1986/01/01 by Robert D. Kenney, Martin A. M. Hyman, Ralph E. Owen +2 · 4 citations
Environmental Science · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Marine animal studies overview #Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamics #Ocean Acidification Effects and Responses #Whale #Right whale #Zooplankton #Predation #Environmental science #Range (aeronautics) #Cetacea #Habitat #Fishery #Ecology #Biology
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1748-7692.1986.tb00024.x
openalex publication_date 1986/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
A bstract The apparent lack of significant recovery of western North Atlantic right whale populations may be related to the availability of prey in exploitable densities. We have attempted to estimate the concentration of zooplankton required by right whales to obtain a net energetic benefit over the long term, using estimated values for body weight, metabolic rate, assimilation efficiency, time spent feeding, mouth size and swimming speed. The estimated range of required energy densities is 7.57 to 2,394 kcal m −3 (3.17 × 10 4 to 1.00 × 10 7 joule m −3 ). These values are from one to more than three orders of magnitude greater than the densest concentration sampled in the vicinity of right whale aggregations in the Great South Channel. Right whales must seek out and exploit extremely dense patches of prey organisms in order to feed efficiently. The presence of such dense patches of zooplankton is likely to be a primary characteristic of spring, summer and fall right whale habitats.