Ecology Summary - Balaenoptera musculus

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Ecology of Balaenoptera musculus

Main Ref.	Jefferson, T.A., S. Leatherwood and M.A. Webber, 1993
Remarks	In general, they occur in coastal, shelf, and oceanic waters (Ref. 122680). They can be seen from the equator to the pack ice edges in both hemispheres, with most poleward intrusions in both hemispheres in summer. Some are resident, others are migratory (Ref. 1394). Known as 'gulpers,' feeding in separate events, often lunging at large schools of fish (Ref. 122680). Feeds on krill (Ref. 1394). Feeds at depths less than 100 m (Ref. 1005).

Main Ref.

Jefferson, T.A., S. Leatherwood and M.A. Webber, 1993

Remarks

In general, they occur in coastal, shelf, and oceanic waters (Ref. 122680). They can be seen from the equator to the pack ice edges in both hemispheres, with most poleward intrusions in both hemispheres in summer. Some are resident, others are migratory (Ref. 1394). Known as 'gulpers,' feeding in separate events, often lunging at large schools of fish (Ref. 122680). Feeds on krill (Ref. 1394). Feeds at depths less than 100 m (Ref. 1005).

Aquatic zones / Water bodies

	Marine - Neritic	Marine - Oceanic	Brackishwater	Freshwater
Marine zones / Brackish and freshwater bodies	supra-littoral zone littoral zone sublittoral zone	epipelagic mesopelagic epipelagic abyssopelagic hadopelagic	estuaries/lagoons/brackish seas mangroves marshes/swamps	rivers/streams lakes/ponds caves exclusively in caves

Highighted items on the list are where Balaenoptera musculus may be found.

Habitat

Substrate
Substrate Ref.
Special habitats
Special habitats Ref.

Associations

Ref.	Jefferson, T.A., S. Leatherwood and M.A. Webber, 1993
Associations
Associated with
Association remarks
Parasitism

feeding

Feeding type	mainly animals (troph. 2.8 and up)
Feeding type Ref.	Jefferson, T.A., S. Leatherwood and M.A. Webber, 1993
Feeding habit	hunting macrofauna (predator)
Feeding habit Ref.	Jefferson, T.A., S. Leatherwood and M.A. Webber, 1993

Trophic Level(s)

Estimation method	original sample		unfished population		Remark
Estimation method	Troph	s.e.	Troph	s.e.	Remark
From diet composition	3.20
From individual food items	3.47	0.40			Trophic level estimated from a number of food items using a randomized resampling routine.
Ref.	Pauly, D., A.W. Trites, E. Capuli and V. Christensen, 1998

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