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Ecological niche segregation among five toothed whale species off the NW Iberian Peninsula using ecological tracers as multi-approach |
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| Authors: | Paula Méndez-Fernandez Graham J Pierce Paco Bustamante Tiphaine Chouvelon Marisa Ferreira Angel F González Alfredo López Fiona L Read M Begoña Santos Jérôme Spitz José V Vingada Florence Caurant |
| Institution: | 1. Littoral Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS-ULR, 2 rue Olympe de Gouges, 17042, La Rochelle Cedex 01, France 2. Coordinadora para o Estudo dos Mamiferos Mari?os (CEMMA), Apdo. 15, 36380, Pontevedra, Spain 3. Centro de Biologia Molecular e Ambiental (CBMA)/Sociedade Portuguesa de Vida Selvagem (SPVS), Departamento de Biologia, Universidade do Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal 4. Oceanlab, University of Aberdeen, Main Street, Newburgh, Aberdeenshire, AB41 6AA, UK 5. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas (C.S.I.C), Eduardo Cabello 6, 36208, Vigo, Spain 6. Instituto Espa?ol de Oceanografía, Centro Oceanográfico de Vigo, Apdo. 1552, 36280, Vigo, Spain 7. Marine Mammal Research Unit, Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada 8. Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), Universidade de Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal |
| Abstract: | 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 (δ13C and δ15N) as ecological tracers to assess degree of segregation in diet/trophic level and in foraging habitat, over various time-scales. δ13C values highlighted different habitats, while Cd concentrations highlighted feeding differences between oceanic and neritic species. Moreover, δ15N 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. |
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