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Environmental influences on tooth growth in sperm whales from southern Australia
Citation
Hamilton, VS and Evans, K and Raymond, B and Hindell, MA, Environmental influences on tooth growth in sperm whales from southern Australia, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 446 pp. 236-244. ISSN 0022-0981 (2013) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2013 Elsevier
DOI: doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2013.05.031
Abstract
Long time series are a necessary tool for investigating relationships between environmental variability and population
parameters in marine predators and establishing changes in these, particularly under longer-term climatic
change. Multi-decadal ecological datasets are however, generally lacking, as their collection requires substantial
commitment.We examined time series of growth layer group widths measured in sperm whale teeth, as indicators
of energetic history, firstly to investigate commonalities in growth both within and between individuals and
secondly to investigate potential relationships between tooth growth and the marine environment. Growth layer
group estimates obtained from the teeth of 27 individual whales ranged 1452 GLGs. Time series of tooth growth
were highly variable both within and between individuals, reflecting differences in overall tooth structure within
individuals and independence of energetic budgets among individuals. Relationships between tooth growth and
broad-scale environmental variables were unclear. Spatial relationships between sea surface temperature and
tooth growth histories were identified across the austral summer and corresponded to historical foraging regions
in southern Australian waters. Our results demonstrate the potential for sperm whale teeth to provide extended
time series of individual growth and nutritional histories. Further research is needed to understand the influence
of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on tooth growth and in association, a better understanding of the responses ofmarine
mammal species to environmental variability.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | Energy budget, Environmental variability, GLG, Marine mammal, nutritional history, time series |
| Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
| Research Group: | Ecology |
| Research Field: | Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology) |
| Objective Division: | Environment |
| Objective Group: | Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity |
| Objective Field: | Marine Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity |
| UTAS Author: | Hamilton, VS (Mrs Vicki Hamilton) |
| UTAS Author: | Evans, K (Dr Karen Evans) |
| UTAS Author: | Hindell, MA (Professor Mark Hindell) |
| ID Code: | 88964 |
| Year Published: | 2013 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 6 |
| Deposited By: | IMAS Research and Education Centre |
| Deposited On: | 2014-02-21 |
| Last Modified: | 2017-11-01 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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