Data from: Sperm whale dive behavior characteristics derived from intermediate-duration archival tag data

Citation
Irvine LM, Mate BR, Palacios DM, Follett TM. 2019. Data from: Sperm whale dive behavior characteristics derived from intermediate-duration archival tag data. Movebank Data Repository. https://doi.org/10.5441/001/1.rj857167
Abstract
Here, we describe the diving behavior of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) using the Advanced Dive Behavior (ADB) tag, which records depth data at 1‐Hz resolution and GPS‐quality locations for over 1 month, before releasing from the whale for recovery. A total of 27 ADB tags were deployed on sperm whales in the central Gulf of California, Mexico, during spring 2007 and 2008, of which 10 were recovered for data download. Tracking durations of all tags ranged from 0 to 34.5 days (median = 2.3 days), and 0.6 to 26.6 days (median = 5.0 days) for recovered tags. Recovered tags recorded a median of 50.8 GPS‐quality locations and 42.6 dives per day. Dive summary metrics were generated for archived dives and were subsequently classified into six categories using hierarchical cluster analysis. A mean of 77% of archived dives per individual were one of four dive categories with median Maximum Dive Depth >290 m (V‐shaped, Mid‐water, Benthic, or Variable), likely associated with foraging. Median Maximum Dive Depth was <30 m for the other two categories (Short‐ and Long‐duration shallow dives), likely representing socializing or resting behavior. Most tagged whales remained near the tagging area during the tracking period, but one moved north of Isla Tiburón, where it appeared to regularly dive to, and travel along the seafloor. Three whales were tagged on the same day in 2007 and subsequently traveled in close proximity (<1 km) for 2 days. During this period, the depth and timing of their dives were not coordinated, suggesting they were foraging on a vertically heterogeneous prey field. The multiweek dive records produced by ADB tags enabled us to generate a robust characterization of the diving behavior, activity budget, and individual variation for an important predator of the mesopelagos over temporal and spatial scales not previously possible.
Keywords
Physeter macrocephalus,animal tracking,diving behavior,Physeter macrocephalus,sperm whale
Taxa
Taxon
Physeter macrocephalus
Sperm Whale, cachalot
Sensors
Sensor
GPS
Related Workflows
DOIs of related Publications
BibTex
@misc{001/1_rj857167,
  title = {Data from: Sperm whale dive behavior characteristics derived from intermediate-duration archival tag data},
  author = {Irvine, LM and Mate, BR and Palacios, DM and Follett, TM},
  year = {2019},
  URL = {http://dx.doi.org/10.5441/001/1.rj857167},
  doi = {doi:10.5441/001/1.rj857167},
  publisher = {Movebank data repository}
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
ID  - doi:10.5441/001/1.rj857167
T1  - Data from: Sperm whale dive behavior characteristics derived from intermediate-duration archival tag data
AU  - Irvine, Ladd M.
AU  - Mate, Bruce R.
AU  - Palacios, Daniel M.
AU  - Follett, Tomas M.
Y1  - 2019/08/09
KW  - Physeter macrocephalus
KW  - animal movement
KW  - animal tracking
KW  - diving behavior
KW  - Physeter macrocephalus
KW  - sperm whale
KW  - Physeter macrocephalus
PB  - Movebank data repository
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.5441/001/1.rj857167
DO  - doi:10.5441/001/1.rj857167
ER  -
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