Abstract
Environmental variables are often the primary drivers of species' distributions as they define their niche. However, individuals, or groups of individuals, may sometimes adopt a limited range within this larger suitable habitat as a result of social and cultural processes. This is the case for Eastern Caribbean sperm whales. While environmental variables are reasonably successful in describing the general distribution of sperm whales in the region, individuals from different cultural groups have distinct distributions around the Lesser Antilles islands. Using data collected over 2 years of dedicated surveys in the Eastern Caribbean, we conducted habitat modeling and habitat suitability analyses to investigate the mechanisms responsible for such fine-scale distribution patterns. Vocal clan-specific models were dramatically more successful at predicting distribution than general species models, showing how a failure to incorporate social factors can impede accurate predictions. Habitat variation between islands did not explain vocal clan distributions, suggesting that cultural group segregation in the Eastern Caribbean sperm whale is driven by traditions of site/island fidelity (most likely maintained through conformism and homophily) rather than habitat type specialization. Our results provide evidence for the key role of cultural knowledge in shaping habitat use of sperm whales within suitable environmental conditions and highlight the importance of cultural factors in shaping sperm whale ecology. We recommend that social and cultural information be incorporated into conservation and management as culture can segregate populations on fine spatial scales in the absence of environmental variability.
Original language | English |
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Article number | e9449 |
Journal | Ecology and Evolution |
Volume | 12 |
Issue number | 11 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Nov 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research would not have been possible without support from our partners: CARIMAM and the University of the West Indies, and funders: the National Geographic Society (NGS‐62320R‐19‐2), the AGOA Sanctuary, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Animal Behavior Society. We would also thank the crew that came on Balaena in 2019 and 2020 to help with data collection as well as Dr. Enrico Pirotta for giving advice on habitat modeling. This research was conducted with permission from the Department of Fisheries of St. Lucia, the Department of Marine Resources of St. Kitts and Nevis, the Fisheries Department of Grenada, the Ministry of Agriculture of Montserrat, the Fisheries Division of Dominica, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CACC). We are also grateful to the past and current funders of The Dominica Sperm Whale Project whose contributions enabled the delineation of the clans.
Funding Information:
This research would not have been possible without support from our partners: CARIMAM and the University of the West Indies, and funders: the National Geographic Society (NGS-62320R-19-2), the AGOA Sanctuary, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Animal Behavior Society. We would also thank the crew that came on Balaena in 2019 and 2020 to help with data collection as well as Dr. Enrico Pirotta for giving advice on habitat modeling. This research was conducted with permission from the Department of Fisheries of St. Lucia, the Department of Marine Resources of St. Kitts and Nevis, the Fisheries Department of Grenada, the Ministry of Agriculture of Montserrat, the Fisheries Division of Dominica, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CACC). We are also grateful to the past and current funders of The Dominica Sperm Whale Project whose contributions enabled the delineation of the clans.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
ASJC Scopus Subject Areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Ecology
- Nature and Landscape Conservation
PubMed: MeSH publication types
- Journal Article