Ocean temperature alters elephant seal dive behaviour: climate change implications for a marine predator

• Main Authors: McIntyre, Trevor, Ansorge, I., Bornemann, Horst, Plötz, Joachim, Tosh, C. A., Bester, M. N.
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: Elephant Seal; Elephant Seals; Marion Island; Southern Elephant Seals; Southern Ocean
• Online Access: https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/30895/; https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.39853

The potential effects of ocean warming on top predators are largely unknown, though the impact on the distribution of prey in vertical space may have far reaching impacts on diving predators such as southern elephant seals. We used data from satellite-tracked southern elephant seals from Marion Island (46° 54’S; 37° 45’E) to investigate the relationship between their dive characteristics (dive depths, dive durations and time-at-depth index values) and environmental variables (temperature at depth, depth of Tmax below 100m, frontal zone and bathymetry) as well as other demographic and behavioural variables (migration stage, age-class, track day and vertical diel strategy). While other variables, such as bathymetry and vertical diel strategy influenced dive depth, our results also consistently indicated a significant influence of temperature at depth on dive depths. This relationship was positive for all groups of animals, indicating that seals dived to deeper depths when foraging in warmer waters. Female seals adjusted their dive depths proportionally more than males in warmer water. Dive durations were also influenced by temperature at depth, though to a lesser extent. Results from time-at-depth indices showed that both male and female seals spent less time at targeted dive depths in warmer water, and were presumably less successful foragers when diving in warmer water. Continued warming of the Southern Ocean may result in the distribution of prey for southern elephant seals shifting either poleward and/or to increasing depths. Marion Island elephant seals are expected to adapt their ranging and diving behaviour accordingly, though such changes may result in greater physiological costs associated with foraging.