Current Biology (2016)
The question of how individuals acquire and allocate resources to maximize fitness is central in evolutionary ecology. Basic information on prey selection, search effort, and capture rates are critical for…
Seasonal habitat-based density models for a marine top predator, the harbor porpoise, in a dynamic environment
Gilles, A.; Viquerat, S.; Becker, E. A.; Forney, K. A.; Geelhoed, S. C. V.; Haelters, J.; Nabe-Nielsen, J.; Scheidat, M.; Siebert, U.; Sveegaard, S.; van Beest, F. M.; van Bemmelen, R.; Aarts, G.
Ecosphere (2016)
Effective species conservation and management requires information on species distribution patterns, which is challenging for highly mobile and cryptic species that may be subject to multiple anthropogenic stressors across international…
Diel and seasonal patterns in acoustic presence and foraging behaviour of free-ranging harbour porpoises
Schaffeld, T.; Bräger, S.; Gallus, A.; Dähne, M.; Krügel, K.; Herrmann, A.; Jabbusch, M.; Ruf, T.; Verfuß, U. K.; Benke, H.; Koblitz, J. C.
Marine Ecology Progress Series (2016)
A temporal and geographical analysis of echolocation activity can give insights into the behaviour of free-ranging harbour porpoises Phocoena phocoena. Seasonal and diel patterns in the presence and foraging activity…
Meals on wheels? A decade of megafaunal visual and acoustic observations from offshore oil & gas rigs and platforms in the North and Irish Seas
Todd, Victoria Louise Georgia; Warley, Jane Clare; Todd, Ian Boyer
PLOS ONE (2016)
A decade of visual and acoustic detections of marine megafauna around offshore Oil & Gas (O&G) installations in the North and Irish Seas are presented. Marine megafauna activity was monitored…
Characterization of the temporomandibular joint of the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) and Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus)
McDonald, M.; Vapniarsky-Arzi, N.; Verstraete, F.J.M.; Staszyk, C.; Leale, D.M.; Woolard, K.D.; Arzi, B.
Archives of Oral Biology (2015)
Objectives The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) in cetaceans is largely uncharacterized. This study aims to describe the macroscopic, microscopic, biochemical and biomechanical features of the TMJ of two species of the…
Eat and be eaten – Porpoise diet studies
Leopold, Maarten Frederik
Doctoral Thesis - Wageningen University (2015)
1. Diet studies of marine mammals typically summarise prey composition across all individuals studied. Variation in individual diets is usually ignored, but may be more than just “noise” around an…
Predation of harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) by grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) in Wales
Stringell, Thomas; Hill, Dave; Rees, Dafydd; Rees, Ffion; Rees, Padrig; Morgan, Greg
Aquatic Mammals (2015)
(...)Grey seals are generalist feeders, taking a wide variety of fish, mollusc, echinoderm, crustacean, and cephalopod prey (Bowen & Harrison, 1994; Hammond et al., 1994; Strong, 1996; Brown et al.,…
Porpoises: From predators to prey
Leopold, Mardik F.; Begeman, Lineke; Heße, Eileen; van der Hiele, Jaap; Hiemstra, Sjoukje; Keijl, Guido; Meesters, Erik H.; Mielke, Lara; Verheyen, Dorien; Gröne, Andrea
Journal of Sea Research (2015)
Along the Dutch shores hundreds of harbour porpoises Phocoena phocoena are stranded each year. A recurrent phenomenon in the Netherlands is a surge of strandings in late winter and early…
Effects of noise and by-catch on a Danish harbour porpoise population
Nabe-Nielsen, Jacob; Sibly, Richard M.; Tougaard, Jakob; Teilmann, Jonas; Sveegaard, Signe
Ecological Modelling (2014)
Ships and wind turbines generate noise, which can have a negative impact on marine mammal populations by scaring animals away. Effective modelling of how this affects the populations has to…
Unique feeding morphology in a new Prognathous extinct porpoise from the Pliocene of California
Racicot, Rachel A.; Deméré, Thomas A.; Beatty, Brian L.; Boessenecker, Robert W.
Current Biology (2014)
Modern porpoises (Odontoceti: Phocoenidae) are some of the smallest cetaceans and usually feed near the seafloor on small fish and cephalopods [1, 2 and 3]. Within both extinct and extant…