First observations of Weddell seals foraging in sponges in Erebus Bay, Antarctica
Attaching cameras to marine mammals allows for first-hand observation of underwater behaviours that may otherwise go unseen. While studying the foraging behaviour of 26 lactating Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) in Erebus Bay during the austral spring of 2018 and 2019, we witnessed three adul...
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Springer Science and Business Media LLC
2023
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Online Access: | https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/57887/ https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/57887/1/Foster-Dyer%20et%20al.%202023%20published.pdf https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.e2eb05af-c8fb-45de-b34a-0e6c429e6a6f |
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ftawi:oai:epic.awi.de:57887 2023-08-20T04:02:27+02:00 First observations of Weddell seals foraging in sponges in Erebus Bay, Antarctica Foster-Dyer, Rose TN Goetz, Kimberly T Pinkerton, Matthew H Iwata, Takashi Holser, Rachel R Michael, Sarah A Pritchard, Craig Childerhouse, Simon Rotella, Jay Federwisch, Luisa Costa, Daniel P LaRue, Michelle A 2023-05-30 application/pdf https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/57887/ https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/57887/1/Foster-Dyer%20et%20al.%202023%20published.pdf https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.e2eb05af-c8fb-45de-b34a-0e6c429e6a6f unknown Springer Science and Business Media LLC https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/57887/1/Foster-Dyer%20et%20al.%202023%20published.pdf Foster-Dyer, R. T. , Goetz, K. T. , Pinkerton, M. H. , Iwata, T. , Holser, R. R. , Michael, S. A. , Pritchard, C. , Childerhouse, S. , Rotella, J. , Federwisch, L. orcid:0000-0002-4815-475X , Costa, D. P. and LaRue, M. A. (2023) First observations of Weddell seals foraging in sponges in Erebus Bay, Antarctica , Polar Biology, 46 (7), pp. 611-621 . doi:10.1007/s00300-023-03149-1 <https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-023-03149-1> , hdl:10013/epic.e2eb05af-c8fb-45de-b34a-0e6c429e6a6f EPIC3Polar Biology, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 46(7), pp. 611-621, ISSN: 0722-4060 Article isiRev 2023 ftawi https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-023-03149-1 2023-07-30T23:20:08Z Attaching cameras to marine mammals allows for first-hand observation of underwater behaviours that may otherwise go unseen. While studying the foraging behaviour of 26 lactating Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) in Erebus Bay during the austral spring of 2018 and 2019, we witnessed three adults and one pup investigating the cavities of Rossellidae glass sponges, with one seal visibly chewing when she removed her head from the sponge. To our knowledge, this is the first report of such behaviour. While the prey item was not identifiable, some Trematomus fish (a known Weddell seal prey) use glass sponges for shelter and in which to lay their eggs. Three of the four sponge foraging observations occurred around 13:00 (NZDT). Two of the three sponge foraging adults had higher-than-average reproductive rates, and the greatest number of previous pups of any seal in our study population, each having ten pups in 12 years. This is far higher than the study population average of three previous pups (± 2.6 SD). This novel foraging strategy may have evolved in response to changes in prey availability, and could offer an evolutionary advantage to some individuals that exploit prey resources that others may not. Our observations offer new insight into the foraging behaviours of one of the world’s most studied marine mammals. Further research on the social aspects of Weddell seal behaviour may increase our understanding of the extent and mechanisms of behavioural transfer between conspecifics. Research into the specific foraging behaviour of especially successful or experienced breeders is also warranted. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Polar Biology Weddell Seal Weddell Seals Glass sponges Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar- and Marine Research (AWI): ePIC (electronic Publication Information Center) Austral Erebus Bay ENVELOPE(166.517,166.517,-77.733,-77.733) Weddell Polar Biology 46 7 611 621 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar- and Marine Research (AWI): ePIC (electronic Publication Information Center) |
op_collection_id |
ftawi |
language |
unknown |
description |
Attaching cameras to marine mammals allows for first-hand observation of underwater behaviours that may otherwise go unseen. While studying the foraging behaviour of 26 lactating Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) in Erebus Bay during the austral spring of 2018 and 2019, we witnessed three adults and one pup investigating the cavities of Rossellidae glass sponges, with one seal visibly chewing when she removed her head from the sponge. To our knowledge, this is the first report of such behaviour. While the prey item was not identifiable, some Trematomus fish (a known Weddell seal prey) use glass sponges for shelter and in which to lay their eggs. Three of the four sponge foraging observations occurred around 13:00 (NZDT). Two of the three sponge foraging adults had higher-than-average reproductive rates, and the greatest number of previous pups of any seal in our study population, each having ten pups in 12 years. This is far higher than the study population average of three previous pups (± 2.6 SD). This novel foraging strategy may have evolved in response to changes in prey availability, and could offer an evolutionary advantage to some individuals that exploit prey resources that others may not. Our observations offer new insight into the foraging behaviours of one of the world’s most studied marine mammals. Further research on the social aspects of Weddell seal behaviour may increase our understanding of the extent and mechanisms of behavioural transfer between conspecifics. Research into the specific foraging behaviour of especially successful or experienced breeders is also warranted. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Foster-Dyer, Rose TN Goetz, Kimberly T Pinkerton, Matthew H Iwata, Takashi Holser, Rachel R Michael, Sarah A Pritchard, Craig Childerhouse, Simon Rotella, Jay Federwisch, Luisa Costa, Daniel P LaRue, Michelle A |
spellingShingle |
Foster-Dyer, Rose TN Goetz, Kimberly T Pinkerton, Matthew H Iwata, Takashi Holser, Rachel R Michael, Sarah A Pritchard, Craig Childerhouse, Simon Rotella, Jay Federwisch, Luisa Costa, Daniel P LaRue, Michelle A First observations of Weddell seals foraging in sponges in Erebus Bay, Antarctica |
author_facet |
Foster-Dyer, Rose TN Goetz, Kimberly T Pinkerton, Matthew H Iwata, Takashi Holser, Rachel R Michael, Sarah A Pritchard, Craig Childerhouse, Simon Rotella, Jay Federwisch, Luisa Costa, Daniel P LaRue, Michelle A |
author_sort |
Foster-Dyer, Rose TN |
title |
First observations of Weddell seals foraging in sponges in Erebus Bay, Antarctica |
title_short |
First observations of Weddell seals foraging in sponges in Erebus Bay, Antarctica |
title_full |
First observations of Weddell seals foraging in sponges in Erebus Bay, Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
First observations of Weddell seals foraging in sponges in Erebus Bay, Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
First observations of Weddell seals foraging in sponges in Erebus Bay, Antarctica |
title_sort |
first observations of weddell seals foraging in sponges in erebus bay, antarctica |
publisher |
Springer Science and Business Media LLC |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/57887/ https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/57887/1/Foster-Dyer%20et%20al.%202023%20published.pdf https://hdl.handle.net/10013/epic.e2eb05af-c8fb-45de-b34a-0e6c429e6a6f |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(166.517,166.517,-77.733,-77.733) |
geographic |
Austral Erebus Bay Weddell |
geographic_facet |
Austral Erebus Bay Weddell |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Polar Biology Weddell Seal Weddell Seals Glass sponges |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Polar Biology Weddell Seal Weddell Seals Glass sponges |
op_source |
EPIC3Polar Biology, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 46(7), pp. 611-621, ISSN: 0722-4060 |
op_relation |
https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/57887/1/Foster-Dyer%20et%20al.%202023%20published.pdf Foster-Dyer, R. T. , Goetz, K. T. , Pinkerton, M. H. , Iwata, T. , Holser, R. R. , Michael, S. A. , Pritchard, C. , Childerhouse, S. , Rotella, J. , Federwisch, L. orcid:0000-0002-4815-475X , Costa, D. P. and LaRue, M. A. (2023) First observations of Weddell seals foraging in sponges in Erebus Bay, Antarctica , Polar Biology, 46 (7), pp. 611-621 . doi:10.1007/s00300-023-03149-1 <https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-023-03149-1> , hdl:10013/epic.e2eb05af-c8fb-45de-b34a-0e6c429e6a6f |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-023-03149-1 |
container_title |
Polar Biology |
container_volume |
46 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
611 |
op_container_end_page |
621 |
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1774712903378665472 |