On the Newfoundland foraging ground, humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) primarily consume capelin (Mallotus villosus), which experienced a population collapse in the early 1990s, associated with altered timing of spawning and spawning migration. We examined whether humpback whale movement and distribution match these prey changes. Combining tour company whale sighting reports and photographs, citizen science reports of capelin spawning and scientific monitoring, whales were found to move northward along the east coast and whale aggregation presence within bays was associated with spawning capelin presence, being later in northerly bays. Whale aggregations arrived 8–20 days later than spawning capelin in northern bays, however, suggesting inconsistent tendencies to track high abundance spawning capelin aggregations during migration. Repeated scientific surveys during July–August 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014–2017, within a biological hotspot associated with capelin spawning sites in Notre Dame Bay, revealed that whale presence was influenced by the date of capelin spawning rather than capelin abundance metrics (i.e., biomass, number of shoals, shoal density, shoal area). A photo‐identification catalog compiled during July–August, 2003–2017, revealed a 22% return rate of whales to the hotspot. Overall, findings suggest that capelin spawning sites are important foraging areas for humpback whales in coastal Newfoundland under these altered prey conditions.

中文翻译：

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纽芬兰东海岸沿线的座头鲸（Megaptera novaeangliae）的分布方式反映了它们的主要猎物毛鳞鱼（Mallotus villosus）

在纽芬兰的觅食地上，座头鲸（Megaptera novaeangliae）主要食用毛鳞鱼（Mallotus villosus）在1990年代初经历了人口崩溃，这与产卵和产卵迁徙的时间变化有关。我们检查了座头鲸的活动和分布是否与这些猎物的变化相匹配。结合旅游公司的鲸鱼发现报告和照片，公民科学报告的毛鳞鱼产卵和科学监测，发现鲸鱼沿东海岸向北移动，鲸鱼在海湾中的聚集存在与产卵的毛鳞鱼存在有关，后来又出现在北部海湾。鲸鱼的聚集比北部海湾产卵的海毛素晚了8–20天，这表明在迁移过程中追踪高丰度产卵的海藻素聚集的趋势不一致。在2009年7月至8月，2010年，2012年，2014年至2017年期间进行了多次科学调查，在与巴黎圣母院毛鳞鱼产卵地点相关的生物热点中，鲸鱼的存在受到毛鳞鱼产卵日期的影响，而不是毛鳞鱼丰度指标（即生物量，浅滩数，浅滩密度，浅滩面积）的影响。2003年7月至8月期间编制的照片识别目录显示，鲸鱼返回热点的返还率为22％。总体而言，研究结果表明，在这些变化的猎物条件下，毛鳞鱼产卵场是纽芬兰沿海座头鲸的重要觅食区。显示鲸鱼返回热点的回报率为22％。总体而言，研究结果表明，在这些变化的猎物条件下，毛鳞鱼产卵场是纽芬兰沿海座头鲸的重要觅食区。显示鲸鱼返回热点的回报率为22％。总体而言，研究结果表明，在这些变化的猎物条件下，毛鳞鱼产卵地点是纽芬兰沿海座头鲸的重要觅食区。