Distribution, Abundance and Biology of the Crabeater Seal Lobodon Carcinop Hagus in the Pack Ice Region of the Australian Antarctic Territory

• Other Authors: AADC (originator), AU/AADC > Australian Antarctic Data Centre, Australia (resourceProvider)
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: Australian Ocean Data Network
• Subjects: biota; oceans; ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES; EARTH SCIENCE; BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION; SEALS/SEA LIONS/WALRUSES; MAMMALS; CARNIVORES; SPECIES LIFE HISTORY; BIOSPHERE; ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS; SPECIES/POPULATION INTERACTIONS; POPULATION DYNAMICS; Lobodon Carcinophagus; Crabeater Seal; Lactation period; Pup growth rate; Aircraft; HELICOPTER; FIELD SURVEYS; GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS; AMD/AU; CEOS; AMD; CONTINENT > ANTARCTICA; GEOGRAPHIC REGION > POLAR; Antarctic; Australian Antarctic Territory; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica; Crabeater Seals; Enderby Land; Lobodon carcinophagus; walrus*
• Online Access: https://researchdata.ands.org.au/distribution-abundance-biology-antarctic-territory/685822; https://data.aad.gov.au/metadata/records/ASAC_378; https://secure3.aad.gov.au/proms/public/projects/report_project_public.cfm?project_no=378; http://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/portal/download_file.cfm?file_id=2326; http://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/metadata/citation.cfm?entry_id=ASAC_378

This record has been updated by the Australian Antarctic Data Centre, and as such guarantees cannot be made for the accuracy of its contents. Values provided in temporal and spatial coverage are approximate only. From the referenced paper: A team of five or six people were taken to the seals in two Hughes 500C helicopters. They were put down on ice floes 100 to 200 m from the seals. Due to logistic constraints, detailed studies were limited to seals within 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) of the ship. On arrival at a group, the cow was caught first and anaesthetised, followed by the pup and then the bull. This procedure enabled lactational studies involving both the pup and the cow to be conducted in minimum time. Care was taken to keep the bull from molesting the cow while she was under sedation. The whole operation took 3 to 5 hours. On some occasions two groups were studied in a day. Four groups were visited two or more times during the study period; a fifth was visited once only. See the paper for further details. Metadata record for data from ASAC Project 378 See the link below for public details on this project. From the abstract of the referenced paper: Observations on five groups of crabeater seals were conducted between 29 October and 17 November 1985 in the Antarctic pack ice near 66 degrees S 50 degrees E, off Enderby Land. The pups studied were born in the last half of October. Two of them increased in weight at a rate of approximately 4.2kg per day. The lactation period was 2-3 weeks and thus is one of the breifest among pinnipeds. Pups decreased in weight after weaning. The only pup visited after it left the natal floe must have been feeding, as it had only lost 2kg in a 10-day period during which it moved 13 km. Molt of lanugo appeared to be influenced by more a pups weight than by whether or not it was weaned.