Migration patterns are fundamentally linked to the spatiotemporal distributions of prey. How migrating animals can respond to changes in their prey’s distribution and abundance remains largely unclear. During the last decade, humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) used specific winter foraging sites in fjords of northern Norway, outside of their main summer foraging season, to feed on herring ...

Animal migration is a fascinating natural phenomenon where large numbers of animals embark on long-distance journeys, seeking out favorable environmental conditions and prey throughout the annual cycle. In this thesis, a range of techniques was used to fill major knowledge gaps in humpback whale (<i>Megaptera novaeangliae</i>) movement patterns and migration ecology in the North Atlantic Ocean. ...

Quantifying the diet composition of apex marine predators such as killer whales (Orcinus orca) is critical to assessing their food web impacts. Yet, with few exceptions, the feeding ecology of these apex predators remains poorly understood. <p>Here, we use our newly validated quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) approach on nearly 200 killer whales and over 900 potential prey to model ...