Environmental extremes versus ecological extremes: impact of a massive iceberg on the population dynamics of a high-level Antarctic marine predator
Extreme events have been suggested to play a disproportionate role in shaping ecological processes, but our understanding of the types of environmental conditions that elicit extreme consequences in natural ecosystems is limited. Here, we investigated the impact of a massive iceberg on the dynamics...
Published in: | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rspb.2012.1733 2024-06-02T07:58:17+00:00 Environmental extremes versus ecological extremes: impact of a massive iceberg on the population dynamics of a high-level Antarctic marine predator Chambert, Thierry Rotella, Jay J. Garrott, Robert A. 2012 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.1733 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2012.1733 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2012.1733 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences volume 279, issue 1747, page 4532-4541 ISSN 0962-8452 1471-2954 journal-article 2012 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.1733 2024-05-07T14:16:51Z Extreme events have been suggested to play a disproportionate role in shaping ecological processes, but our understanding of the types of environmental conditions that elicit extreme consequences in natural ecosystems is limited. Here, we investigated the impact of a massive iceberg on the dynamics of a population of Weddell seals. Reproductive rates of females were reduced, but survival appeared unaffected. We also found suggestive evidence for a prolonged shift towards higher variability in reproductive rates. The annual number of females attending colonies showed unusual swings during the iceberg period, a pattern that was apparently the consequence of changes in sea-ice conditions. In contrast to the dramatic effects that were recorded in nearby populations of emperor penguins, our results suggest that this unusual environmental event did not have an extreme impact on the population of seals in the short-term, as they managed to avoid survival costs and were able to rapidly re-achieve high levels of reproduction by the end of the perturbation. Nevertheless, population projections suggest that even this modest impact on reproductive rates could negatively affect the population in the long run if such events were to occur more frequently, as is predicted by models of climate change. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Emperor penguins Iceberg* Sea ice Weddell Seals The Royal Society Antarctic Weddell Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 279 1747 4532 4541 |
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Open Polar |
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The Royal Society |
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crroyalsociety |
language |
English |
description |
Extreme events have been suggested to play a disproportionate role in shaping ecological processes, but our understanding of the types of environmental conditions that elicit extreme consequences in natural ecosystems is limited. Here, we investigated the impact of a massive iceberg on the dynamics of a population of Weddell seals. Reproductive rates of females were reduced, but survival appeared unaffected. We also found suggestive evidence for a prolonged shift towards higher variability in reproductive rates. The annual number of females attending colonies showed unusual swings during the iceberg period, a pattern that was apparently the consequence of changes in sea-ice conditions. In contrast to the dramatic effects that were recorded in nearby populations of emperor penguins, our results suggest that this unusual environmental event did not have an extreme impact on the population of seals in the short-term, as they managed to avoid survival costs and were able to rapidly re-achieve high levels of reproduction by the end of the perturbation. Nevertheless, population projections suggest that even this modest impact on reproductive rates could negatively affect the population in the long run if such events were to occur more frequently, as is predicted by models of climate change. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Chambert, Thierry Rotella, Jay J. Garrott, Robert A. |
spellingShingle |
Chambert, Thierry Rotella, Jay J. Garrott, Robert A. Environmental extremes versus ecological extremes: impact of a massive iceberg on the population dynamics of a high-level Antarctic marine predator |
author_facet |
Chambert, Thierry Rotella, Jay J. Garrott, Robert A. |
author_sort |
Chambert, Thierry |
title |
Environmental extremes versus ecological extremes: impact of a massive iceberg on the population dynamics of a high-level Antarctic marine predator |
title_short |
Environmental extremes versus ecological extremes: impact of a massive iceberg on the population dynamics of a high-level Antarctic marine predator |
title_full |
Environmental extremes versus ecological extremes: impact of a massive iceberg on the population dynamics of a high-level Antarctic marine predator |
title_fullStr |
Environmental extremes versus ecological extremes: impact of a massive iceberg on the population dynamics of a high-level Antarctic marine predator |
title_full_unstemmed |
Environmental extremes versus ecological extremes: impact of a massive iceberg on the population dynamics of a high-level Antarctic marine predator |
title_sort |
environmental extremes versus ecological extremes: impact of a massive iceberg on the population dynamics of a high-level antarctic marine predator |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.1733 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2012.1733 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2012.1733 |
geographic |
Antarctic Weddell |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Weddell |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Emperor penguins Iceberg* Sea ice Weddell Seals |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Emperor penguins Iceberg* Sea ice Weddell Seals |
op_source |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences volume 279, issue 1747, page 4532-4541 ISSN 0962-8452 1471-2954 |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.1733 |
container_title |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
container_volume |
279 |
container_issue |
1747 |
container_start_page |
4532 |
op_container_end_page |
4541 |
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1800741569757708288 |