Winter foraging ranges of Weddell seals: a pilot study to assess their role in the winter sea-ice zone and their potential as ocean sampling platforms

• Other Authors: HINDELL, MARK A. (hasPrincipalInvestigator), HINDELL, MARK A. (processor), Australian Antarctic Data Centre (publisher)
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: Australian Antarctic Data Centre
• Subjects: biota; environment; oceans; SEA ICE; EARTH SCIENCE; CRYOSPHERE; ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES; BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION; SEALS/SEA LIONS/WALRUSES; MAMMALS; CARNIVORES; SPECIES PREDATION; BIOSPHERE; ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS; SPECIES/POPULATION INTERACTIONS; FOOD-WEB DYNAMICS; ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS; Weddell Seal; foraging; ARGOS > ARGOS Data Collection and Position Location System; SATELLITES; CONTINENT > ANTARCTICA > Davis; GEOGRAPHIC REGION > POLAR; Antarctic; Weddell; Antarc*; Antarctic Krill; Antarctica; Sea ice; Weddell Seals; walrus*
• Online Access: https://researchdata.ands.org.au/winter-foraging-ranges-sampling-platforms/699993; https://doi.org/10.4225/15/554AAC1C5ADDC; https://data.aad.gov.au/metadata/records/ASAC_2695; http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-617536

Metadata record for data from ASAC Project 2695 See the link below for public details on this project. Variations in the winter extent of sea ice are thought to have profound effects on biological productivity, such as algal growth and the reproduction of Antarctic krill, with subsequent flow-on effects through the food web. This pilot study aims to measure the winter foraging patterns of Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) as a first step in investigating their role in the winter sea-ice zone. Our specific objectives are to: 1. Obtain satellite tracks from a sample of adult female Weddell seals 2. Collect diving behaviour (dive depth, duration and frequency) from a sub-set of these seals 3. Collect high precision water temperature data from a subset of these seals These data will enable us to assess the feasibility of including Weddell seals as a candidate species in a long-term study of winter sea-ice and predator performance. This project has now been merged into project number 2794 (ASAC_2794). It also contains data collected as part of project 1171 (ASAC_1171). The download file contains 13 Access Databases containing data from this project. An excel spreadsheet summarising the databases is also included. The data have also been loaded into the Australian Antarctic Data Centre's ARGOS tracking database. The database can be accessed at the provided URL.