siemensma ◽  
Paul J. Wensveen ◽  
Célia Buisson ◽  
...  

Controlled exposure experiments (CEEs) have demonstrated that naval pulsed active sonar (PAS) can induce costly behavioral responses in cetaceans similar to antipredator responses. New generation continuous active sonars (CAS) emit lower amplitude levels but more continuous signals. We conducted CEEs with PAS, CAS and no-sonar control on free-ranging sperm whales in Norway. Two panels blind to experimental conditions concurrently inspected acoustic-and-movement-tag data and visual observations of tagged whales and used an established severity scale (0–9) to assign scores to putative responses. Only half of the exposures elicited a response, indicating overall low responsiveness in sperm whales. Responding whales (10 of 12) showed more, and more severe responses to sonar compared to no-sonar. Moreover, the probability of response increased when whales were previously exposed to presence of predatory and/or competing killer or long-finned pilot whales. Various behavioral change types occurred over a broad range of severities (1–6) during CAS and PAS. When combining all behavioral types, the proportion of responses to CAS was significantly higher than no-sonar but not different from PAS. Responses potentially impacting vital rates i.e., with severity ≥4, were initiated at received cumulative sound exposure levels (dB re 1 μPa2 s) of 137–177 during CAS and 143–181 during PAS.


Hydrobiologia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rungtip Wonglersak ◽  
Phillip B. Fenberg ◽  
Peter G. Langdon ◽  
Stephen J. Brooks ◽  
Benjamin W. Price

AbstractChironomids are a useful group for investigating body size responses to warming due to their high local abundance and sensitivity to environmental change. We collected specimens of six species of chironomids every 2 weeks over a 2-year period (2017–2018) from mesocosm experiments using five ponds at ambient temperature and five ponds at 4°C higher than ambient temperature. We investigated (1) wing length responses to temperature within species and between sexes using a regression analysis, (2) interspecific body size responses to test whether the body size of species influences sensitivity to warming, and (3) the correlation between emergence date and wing length. We found a significantly shorter wing length with increasing temperature in both sexes of Procladius crassinervis and Tanytarsus nemorosus, in males of Polypedilum sordens, but no significant relationship in the other three species studied. The average body size of a species affects the magnitude of the temperature-size responses in both sexes, with larger species shrinking disproportionately more with increasing temperature. There was a significant decline in wing length with emergence date across most species studied (excluding Polypedilum nubeculosum and P. sordens), indicating that individuals emerging later in the season tend to be smaller.


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