Movements, distribution and feeding success of sperm whales in the Pacific Ocean, over scales of days and tens of kilometers

Movement patterns of groups of female and immature sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus), which were followed over periods of 0.5–2.5 days in the South Pacific, were correlated with defecation rates to investigate foraging behavior, estimate the probable size of patches of prey and the distances between them. Relationships between environmental measures and the distribution and feeding success of groups of sperm whales were also examined. Feeding success and movement patterns were highly variable between groups. Groups with low feeding success moved in a rather straight line while those with high feeding success usually zigzagged over areas about 25–40 km across. As groups with low feeding success traveled in a straight line for 100 to 240 km, distances between ‘good quality’ patches of prey seemed to be on the order of at least 100 km. Both the mean swimming speed and the proportion of time the whales spent foraging showed no significant correlation with either feeding success or movement patterns, suggesting that the groups keep searching for food while traveling in a straight line. There was no relationship between the feeding success of a group and the measures of sub-surface biomass or an index of underwater relief measured along its track. This could be explained by either space or time lags between peaks in secondary productivity and peaks in prey density, and/or by some groups of sperm whales feeding on spawning squid.

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