Impact of El Ni??o on the Foraging Behavior of Female Northern Elephant Seals

• Main Authors: Crocker, Daniel E., Costa, Daniel P., Le Boeuf, Burney J., Webb, Paul M., Houser, Dorian S.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Marine Ecology Progress Series 2006
• Subjects: El Nino; seals; water temperature; prey patches; environmental physiology; northern elephant seal; Elephant Seal; Elephant Seals
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10211.1/1430

Published by and copyright by Inter Research. Our aim was to examine the foraging behavior of northern elephant seals Mirounga angustirostris during the 1997???98 El Ni??o and compare it to foraging in others years. Given their deep diving and spatial distribution, their immediate response to a severe El Ni??o was expected to give insight into the timing, scale and magnitude of El Ni??o Southern Oscillation impacts on a large marine predator. Time-depth records and Argoslinked satellite tracks were obtained from adult females departing on post-breeding foraging migrations from 1990 to 1999, including females foraging during the 1998 El Ni??o. Rates of mass gain and trip duration were recorded for females from 1983 to 1999. Movement tracks of females in 1998 were similar to those observed in non-El Ni??o years. Rate of mass gain at sea was 0.29 ?? 0.36 kg d???1 in 1998, the lowest measured since 1983. Marked declines in the mass gain rate of females were noted in severe El Ni??o years, but not in moderate El Ni??o years. Females increase spring foraging trip duration to compensate for decreases in foraging success. In 1998, the frequency distribution and temporal pattern of dive shapes suggested reduced residence time in prey patches and increased travel time between patches and these parameters showed a strong relationship with rates of mass gain. Our data confirm that the immediate ecological impact of the 1997???98 El Ni??o was not limited to the near-shore coastal margin, but