Thursday 21 March 2019

Migrating blue whales rely on memory more than environmental cues to find prey


Date:  February 26, 2019
Source:  Oregon State University
Blue whales reach their massive size by relying on their exceptional memories to find historically productive feeding sites rather than responding in real time to emerging prey patches, a new study concludes.
Researchers examining records of both whale migration and oceanic conditions in the California Current Ecosystem found that blue whales almost perfectly match the timing of their migration to the historical average timing of krill production, rather than matching the waves of krill availability in any given year.
The findings suggest that blue whales locate prey by relying on memory to return to stable, high-quality foraging sites, which historically have served them well but could make it difficult for the whales to adapt if novel ecosystem changes emerge as a result of climate change.
Results of the study are being published next week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.



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