Diversity of deep-water cetaceans and primary productivity

Abstract

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 408:1-5 (2010) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08619 FEATURE ARTICLE Diversity of deep-water cetaceans and primary productivity Hal Whitehead*, Kristin O’Brien, Boris Worm Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4J1, Canada *Email: hwhitehe@dal.ca ABSTRACT: Recently, it has been suggested that mammal diversity both on land and in the sea is controlled by patterns of primary productivity. Here we tested the hypotheses that large-scale patterns of marine mammal diversity are linked to primary productivity, sea surface temperature (SST) or a combination of these 2 factors. We used a consistently sampled sightings database of deep-water cetaceans in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, along with in situ SST measurements and 3 satellite-derived productivity measures matched spatially and temporally to available sightings. Cetacean genus richness peaked in regions of high primary productivity (>1000 to 1500 mg C m–2 d–1), but most of this effect is captured by optimal SST in those same regions. Our results show that the best-supported, explanatory models of cetacean diversity included SST, while the addition of satellite-derived measures of productivity did not improve predictive capacity. Marine mammal richness globally peaks around 40°N and S, and may result more directly from optimal SST at these latitudes rather than high oceanic productivity. KEY WORDS: Biodiversity · Productivity · Sea surface temperature · Cetacean Full text in pdf format Information about this Feature Article NextCite this article as: Whitehead H, O’Brien K, Worm B (2010) Diversity of deep-water cetaceans and primary productivity. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 408:1-5. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08619 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 408. Online publication date: June 03, 2010 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2010 Inter-Research.