Data and code from: Characterization of cooperative feeding dynamics and a novel acoustic indicator of prey capture in herring-eating killer whales
Data files
Jun 05, 2026 version files 77.99 KB
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Acoustic_Slurps_Analysis.R
4.90 KB
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binomil_slurp_per_pc.csv
12.31 KB
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Drivers_of_variation.R
2.11 KB
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FD_scores.csv
8.03 KB
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Focal_slurps.csv
4.40 KB
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individual_tscounts.csv
311 B
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IRR_audio.zip
1.99 KB
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IRR_statistics.R
4.76 KB
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IRR_video.zip
12.32 KB
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NonFocal_slurps.csv
4.46 KB
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README.md
11.83 KB
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Role-taking_analysis.R
1.38 KB
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TS_scores.csv
2.94 KB
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Videoscores_summary.R
6.24 KB
Abstract
Group hunting is a widespread phenomenon, fundamentally shaping predator social dynamics and trophic interactions with their prey. The foraging behaviour of killer whale (Orcinus orca) groups feeding upon herring has been described as cooperative. In this study, we used animal-borne audio and video data to evaluate cooperative interactions and feeding rates of herring-eating killer whales in Icelandic waters. From video observations, whales appeared to stop herding herring following a tail-slap, feeding close to one another on individual stunned herring. By-product mutualism was identified, as whales consumed herring regardless of whether or not they conducted the tail-slap. A “slurping” sound was recorded during 26 % of video-confirmed consumption events, enabling us to estimate a mean (± s.d.) of 29.7 ± 25.3 herring consumed per tail-slap by the foraging group. Role specialisation was indicated, with three tagged whales repeatedly occupying the “tail-slapping” role over the duration of video recording periods. Only 8 % of visually-observed prey consumption events occurred in the absence of tail-slaps (“whole-body attacks”), indicating the cooperative tail-slap feeding is more efficient than whole body attacks. Our study confirms the highly social and cooperative nature of tail-slap feeding by killer whale groups, and provides a novel method to estimate group-level feeding rates.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.tmpg4f59x
Description of the data and file structure
Dataset contains .csv files and R code necessary to run analyses to extract and summarise aspects of feeding behaviour in herring-eating killer whales (Orcinus orca) in Icelandic waters from animal-borne video data, to acoustically characterise suction feeding sounds ("slurps") produced by whales when suction feeding on herring from animal-borne hydrophones, and to estimate group-level feeding rates from slurp occurrence. Files included also include .csv files and R code necessary to run inter-rater reliability (IRR) statistics on video and audio scores by mutliple scorers, as well as the code to run a role-taking analysis of tail-slapping behaviour.
Files and variables
File: IRR_audio.zip
Description: Folder contains the .csv files necessary to run IRR statistics on audio data annotated for "slurping" sounds by two separate scorers. "COUNTallslurp.csv" and "COUNTslurph.csv" contain counts of the number of occurrences of slurps within 5-second time bins, within discrete foraging dives, for all slurps and only high-confidence slurps respectively, within 5-second time bins within discrete foraging dives. "countsSLURPALL.csv" and "countsSLURPH.csv" contain counts of the number of occurrences of slurps across the entirety of discrete foraging dives, for all slurps and only high-confidence slurps respectively. "PAallslurp.csv" and "PAslurph.csv" contain the presence/absence of slurps within 5-second time bins, within discrete foraging dives, for all slurps and only high-confidence slurps respectively.
File: IRR_video.zip
Description: Folder contains the .csv files necessary to run IRR statistics on video data scored for data scored by two (2_raters_222324 sub-folder) and three (3_raters_22 sub-folder). In the two-raters folder (2_raters_222324), "HCFPC_2R_222324.csv", "HCNPC_2R_222324.csv" and "NonfocalTS_2R_222324.csv" contain the presence/absence of scores with 5-second time bins, for high-confidence focal prey consumption, high-confidence non-focal prey consumption and non-focal tail-slap scores, respectively. "fish_2R_222324.csv" contains the presence/absence of fish seen scores with 1-minute time bins. "counts_HCFPC_2R_222324.csv" and "counts_HCNPC_2R_222324.csv" contain the counts of number of occurrences of high-confidence prey consumption scores within 5-second time bins, for focal and non-focal events respectively. In the three-raters folder (3_raters_22), "FPC_3R_22.csv" and "NPC_3R_22.csv" contain the presence/absence of prey consumption events within 5-second time bins, for focal and non-focal events respectively. "fish_3R_22.csv" contains the presence/absence of fish seen scores within 1-minute time bins. "counts_FPC_3R_22.csv" and "counts_NPC_3R_22.csv" contain the counts of number of occurrences of prey consumption events within 5-second time bins, for focal and non-focal events respectively.
File: NonFocal_slurps.csv
Description: Contains acoustic parameter measurements for slurps which were not video-confirmed to be produced by the tagged whale.
Variables
- ID: Identifier for each non-focal slurp.
- Deployment: Tag deployment during which slurp was recorded.
- Low_Freq_Hz: Lower-frequency bound of selection area within which acoustic parameters were measured for each slurp.
- High_Freq_Hz: Upper-frequency bound of selection area within which acoustic parameters were measured for each slurp.
- Dur_90_s: 90 % energy duration for each slurp.
- Inband_Power_dBFS: Inband power measure for each slurp.
- Noise_Inband_Power_dBFS: Inband power measure for section of background noise without slurp similar to background noise during slurp.
- Center_Freq_Hz: Centre frequency measure for each slurp.
- Freq_25_Hz: 25 % energy frequency measure for each slurp.
- Freq_75_Hz: 75 % energy frequency measure for each slurp.
File: TS_scores.csv
Description: Video scores recorded during and characteristics of each individual tail-slap (TS) event.
Variables
- TS_id: Identifier for each individual TS event.
- deployment: Tag deployment during which each TS event occurred.
- duration: Duration of TS event in seconds, from moment of TS to next surfacing or next TS.
- slurp_count: Number of occurrences of all slurps (low + high confidence) during each TS event.
- slurp_h_count: Number of occurrences of only high confidence slurps during each TS event.
- ts_whale: Whale identified to be performing the TS.
- n_ts_whale: Number of whales performing the TS.
- limited_vis: Whether visibility was limiting at any point during a TS event (yes(y)/no(n)).
- limited_fov: Whether field-of-view was limiting at any point during a TS event (yes(y)/no(n)).
- TS_whale_eat: Whether the whale(s) that performed the TS was also observed to consume a fish during the same TS event.
File: binomil_slurp_per_pc.csv
Description: Data necessary to run models to assess potential drivers of variation in slurp production. Each row corresponds to a high-confidence prey consumption event.
Variables
- deployment: Tag deployment during which each prey consumption event occurred.
- slurp: Whether this prey consumption event was accompanied by a slurp (1 = yes, 0 = no).
- pc_whale: Whether the whale consuming a prey was the tagged whale (f) or a non-tagged whale (n).
- time_s: Time since start of tag deployment at which the prey consumption event occurred, in seconds.
- depth: Depth of tagged whale at time at which each prey consumption event occurred, in metres.
- daytime_hour: Time of day at which each prey consumption event occurred, in hours.
- daytime_min: Time of day at which each prey consumption event occurred, in minutes.
- daytime_sec: Time of day at which each prey consumption event occurred, in seconds.
- class: Age/sex class of each tagged whale for each deployment (male, female, juvenile, other or young)
- size: Age/sex size class of each tagged whale for each deployment (male vs other vs calf)
- age: Age class of each tagged whale for each deployment (adult vs young vs other)
- vis: Visibility score (from 0-255) for each prey consumption event.
- n_visPC_TS: Total number of visually-confirmed prey consumption events which occurred during the same tail-slap as the prey consumption event.
- n_visPC_dep: Total number of visually-confirmed prey consumption events which occurred during the same deployment as the prey consumption event.
File: Focal_slurps.csv
Description: Contains acoustic parameter measurements for slurps which were not video-confirmed to be produced by the tagged whale.
Variables
- ID: Identifier for each focal slurp.
- Deployment: Tag deployment during which slurp was recorded.
- Low_Freq_Hz: Lower-frequency bound of selection area within which acoustic parameters were measured for each slurp.
- High_Freq_Hz: Upper-frequency bound of selection area within which acoustic parameters were measured for each slurp.
- Dur_90_s: 90 % energy duration for each slurp.
- Inband_Power_dBFS: Inband power measure for each slurp.
- Noise_Inband_Power_dBFS: Inband power measure for section of background noise without slurp similar to background noise during slurp.
- Center_Freq_Hz: Centre frequency measure for each slurp.
- Freq_25_Hz: 25 % energy frequency measure for each slurp.
- Freq_75_Hz: 75 % energy frequency measure for each slurp.
File: FD_scores.csv
Description: Video scores recorded during and characteristics of each individual foraging dive (FD).
Variables
- Year: Year during which tag deployment occurred.
- Deployment: Tag deployment during which each FD occurred.
- Video Segment: Continuous video segment during which each FD occurred.
- Foraging Dive: Number of foraging dive within each video segment.
- Start: Start time of foraging dives in seconds from start of video segment.
- End: End time of foraging dives in seconds from start of video segment.
- Duration: Duration of each foraging dive in seconds.
- Limited Vis: Whether visibility was limiting at any point during a FD (yes(y)/no(n)).
- Limited FOV: Whether field-of-view was limiting at any point during a FD (yes(y)/no(n)).
- TS_count: Number of acoustically detected TS during each FD.
- SLURP_count: Number of occurrences of all slurps (low + high confidence) during each FD.
- SLURP_H_count: Number of occurrences of high-confidence slurps during each FD.
- vs_TS_PA: Presence/absence of visually-confirmed TS during each FD.
- vis_TS_count: Number of visually-confirmed TS during each FD.
- N TS whales: Number of whales performing TS during each FD.
- TS whale: Whale identified to be performing the TS during each FD.
- TS whale eat: Whether the whale(s) that performed the TS was also observed to consume a fish during the same TS event in each FD.
- Focal_HC_PC: Presence/absence of high-confidence prey consumption events by the tagged whale in each FD.
- Min Number of Foraging whales: Minimum number of whales seen to be consuming fish during each FD (excluding the tagged whale).
- PP_PA: Presence/absence of prey processing and partial prey consumption during each FD.
- vis_F_HCPC: Number of visually confirmed high-confidence prey consumption events by the tagged whale during each FD.
- vis_NF_HCPC: Number of visually confirmed high-confidence prey consumption events by non-tagged whales during each FD.
- vis_HCPC: Number of visually confirmed high-confidence prey consumption events any whale during each FD.
- PC_with_slurp: Number of visually confirmed high-confidence prey consumption events occurring concurrently with a slurp during each FD.
File: individual_tscounts.csv
Description: Number of tail-slap events detected during each feeding bout, including focal tail-slaps, as well as minimum and maximum group size estimates for each feeding bout.
Variables
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dep: Deployment ID for each feeding bout.
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fb: Indication of whether the feeding bout is the first (1) or second (2) feeding bout in each deployment.
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fb_id: Feeding bout ID.
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n_tsvents: The number of TS events detected within each feeding bout.
n_focalts: The number of focal TS events detected within each feeding bout.
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min_n: Minimum group size estimate for each feeding bout.
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max_n: Maximum group size estimate for each feeding bout.
File: IRR_statistics.R
Description: This code runs the IRR statistical tests for the audio and video data contained within the IRR_audio.zip and IRR_video.zip folders respectively.
File: Videoscores_summary.R
Description: The first part of this code extracts and summarises relevant information from video scores within both discrete foraging dives (FD) and tail-slaps (TS). The second part of this code calculates the proportion of PCs accompanied by a slurp, and applies this to estimate group-level feeding rates.
File: Acoustic_Slurps_Analysis.R
Description: This code calculates source levels and runs descriptive stats on measurement outputs from Raven.
File: Drivers_of_variation.R
Description: This code runs models to assess potential drivers of variation in slurp production.
File: Role-taking_analysis.R
Description: This code runs the role-taking analysis of tail-slapping behaviour, simulating an expected distribution of tail-slaps by the focal whale for each feeding bout and comparing it to the observed tail-slapping behaviour.
Code/software
R was utilised for all analyses, with code provided. Libraries necessary are "dplyr", "irr", "lme4" and "MuMIn".