Similar circling movements observed across marine megafauna taxa

Tomoko Narazaki; Itsumi Nakamura; Kagari Aoki; Takashi Iwata; Kozue Shiomi; Paolo Luschi; Hiroyuki Suganuma; Carl G Meyer; Rui Matsumoto; Charles A Bost; Yves Handrich; Masao Amano; Ryosuke Okamoto; Kyoichi Mori; Stéphane Ciccione; Jérôme Bourjea; Katsufumi Sato

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2021.102221

Similar circling movements observed across marine megafauna taxa

iScience. 2021 Mar 18;24(4):102221. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102221. eCollection 2021 Apr 23.

Authors

Tomoko Narazaki¹, Itsumi Nakamura², Kagari Aoki¹, Takashi Iwata^{1

3

4}, Kozue Shiomi⁵, Paolo Luschi⁶, Hiroyuki Suganuma⁷, Carl G Meyer⁸, Rui Matsumoto⁹, Charles A Bost¹⁰, Yves Handrich¹¹, Masao Amano¹², Ryosuke Okamoto¹³, Kyoichi Mori¹⁴, Stéphane Ciccione¹⁵, Jérôme Bourjea¹⁶, Katsufumi Sato¹

Affiliations

¹ Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8564, Japan.
² Organization for Marine Science and Technology, Nagasaki University, 1551-7 Tairamachi, Nagasaki, Nagasaki 851-2213, Japan.
³ Ocean Policy Research Institute, Sasakawa Peace Foundation, 1-15-16 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8524, Japan.
⁴ Graduate School of Maritime Sciences, Kobe University, 5-1-1 Fukaeminamimachi, Higashinada, Kobe, Hyogo, 658-0022, Japan.
⁵ Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Tohoku University, 6-3 Aoba, Aramaki aza, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8578, Japan.
⁶ Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Via A. Volta 6, Pisa 56126, Italy.
⁷ Everlasting Nature of Asia, 3-17-8 Nishikanagawa, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 221-0822, Japan.
⁸ Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, 46-007 Lilipuna Road, Kaneohe, HI 96744, USA.
⁹ Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, 888 Ishikawa, Motobucho, Kunigamigun, Okinawa 905-0206, Japan.
¹⁰ Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR 7372 CNRS-Université de la Rochelle, Villiers en Bois 79360, France.
¹¹ Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, Strasbourg 67000, France.
¹² Graduate School of Fisheries and Environmental Sciences, Nagasaki University, 1-14 Bunkyo-machi, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan.
¹³ Ogasawara Whale Watching Association, Chichi-jima, Ogasawara, Tokyo 100-2101, Japan.
¹⁴ Department of Animal Sciences, Teikyo University of Science, 2525 Yatsusawa, Uenohara, Yamanashi 409-0193, Japan.
¹⁵ Kelonia, l'observatoire des tortues marines, 46 rue du Général de Gaulle, Saint Leu, La Réunion 97436, France.
¹⁶ MARBEC, Univ. Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Avenue Jean Monnet, Sète 34200, France.

Abstract

Advances in biologging technology have enabled 3D dead-reckoning reconstruction of marine animal movements at spatiotemporal scales of meters and seconds. Examining high-resolution 3D movements of sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier, N = 4; Rhincodon typus, N = 1), sea turtles (Chelonia mydas, N = 3), penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus, N = 6), and marine mammals (Arctocephalus gazella, N = 4; Ziphius cavirostris, N = 1), we report the discovery of circling events where animals consecutively circled more than twice at relatively constant angular speeds. Similar circling behaviors were observed across a wide variety of marine megafauna, suggesting these behaviors might serve several similar purposes across taxa including foraging, social interactions, and navigation.

Keywords: Animals; Biological Sciences; Ecology; Ethology; Zoology.