How an elusive resident whale feeds: Camera-tagging the Malagasy Omura's whale
Name of applicant
Elodie Mandel-Briefer
Title
Associate Professor
Institution
University of Copenhagen
Amount
DKK 170,252
Year
2022
Type of grant
Field Trips / Research Stays >100,000
Summary
Malagasy Omura’s whales are the latest population discovered among baleen whales. In contrast with most of the other species, they occur only in tropical waters and do not migrate between feeding and breeding grounds. By deploying non-invasive multi-sensor camera tags on individual whales, we will get the first insights on their underwater feeding techniques and the associated energetic costs, as well as identify how each feeding techniques varies spatially in the area of study. This study will increase the knowledge about Omura’s whales by shedding light on the first population accessible for research, and generate key information to improve the conservation of resident (non-migratory) baleen whales worldwide.