September 24, 2021
A study has determined that some large whale species—humpback, fin, and minke whales—use the waters off New York and New Jersey as a supplemental feeding area, feasting on two different types of prey species, Eureka Alert reports.
Publishing their results in the journal Marine Biology Research, a team of scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Columbia University describe the New York Bight (NYB)—the area of water from Montauk Point, New York, to Cape May, New Jersey on the East Coast—as an important supplemental feeding ground for several whale species.
From their boat surveys, the team studied three species of baleen whales:
- Humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae),
- Fin (Balaenoptera physalus), and
- Minke (Balaenoptera acutorostrata).
In nearshore waters less than 6.2 miles from shore, whales were more scattered and fed mostly on schools of Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus), a larger, oily species.
Use of the NYB as a feeding area for some of these whale populations may be evolving with time as unprecedented and ongoing climate-driven shifts in ocean temperatures, currents, and salinity in the Northwest Atlantic drive shifts in whale distribution within other documented feeding areas in adjacent regions.
Said one of the study’s co-lead authors, Carissa King of WCS’s Ocean Giants Program: “There is a lot of excitement about seeing whales in the waters off New York, and we often don’t get to highlight what they are doing here. Considering the high prevalence of foraging behavior documented in the study, it is more likely that changing prey availability and/or oceanographic conditions have led to some recent shifts in whale distribution and greater habitat utilization in coastal waters of the New York Bight.”
Foraging was the primary behavior documented, although resting, traveling, and socializing behaviors also were observed—including instances of competitive group behavior for humpback and fin whales, behaviors that typicallyare associated with breeding areas.
The scientists noted that whales were often observed feeding around shipping lanes and in areas of high recreational boating activity. Of particular concern is the potential for vessel strikes—one of the main causes of injury or death for humpback, fin, and minke whales along the U.S. East Coast.
The authors say the results of the study can help inform management decisions to balance the needs of whales and other wildlife with various ocean resource users and other human activities in the region.
Said Dr. Howard C. Rosenbaum, Director of WCS’s Ocean Giants Program and a co-author of the study: “The extent that we have seen whales and other marine life feeding in the New York Bight are truly amazing wildlife spectacles that need better protection. This new information is particularly important given the current and potential pressures facing whales within the New York Bight. Hopefully our data now illustrate the need for better practices and effective mitigation in this urbanized region.”
Research contact: @EurekAlert
