Resource partitioning facilitates coexistence in sympatric cetaceans in the California Current

1. Resource partitioning is an important process driving habitat use and foraging strategies in sympatric species that potentially compete. Differences in foraging behavior are hypothesized to contribute to species coexistence by facilitating resource partitioning, but little is known on the multiple mechanisms for partitioning that may occur simultaneously. Studies are further limited in the marine environment, where the spatial and temporal distribution of resources is highly dynamic and subsequently difficult to quantify. 2. We investigated potential pathways that foraging behavior may facilitate resource partitioning in two of the largest co-occurring and closely related species on Earth, blue (Balaenoptera musculus) and humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae) whales. 3. We integrated multiple long-term datasets (line-transect surveys, whale-watching records, net sampling, stable isotope analysis, and remote-sensing of oceanographic parameters) to compare the diet, phenology, and distribu...1. 资源分区（Resource partitioning）是驱动存在潜在竞争的同域物种（sympatric species）栖息地利用与觅食策略的关键生态过程。学界假说提出，觅食行为差异可通过促进资源分区助力物种共存，但目前针对可同时发生的多种资源分区机制仍知之甚少。相关研究在海洋环境中尤为匮乏：海洋环境中资源的时空分布具有高度动态性，因此难以对其进行量化。 2. 本研究针对地球上现存体型最大的两种共域且亲缘关系密切的鲸类——蓝鲸（Balaenoptera musculus）与座头鲸（Megaptera novaeangliae），探究了觅食行为促进资源分区的潜在路径。 3. 本研究整合多组长期数据集（样线调查、观鲸记录、网采采样、稳定同位素分析及海洋参数遥感），以对比二者的食性、物候及分布……