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First published online October 18, 2006
Journal of Experimental Biology 209, 4238-4253 (2006)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2006
doi: 10.1242/jeb.02505

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Extreme diving of beaked whales

Peter L. Tyack^1,*, Mark Johnson¹, Natacha Aguilar Soto², Albert Sturlese³ and Peter T. Madsen^1,4

¹ Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
² Department of Animal Biology, La Laguna University, 38256 La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
³ BluWest, via Scarincio 12, 18100 Imperia (IM), Italy
⁴ Department of Zoophysiology, Biological Institute, University of Aarhus, Denmark

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: ptyack{at}whoi.edu)

Accepted 22 August 2006

Sound-and-orientation recording tags (DTAGs) were used to study 10 beaked whales of two poorly known species, Ziphius cavirostris (Zc) and Mesoplodon densirostris (Md). Acoustic behaviour in the deep foraging dives performed by both species (Zc: 28 dives by seven individuals; Md: 16 dives by three individuals) shows that they hunt by echolocation in deep water between 222 and 1885 m, attempting to capture about 30 prey/dive. This food source is so deep that the average foraging dives were deeper (Zc: 1070 m; Md: 835 m) and longer (Zc: 58 min; Md: 47 min) than reported for any other air-breathing species. A series of shallower dives, containing no indications of foraging, followed most deep foraging dives. The average interval between deep foraging dives was 63 min for Zc and 92 min for Md. This long an interval may be required for beaked whales to recover from an oxygen debt accrued in the deep foraging dives, which last about twice the estimated aerobic dive limit. Recent reports of gas emboli in beaked whales stranded during naval sonar exercises have led to the hypothesis that their deep-diving may make them especially vulnerable to decompression. Using current models of breath-hold diving, we infer that their natural diving behaviour is inconsistent with known problems of acute nitrogen supersaturation and embolism. If the assumptions of these models are correct for beaked whales, then possible decompression problems are more likely to result from an abnormal behavioural response to sonar.

Key words: beaked whale, Ziphius cavirostris, Mesoplodon densirostris, diving, foraging, aerobic dive limit

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