Foraging ecology | MAVE Lab

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Foraging ecology

Oceania is home to a rich diversity of cetaceans, from coastal dolphins to oceanic whales, each relying on different prey, habitats, and foraging strategies. Understanding where and how cetaceans feed is essential for revealing their ecological roles, identifying key habitats, and assessing how environmental change, fisheries interactions, and human activities may affect their populations. This project investigates the foraging and trophic ecology of cetaceans across Oceania using stable isotope analysis and complementary approaches applied to tissue samples from stranded animals and biopsy-sampled individuals. By linking diet, habitat use, and trophic position, we aim to better understand how cetaceans fit within marine food webs and how their foraging ecology may shape their resilience to a changing ocean.

Output & related content

Bury SJ, Peters KJ, Sabadel AJM, St John Glew K, Trueman C, Wunder M, Cobain MRD, Schmitt N, Donnelly D, Magozzi S, Owen K, Brown JCS, Escobar-Flores PC, Constantine R, O'Driscoll RL, Double M, Gales N, Childerhouse S, Pinkerton M (2024). Southern Ocean humpback whale trophic ecology. I. Combining multiple stable isotope methods elucidates diet, trophic position and foraging areas. Marine Ecology Progress Series 734:123-155.

Hinton B, Stockin KA, Bury SJ, Peters KJ, Betty EL (2022). Isotopic niche analysis of long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas edwardii) in Aotearoa, New Zealand waters. Biology 11(10): 1414.

Peters KJ, Bury SJ, Hinton B, Betty EL, Casano-Bally D, Parra GJ, Stockin KA (2022). Too close for comfort? Isotopic niche segregation in New Zealand’s odontocetes. Biology 11(8):1179.

Parra GJP, Wojtkowiak Z, Peters KJ, Cagnazzi D (2022). Isotopic niche overlap between sympatric Australian snubfin and humpback dolphins. Ecology and Evolution 12(5): e8937.

Peters KJ, ... , Stockin KA (2020). Foraging ecology of the common dolphin Delphinus delphis revealed by stable isotope analysis. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 652:173-186.

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