Drone footage provides new insight into gray whales' acrobatic feeding behavior

Date:
September 25, 2024

Source:
Oregon State University

Drone footage captured by researchers in Oregon State University's Marine Mammal Institute is offering new insight into the acrobatics undertaken by gray whales foraging in the waters off the coast of Oregon.

The whales' movements, including forward and side-swimming, headstands and the use of "bubble blasts" change as the whales grow, said Clara Bird, a researcher in the Marine Mammal Institute's Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna Laboratory.

Using drone footage captured over seven years, Bird quantified the gray whales' behavior and their individual size and body condition. She found that the probability of whales using these behaviors changes with age.

Younger, smaller whales are more apt to use forward swimming behaviors while foraging. Older, larger whales are more likely to headstand, a head-down position where the whale is pushing its mouth into the ocean floor. The probability of whales using these behaviors changes with age.

"Our findings suggest that this headstanding behavior requires strength and coordination. For example, we often see whales sculling much like synchronized swimmers do while they are headstanding. It is likely this behavior is learned by the whales as they mature," said Bird, who led the research as part of her doctoral dissertation. "We have footage of whale calves trying to copy this behavior and they're not able to do it successfully."

More:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/09/240925143959.htm