Data from: Use and prevalence of novel bubble-net foraging strategy in Western Antarctic humpback whales

The innovation of new foraging strategies allows species to optimize their
foraging in response to changing conditions. Humpback whales provide a
good study species for this concept, as they utilize multiple novel
foraging tactics across populations in diverse environments. Bubble-net
feeding (BNF), commonly seen in the Northern Hemisphere, has emerged as a
foraging innovation in the past 20 yr within the Western Antarctic
Peninsula. Using sightings data from 2015–2023, we found that BNF was
present in every study year, with an annual average of 30% of foraging
sightings. This data was supplemented with 26 animal-born tags deployed
over the same study period. Of these tags, 12 detected instances of BNF,
making up an average of 19% of the foraging tactics detected. There were
seasonal trends in BNF sightings, as it was observed significantly more
often at the beginning of the feeding season (January) before declining.
BNF group sizes (mean: 3.41) were significantly larger than non-BNF
surface feeding groups (mean: 2.21). This observation is consistent with
BNF in the Northern Hemisphere, which also appears to primarily be a group
foraging strategy. The seasonal pattern and relatively recent emergence of
BNF suggests that its use is likely tied to specific environmental
conditions, which should be investigated by comparing BNF with variables
such as prey density and light availability. The social transmission of
novel foraging strategies across other populations further suggests that
the prevalence of this strategy likely occurs through social learning.