Earthquakes can significantly impact ecosystem function and survivability of marine organisms, however their effect on marine predators remains unknown. In November 2016, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake triggered a ‘canyon flushing’ event in the submarine canyon of Kaikōura (New Zealand), a year-round foraging ground for sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus). Underwater landslips and turbidity currents caused significant changes to the seafloor and removed large quantities of benthic biomass from the canyon. To investigate the potential impact of the earthquake on habitat use by sperm whales, we used a multi-year dataset to quantify changes in their behaviour, foraging distribution and use of food resources before and after the earthquake. The diving locations and behaviour of individual whales were recorded during summer and winter from January 2014 to January 2018, and samples of sloughed skin were collected for bulk and amino acid specific stable isotope analyses. While blow rates remained unchanged, the mean surface interval between dives was 25% longer for about one year after the earthquake, potentially reflecting increased effort searching for prey. Stable isotope ratios of sperm whale skin provided no evidence for change in diet. However, significant changes in the distribution of core foraging areas indicated shifts in habitat use for at least one year, potentially driven by changes in the seafloor and prey availability following the canyon flushing. Overall, our observations suggested that the earthquake caused alterations in the foraging patterns of sperm whales over a period of at least 12 months. This was the first study to quantify the impact of an earthquake on a marine mammal population, providing new insights into how top predators react and adapt to large-scale events of natural disturbance.

地震会显着影响生态系统的功能和海洋生物的生存能力，但是对海洋捕食者的影响仍然未知。2016年11月，一场7.8级地震在凯库拉（新西兰）的海底峡谷引发了“峡谷冲洗”事件，这是全年开放的抹香鲸觅食场（Physeter macrocephalus）。水下山泥倾泻和浑浊水流使海底发生了重大变化，并从峡谷中清除了大量底栖生物量。为了调查地震对抹香鲸栖息地使用的潜在影响，我们使用了一个多年数据集来量化地震前后其行为，觅食分布和食物资源使用的变化。在2014年1月至2018年1月的夏季和冬季，记录了鲸鱼的潜水地点和行为，并收集了脱落的皮肤样本，以进行体积和氨基酸特异性稳定同位素分析。虽然打击率保持不变，但在地震发生后的大约一年时间里，两次潜水之间的平均水面间隔延长了25％，这可能反映出寻找猎物的努力有所增加。抹香鲸皮的稳定同位素比没有提供饮食变化的证据。但是，核心觅食区分布的显着变化表明栖息地使用至少一年的变化，可能是由于峡谷冲刷之后海底和猎物可利用性的变化所致。总体而言，我们的观察结果表明，地震在至少12个月的时间内引起了抹香鲸觅食方式的变化。这是第一项量化地震对海洋哺乳动物种群影响的研究，从而为顶级掠食者如何做出反应并适应大规模自然干扰事件提供了新见解。可能是由于峡谷冲刷后海底和猎物可用性的变化所驱动。总体而言，我们的观察结果表明，地震在至少12个月的时间内引起了抹香鲸觅食方式的变化。这是第一项量化地震对海洋哺乳动物种群影响的研究，从而为顶级掠食者如何做出反应并适应大规模自然干扰事件提供了新见解。可能是由于峡谷冲刷后海底和猎物可用性的变化所驱动。总体而言，我们的观察表明，地震至少在12个月的时间内引起了抹香鲸觅食方式的变化。这是第一项量化地震对海洋哺乳动物种群影响的研究，从而为顶级掠食者如何做出反应并适应大规模自然干扰事件提供了新见解。