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Interesting Engineering
Humpback whales create ‘bubble nets’ to catch more prey in single dive
By Mrigakshi Dixit,
4 hours ago
While tool-making is often associated with human intelligence, it’s not exclusive to our species. It turns out that the majestic humpback whales are also tool-makers—albeit in their own unique way.
Researchers from Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) and Alaska Whale Foundation (AWF) have caught humpback whales in the act of unique tool-making behavior.
By producing a series of bubbles, this marine species creates a bubble net that helps them catch seven times more prey in a single dive.
With this recorded behavior, humpback whales have earned a spot among the select club of creatures known for creating their own kind of tools.
“Many animals use tools to help them find food. But very few actually create or modify these tools themselves. We discovered that solitary humpback whales in southeast (SE) Alaska craft complex bubble nets to catch krill, which are tiny shrimp-like creatures,” said Lars Bejder, co-lead author of the study and director of Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP).
“This impressive behavior places humpback whales among the rare group of animals that both make and use their own tools for hunting,” Bejder added.
Some of the other known animals include chimpanzees, crows, bottleneck dolphins, and African elephants, to name a few.
Dr. Will Gough skillfully deploys a suction-cup tag on a foraging humpback whale in Southeast Alaska. MMRP/AWF
Unique bubble nets
Humpback whales have long been observed creating bubble nets to hunt.
According to the latest study, these marine creatures use these nets to maximize their prey acquisition in the Alaskan seas. To optimize the catch, they modify the size, shape, and depth of the net.
“These whales skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form nets with internal rings, actively controlling details like the number of rings, the size and depth of the net, and the spacing between bubbles. This method lets them capture up to seven times more prey in a single feeding dive without using extra energy,” explained Bejder.
Whales are incredibly challenging to study due to their elusive nature. Thanks to technological advancements, researchers have been able to track and understand their behavior both above and below the water’s surface.
The team employed customized tags to identify this new hunting activity.
“We deployed non-invasive suction-cup tags on whales and flew drones over solitary bubble-netting humpback whales in SE Alaska, collecting data on their underwater movements,” said William Gough, co-author and MMRP researcher.
“Whales are a difficult group to study, requiring skill and precision to successfully tag and/or drone them,” Gough added.
This strategy may help in migration
Researchers have gained insights into how migratory humpback whales obtain the energy they require to travel across the Pacific Ocean.
These whales migrate from their wintering grounds in Hawaii to Southeast Alaska. Their food intake throughout the summer and fall months is important to their survival throughout the year.
Whales fall into the group called cetaceans, which also include dolphins and porpoises. This group is facing a barrage of threats, including habitat loss, climate change, fishing pressures, and pollution.
According to the press release, one-quarter of the 92 known cetacean species are at risk of extinction. As a result, immediate and effective conservation actions are required to protect the species now.
By studying how they hunt, scientists can better protect their feeding grounds and ensure their survival for generations to come.
Thanks to innovative research tools, the future holds promise for many more fascinating discoveries about cetacean behavior.
“This is a rich dataset that will allow us to learn even more about the physics and energetics of solitary bubble-netting,” added Bejder. “There is also data coming in from humpback whales performing other feeding behaviors, such as cooperative bubble-netting, surface feeding, and deep lunge feeding, allowing for further exploration of this population’s energetic landscape and fitness.”
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