Trophic niche partitioning among sympatric baleen whale species following the collapse of groundfish stocks in the Northwest Atlantic

Abstract

Ecologically similar species may coexist when resource partitioning over time and space reduces interspecific competition. Understanding resource use within these species assem- blages may help predict how species relative abundance might influence ecosystem functioning. In the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada, 4 species of rorqual whales (blue Balaenoptera musculus, fin B. physalus, minke B. acutorostrata and humpback Megaptera novaeangliae) coexist during the summer feeding period. They can be observed within hundreds of meters of one another, suggest- ing an overlap in ecological niches; yet fine-scale habitat use analyses suggest some resource par- titioning. While major ecological changes have been observed in marine ecosystems, including the Gulf of St. Lawrence, we have little understanding of how the removal of predatory fish might cascade through ecosystems. Here, we take advantage of a 19 yr tissue collection subsequent to a fishery collapse (which occurred in 1992) to investigate trophic niche partitioning within a guild of rorqual whales following the loss of a key ecosystem component, groundfish. We analyzed stable isotope ratios for 626 rorqual individuals sampled between 1992 and 2010. Using Bayesian iso- topic mixing models, we demonstrated that the 4 rorqual species segregated trophically by consuming different proportions of shared prey. An overall increase in δ 15 N values over the study period (post groundfish collapse), particularly for fin and humpback whales, suggested a progres- sive use of higher-trophic level prey, such as small pelagic fish, whereas the stability of blue whale diet over time confirmed their specialized feeding behaviour. This study provides the first long- term assessment of trophic ecology among rorqual populations on this Northwest Atlantic feeding ground, and evidence for differential resource use among large marine predators following ecosystem change.