Audible changes in marine trophic ecology: Baleen whale song tracks foraging conditions in the eastern North Pacific

Abstract

Among tremendous biodiversity within the California Current Ecosystem (CCE) are gigantic mysticetes (baleen whales) that produce structured sequences of sound described as song. From six years of passive acoustic monitoring within the central CCE we measured seasonal and interannual variations in the occurrence of blue (Balaenoptera musculus), fin (Balaenoptera physalus), and humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae) whale song. Song detection during 11 months of the year defines its prevalence in this foraging habitat and its potential use in behavioral ecology research. Large interannual changes in song occurrence within and between species motivates examination of causality. Humpback whales uniquely exhibited continuous interannual increases, rising from 34% to 76% of days over six years, and we examine multiple hypotheses to explain this exceptional trend. Potential influences of physical factors on detectability – including masking and acoustic propagation – were not supported by analysis of wind data or modeling of acoustic transmission loss. Potential influences of changes in local population abundance, site fidelity, or migration timing were supported for two of the interannual increases in song detection, based on extensive local photo ID data (17,356 IDs of 2,407 individuals). Potential influences of changes in foraging ecology and efficiency were supported across all years by analyses of the abundance and composition of forage species. Following detrimental food web impacts of a major marine heatwave that peaked during the first year of the study, foraging conditions consistently improved for humpback whales in the context of their exceptional prey-switching capacity. Stable isotope data from humpback and blue whale biopsy samples are consistent with observed interannual variations in the regional abundance and composition of forage species. This study thus indicates that major interannual changes in detection of baleen whale song may reflect underlying variations in forage species availability driven by energetic variations in ecosystem state.