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My research program combines field work, lab work and mathematical modeling to examine the interactions of marine predators and prey across spatial and temporal scales.
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Field work: tagging a blue whale in Monterey Bay
Lab work: measuring the escape response of anchovies
Modeling: how much of a school can a humpback whale catch?
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My research approaches are multi-faceted and focus on uncovering new insights into how predators catch food and how those processes have shaped the contemporary oceans. My primary study system has been the baleen whale predator/prey system which lends itself especially well to studies regarding body size, patchiness, foraging specialization, and, since baleen whales are oxygen breathing marine animals, studies regarding tradeoffs between biomechanical, environmental and physiological constraints:
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Click to enlarge. Reproduced from Cade et al. 2021 Animal Behaviour (in press)
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Broad categories and selected works that describe my research approaches:
Biomechanics
Fundamentally, organisms are limited by their abilities to perform within their environments. My research examines the biomechanical advantages and constraints involved in finding, catching and processing food.
Cade, Levenson et al. 2020. Kinematics of whale shark swimming
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Cade et al. 2016. Engulfment timing of rorqual whale feeding
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Friedlaender et al. 2017. Lateralization in blue whales
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Gough et al. 2019, 2021. Scaling of swimming performance
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Kahane-Rapport et al., 2021. Filtration kinematics
Segre, Cade et al. 2016. Fin whale flipper hydrodynamics
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Patchiness (heterogeneity of resources)
A well known tenet of oceanography is that organisms cannot survive on the mean distribution of resources in the environment, but instead must exploit regions of high-density which can exhibit both spatial and temporal heterogeneity. Yet describing patchiness appropriately is a fundamental challenge in ecology.
Cade, Seakamela, Findlay et al. 2021. Predator-scale spatial analysis of prey patches
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Cade, Fahlbusch, Oestreich, et al. (2021). Social exploitation of extensive, ephemeral prey patches
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Cade & Benoit-Bird 2015. Environmental drivers of deep scattering layer migration
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Findlay et al. 2017. Super-groups off South Africa's west coast
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Friedlaender et al. 2020, Fin whales quadruple their energy input feeding on deep prey patches
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Niche partitioning
In 1991, Perrin observed that there appear to be more rorqual species (and whale species generally) than would be expected, especially given that many rorquals have nearly global ranges and all feed in a similar manner and can feed on similar prey. Resolving this enigma requires investigation into what axis of heterogeneity drives rorqual whale speciation and specialization.
Cade, Carey et al. 2020. Humpback whales catch fish by exploiting the escape responses of fish that evolved for avoidance of smaller predators
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Cade, Kahane-Rapport et al. (2022). Vertical distribution of krill sizes influences foraging behavior of humpback whales
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Goldbogen, Cade, Wisniewska et al. 2019. Energetic advantages of large body size in whales
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Werth et al. 2018. Differences in baleen area across species
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Potvin, Cade et al. 2021. Implications of feeding dynamics across species
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New methods and tools
A technological and engineering revolution has made tools for scientific investigation of wild animals more ubiquitous and available than ever. However, science remains a niche market, and open-access tools for processing data effectively have lagged behind the development of hardware and data collection. Much of my work has focused on developing and disseminating new methods and tools that can be used by both novice and experienced data scientists.
Cade, Gough et al. 2021. Tools for processing inertial sensor data
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Cade et al. 2018. Determining forward speed from accelerometer jiggle
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Cade & Benoit-Bird 2014. Detecting and tracking acoustic scattering layers
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Linsky et al. 2020. Using on-animal camera data to determine environmental ice cover
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Goldbogen, Cade et al. 2017. Integration of accelerometry data and animal-borne video cameras
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Conservation
The fundamental driving force behind all of my science is the idea that the more we know, the more we can make better decisions about how we as a species interact with the planet. Much of my research program directly addresses conservation objectives.
Calambokidis et al. 2019. Ship strike risk of blue and fin whales
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Southall et al. 2019. Blue whale behavioral responses to naval sonar (simulated and real)
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Pirotta et al. 2021. Daily energetic costs of disturbance of blue whales
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Czapanskiy et al. 2021. Short term energetic costs of sonar disturbance for a range of cetacean species
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Bamford et al. 2020. A comparison of humpback whale census methodology.
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Organismal physiology
Similarly to biomechanics, my interests in physiology relate to the dynamics that enhance or constrain foraging efficiency. My research involves organisms with some of the largest physiological needs on the planet; how they are adapted to meet those needs informs how they can interact with their environment.
Goldbogen, Cade et al. 2019. First measurements of a blue whale's heart beat- implications for size limitations.
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Hein et al. 2020. An algorithmic approach to natural behavior- bridging levels of organismal organization
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Tackaberry, Cade et al. 2020. Paired humpback whale mother/calf suckling interactions
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Segre et al. 2020. Energetic costs of breaching behavior
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Potvin, Cade et al., 2020. Energetic costs of foraging behavior in rorqual whales
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