Beaked whales are some species of marine mammals that can make record diving. During their hour long hunting, they often go to a place several kilometers deep to look for deep-sea squid and fish. Due to their elusive nature and limited surface existence, little is known about their behavior.
Among them, the middle beaked whale has 16 species, which is the largest genus of cetaceans. The genus includes some little-known marine mammals - so much so that these rhinoceros sized whales have found three new species in the past 30 years. Most species are physically very similar and are considered specialized deep-sea predators. In addition, they often appear in the same area and forage at similar depths. This raises the question of how they can avoid competition for the same prey.
Biological analysis
For some beaked whale species, biomarkers attached to their backs with suction cups show that they usually have a low-energy lifestyle: they can dive extremely deep through slow, energy-saving swimming and hunting strategies. But Sowerby beaked whales have never been labeled before. However, after years of efforts, the research team was able to deploy biomarkers on two solby beaked whales. The tag records detailed information about the diving, movement and echolocation strategies of these extremely shy animals, which provides the first opportunity to study their foraging behavior. This makes their hunting strategy directly compared with that of their close relative, the slow-moving Blainville's beaked whale.
Surprise
To the researchers' surprise, the solby beaked whale is very different from other Mesozoic species in swimming and hunting strategies. Although their foraging depth is similar (800-1300 meters), they always swim faster, can make shorter deep dives, and can emit higher frequency clicks to echo location at a faster speed. This first record of "fast" beaked whales shows that middle beaked whales take advantage of a wider diversity of deep-sea niches than hitherto suspected. The deep sea is a rich and diverse hunting ground for marine mammal predators. It is clear that they have developed a wider range of specialized strategies than before to make use of it. Solby beaked whales have significantly deviated from the usually slower behavior of other beaked whales, which also has a potential impact on their response to artificial sounds, which seem to be strongly behavioral driven in other species.