Availability of preferred salmonid prey and a sufficiently quiet acoustic environment in which to forage are critical to the survival of resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the northeastern Pacific. Although piscivorous killer whales rely on echolocation to locate and track prey, the relationship between echolocation, movement, and prey capture during foraging by wild individuals is poorly understood. We used acoustic biologging tags to relate echolocation behavior to prey pursuit and capture during successful feeding dives by fish-eating killer whales in coastal British Columbia, Canada. The significantly higher incidence and rate of echolocation prior to fish captures compared to afterward confirms its importance in prey detection and tracking. Extremely rapid click sequences (buzzes) were produced before or concurrent with captures of salmon at depths typically exceeding 50 m, and were likely used by killer whales for close-range prey targeting, as in other odontocetes. Distinctive crunching and tearing sounds indicative of prey-handling behavior occurred at relatively shallow depths following fish captures, matching concurrent observations that whales surfaced with fish prior to consumption and often shared prey. Buzzes and prey-handling sounds are potentially useful acoustic signals for estimating foraging efficiency and determining if resident killer whales are meeting their energetic requirements.

中文翻译：

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虎鲸 (Orcinus orca) 在追捕太平洋鲑鱼 (Oncorhynchus spp.) 过程中发出的回声定位和处理猎物声音的行为背景


首选鲑鱼猎物的可用性和足够安静的觅食声学环境对于东北太平洋虎鲸（ Orcinus orca ）的生存至关重要。尽管食鱼虎鲸依靠回声定位来定位和跟踪猎物，但野生个体在觅食期间回声定位、运动和猎物捕获之间的关系却知之甚少。我们使用声学生物记录标签将回声定位行为与加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省沿海食鱼虎鲸成功潜水进食期间的猎物追踪和捕获联系起来。与捕获后相比，捕获鱼之前回声定位的发生率和比率明显更高，这证实了其在猎物检测和跟踪中的重要性。在通常超过 50 m 的深度捕获鲑鱼之前或同时，会产生极快的咔哒声序列（嗡嗡声），虎鲸很可能使用这种声音来近距离瞄准猎物，就像其他齿鲸一样。鱼类捕获后，在相对较浅的深度发生了独特的嘎吱声和撕裂声，表明鲸鱼处理猎物的行为，这与鲸鱼在食用前与鱼一起浮出水面并经常共享猎物的同时观察结果相匹配。嗡嗡声和处理猎物的声音是潜在有用的声学信号，可用于估计觅食效率并确定居住的虎鲸是否满足其能量需求。