Ecological niche segregation among five toothed whale species off the NW Iberian Peninsula using ecological tracers as multi-approach

Paula Méndez-Fernandez (1) , G.J. Pierce (2) , P. Bustamante (1) , Tiphaine Chouvelon (1) , Marisa Ferreira (3) , Angel Gonzalez (4) , Alfredo Lopez (5) , Fiona Read (6) , Maria Begoña Santos (7) , Jérôme Spitz (1) , José Vingada (8) , Florence Caurant (1)

1 LIENSs - LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés
2 University of Aberdeen
3 SPVS - Sociedade Portuguesa de vida Selvagem
4 ECOBIOMAR - Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas
5 CEMMA - Coordinadora para o Estudo dos Mamiferos Mariños
6 WDCS - Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society
7 IEO - Instituto Español de Oceanografía - Spanish Institute of Oceanography
8 CESAM and Department of Biology

This study aims to assess niche segregation among the five main toothed whales that frequent the NW Iberian Peninsula waters: the common dolphin, the harbour porpoise, the bottlenose dolphin, the striped dolphin and the long-finned pilot whale. We used cadmium (Cd) and stable isotope ratios (d13C and d15N) as ecological tracers to assess degree of segregation in diet/trophic level and in foraging habitat, over various time-scales. d13C values highlighted different habitats, while Cd concentrations highlighted feeding differences between oceanic and neritic species. Moreover, d15N values suggest different trophic levels of prey targeted within oceanic and neritic species. Hence, results revealed long-term ecological segregation among five toothed whales that coexist in the NWIP and demonstrated the ability of ecological tracers to discriminate ecological niches among closely related species

Domaines: Ecologie, Environnement

Paula Méndez-Fernandez, G.J. Pierce, P. Bustamante, Tiphaine Chouvelon, Marisa Ferreira, et al.. Ecological niche segregation among five toothed whale species off the NW Iberian Peninsula using ecological tracers as multi-approach. Marine Biology, 2013, pp.1-16. ⟨10.1007/s00227-013-2274-9⟩. ⟨hal-00842319⟩