Antarctic minke whales Balaenoptera bonaerensis are rorquals that migrate to Antarctic waters to forage during the austral summer. Because the species frequents the edges of ice packs in summer, the potential impact of long-term physical environmental changes poses serious conservation concerns. Condition along the ice edge vary regionally, sometimes forming small ice free areas (ice gaps), and little is known about whale movement patterns associated with these small-scale variations in the physical environment. In this study, six minke whales were tracked for an average of 31 days (range 4–77 days) from January to March of 2016 and 2017 between 60° E and 140° E above and off the continental shelf. The tracking data of five animals were fitted to a Bayesian hierarchical switching state-space model assembled from ARGOS data filters to estimate behavioral states. Results show that Antarctic minke whales are likely to search for ice gaps areas and remain there for extended periods until the surrounding ice melts, rather than stay at krill rich shelf breaks or areas with high chlorophyll- a concentration. When no ice gaps were nearby, the whales were likely to move eastward along highly concentrated ice packs to find a gap. Our study found a strong association between minke whale movements and ice dynamics during the summer foraging season in this region.

中文翻译：

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南极小须鲸在南大洋印太地区（东经 60 度和东经 140 度）的觅食地沿冰缘发现冰隙

南极小须鲸 Balaenoptera bonaerensis 是一种在南方夏季迁徙到南极水域觅食的长尾鲸。由于该物种在夏季经常出现在冰袋边缘，长期物理环境变化的潜在影响引起了严重的保护问题。沿冰边缘的条件因地区而异，有时会形成小的无冰区（冰隙），而且对与这些物理环境中的这些小规模变化相关的鲸鱼运动模式知之甚少。在这项研究中，从 2016 年 1 月至 3 月和 2017 年，在 60° E 和 140° E 之间，在大陆架之上和之外追踪了六头小须鲸平均 31 天（范围 4-77 天）。将五只动物的跟踪数据拟合到由 ARGOS 数据过滤器组装的贝叶斯分层切换状态空间模型，以估计行为状态。结果表明，南极小须鲸可能会寻找冰隙区域并在那里长时间停留，直到周围的冰融化，而不是停留在磷虾丰富的陆架断裂处或叶绿素 a 浓度高的区域。当附近没有冰隙时，鲸鱼很可能会沿着高度集中的冰层向东移动以寻找间隙。我们的研究发现，该地区夏季觅食季节的小须鲸运动与冰层动力学之间存在很强的关联。而不是留在磷虾丰富的货架断裂处或叶绿素 a 浓度高的地区。当附近没有冰隙时，鲸鱼很可能会沿着高度集中的冰层向东移动以寻找间隙。我们的研究发现，该地区夏季觅食季节的小须鲸运动与冰层动力学之间存在很强的关联。而不是留在磷虾丰富的货架断裂处或叶绿素 a 浓度高的地区。当附近没有冰隙时，鲸鱼很可能会沿着高度集中的冰层向东移动以寻找间隙。我们的研究发现，该地区夏季觅食季节的小须鲸运动与冰层动力学之间存在很强的关联。