Plasticity in the morphometrics and movements of an Antarctic apex predator, the leopard seal
Animals that display plasticity in behavioral, ecological, and morphological traits are better poised to cope with environmental disturbances. Here, we examined individual plasticity and intraspecific variation in the morphometrics, movement patterns, and dive behavior of an enigmatic apex predator,...
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crfrontiers:10.3389/fmars.2022.976019 2024-09-09T19:08:57+00:00 Plasticity in the morphometrics and movements of an Antarctic apex predator, the leopard seal Kienle, Sarah S. Goebel, Michael E. LaBrecque, Erin Borras-Chavez, Renato Trumble, Stephen J. Kanatous, Shane B. Crocker, Daniel E. Costa, Daniel P. Office of Polar Programs 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.976019 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.976019/full unknown Frontiers Media SA https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Frontiers in Marine Science volume 9 ISSN 2296-7745 journal-article 2022 crfrontiers https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.976019 2024-08-06T04:04:29Z Animals that display plasticity in behavioral, ecological, and morphological traits are better poised to cope with environmental disturbances. Here, we examined individual plasticity and intraspecific variation in the morphometrics, movement patterns, and dive behavior of an enigmatic apex predator, the leopard seal ( Hydrurga leptonyx ). Satellite/GPS tags and time-depth recorders were deployed on 22 leopard seals off the Western Antarctic Peninsula. Adult female leopard seals were significantly larger (454±59 kg) and longer (302±11 cm) than adult males (302±22 kg, 276±11 cm). As females were 50% larger than their male counterparts, leopard seals are therefore one of the most extreme examples of female-biased sexual size dimorphism in marine mammals. Female leopard seals also spent more time hauled-out on land and ice than males. In the austral spring/summer, three adult female leopard seals hauled-out on ice for 10+ days, which likely represent the first satellite tracks of parturition and lactation for the species. While we found sex-based differences in morphometrics and haul-out durations, other variables, including maximum distance traveled and dive parameters, did not vary by sex. Regardless of sex, some leopard seals remained in near-shore habitats, traveling less than 50 kilometers, while other leopard seals traveled up to 1,700 kilometers away from the tagging location. Overall, leopard seals were short (3.0±0.7 min) and shallow (29±8 m) divers. However, within this general pattern, some individual leopard seals primarily used short, shallow dives, while others switched between short, shallow dives and long, deep dives. We also recorded the single deepest and longest dive made by any leopard seal—1, 256 meters for 25 minutes. Together, our results showcased high plasticity among leopard seals tagged in a single location. These flexible behaviors and traits may offer leopard seals, an ice-associated apex predator, resilience to the rapidly changing Southern Ocean. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Hydrurga leptonyx Leopard Seal Leopard Seals Southern Ocean Frontiers (Publisher) Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Austral Hydrurga ENVELOPE(-61.626,-61.626,-64.145,-64.145) Southern Ocean Frontiers in Marine Science 9 |
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Frontiers (Publisher) |
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Animals that display plasticity in behavioral, ecological, and morphological traits are better poised to cope with environmental disturbances. Here, we examined individual plasticity and intraspecific variation in the morphometrics, movement patterns, and dive behavior of an enigmatic apex predator, the leopard seal ( Hydrurga leptonyx ). Satellite/GPS tags and time-depth recorders were deployed on 22 leopard seals off the Western Antarctic Peninsula. Adult female leopard seals were significantly larger (454±59 kg) and longer (302±11 cm) than adult males (302±22 kg, 276±11 cm). As females were 50% larger than their male counterparts, leopard seals are therefore one of the most extreme examples of female-biased sexual size dimorphism in marine mammals. Female leopard seals also spent more time hauled-out on land and ice than males. In the austral spring/summer, three adult female leopard seals hauled-out on ice for 10+ days, which likely represent the first satellite tracks of parturition and lactation for the species. While we found sex-based differences in morphometrics and haul-out durations, other variables, including maximum distance traveled and dive parameters, did not vary by sex. Regardless of sex, some leopard seals remained in near-shore habitats, traveling less than 50 kilometers, while other leopard seals traveled up to 1,700 kilometers away from the tagging location. Overall, leopard seals were short (3.0±0.7 min) and shallow (29±8 m) divers. However, within this general pattern, some individual leopard seals primarily used short, shallow dives, while others switched between short, shallow dives and long, deep dives. We also recorded the single deepest and longest dive made by any leopard seal—1, 256 meters for 25 minutes. Together, our results showcased high plasticity among leopard seals tagged in a single location. These flexible behaviors and traits may offer leopard seals, an ice-associated apex predator, resilience to the rapidly changing Southern Ocean. |
author2 |
Office of Polar Programs |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kienle, Sarah S. Goebel, Michael E. LaBrecque, Erin Borras-Chavez, Renato Trumble, Stephen J. Kanatous, Shane B. Crocker, Daniel E. Costa, Daniel P. |
spellingShingle |
Kienle, Sarah S. Goebel, Michael E. LaBrecque, Erin Borras-Chavez, Renato Trumble, Stephen J. Kanatous, Shane B. Crocker, Daniel E. Costa, Daniel P. Plasticity in the morphometrics and movements of an Antarctic apex predator, the leopard seal |
author_facet |
Kienle, Sarah S. Goebel, Michael E. LaBrecque, Erin Borras-Chavez, Renato Trumble, Stephen J. Kanatous, Shane B. Crocker, Daniel E. Costa, Daniel P. |
author_sort |
Kienle, Sarah S. |
title |
Plasticity in the morphometrics and movements of an Antarctic apex predator, the leopard seal |
title_short |
Plasticity in the morphometrics and movements of an Antarctic apex predator, the leopard seal |
title_full |
Plasticity in the morphometrics and movements of an Antarctic apex predator, the leopard seal |
title_fullStr |
Plasticity in the morphometrics and movements of an Antarctic apex predator, the leopard seal |
title_full_unstemmed |
Plasticity in the morphometrics and movements of an Antarctic apex predator, the leopard seal |
title_sort |
plasticity in the morphometrics and movements of an antarctic apex predator, the leopard seal |
publisher |
Frontiers Media SA |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.976019 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.976019/full |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-61.626,-61.626,-64.145,-64.145) |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Austral Hydrurga Southern Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Austral Hydrurga Southern Ocean |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Hydrurga leptonyx Leopard Seal Leopard Seals Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Hydrurga leptonyx Leopard Seal Leopard Seals Southern Ocean |
op_source |
Frontiers in Marine Science volume 9 ISSN 2296-7745 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.976019 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
9 |
_version_ |
1809823222568321024 |