Prey preferences among the community of deep-diving odontocetes from the Bay of Biscay, Northeast Atlantic

Jérôme Spitz (1) , Yves Cherel (2) , Stéphane Bertin , Jeremy Kiszka , Alexandre Dewez , Vincent Ridoux (1)

1 LIENSs - LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés
2 CEBC - Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé

Long-finnedpilotwhales(Globicephalamelas),Risso'sdolphins(Grampusgriseus), melon-headedwhales (Peponocephalaelectra),Cuvier'sbeakedwhales(Ziphiuscavirostris), Sowerby'sbeakedwhales(Mesoplodon bidens), northernbottlenosewhales(Hyperoodonampullatus), spermwhales(Physetermacrocephalus), dwarf spermwhales(Kogiasima) andpygmyspermwhales(Kogiabreviceps) makeupthelarge communityofdeep-divingodontocetesoccurringofftheBayofBiscay,northeastAtlantic.Theecology of thesetoothedcetaceansispoorlydocumentedworldwide.Thepresentstudydescribedtheirprey preferencesfromstomachcontentanalysisandshowedresourcepartitioningwithintheassemblage. The majorityofthespeciesappearedtobemostlyteutophageous.Fishwasanimportantfoodsource only fortheSowerby'sbeakedwhaleand,toalesserextent,forthelong-finnedpilotwhale.Intermsof foraginghabitatsinferredfrompreycomposition,eitherpelagicoceanicordemersalneritichabitats were exploitedbytoothedwhalesintheBayofBiscay,withonlythelong-finnedpilotwhaleforagingin the twohabitats.Finally,withmorethan14,000identifiedcephalopodsfrom39species,thepresent studyhighlightedalsothepoorlyknowndeep-seacephalopodcommunityofftheBayofBiscayusing top predatorsasbiologicalsamplers.

Domaines: Sciences de l'environnement

Jérôme Spitz, Yves Cherel, Stéphane Bertin, Jeremy Kiszka, Alexandre Dewez, et al.. Prey preferences among the community of deep-diving odontocetes from the Bay of Biscay, Northeast Atlantic. Deep Sea Research, 2011, 58, pp.273-282. ⟨10.1016/j.dsr.2010.12.009⟩. ⟨hal-00573185⟩