The kinematics of a tagged entangled North Atlantic right whale, before, during and after disentanglement were examined. Three sets of gear attached to a load-cell tensiometer at multiple speeds were used to calculate additional drag forces and energetic demand. Tag analyses revealed significant increases in dive depths and duration; ascent, descent and fluke stroke rates; and decreases in rot mean square fluke amplitude were significantly greater than in the non-entangled case. Increases in total power input over the non-entangled condition ranged from 1.6% to 120.9% for all gear configurations tested. Locomotory power requirements increased 60-164.6%. These results suggest significant alteration to swimming patterns and the magnitude of energy depletion in a chronically entangled whale.
Year
Journal/Publisher Name
Marine Mammal Science
Volume (Issue #)
30
Page #s
282-307
Contact information
Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts, U.S.A
jvanderhoop@whoi.edu
jvanderhoop@whoi.edu
Summary