Molting strategies of Arctic seals drive annual patterns in metabolism
Arctic seals, including spotted (Phoca largha), ringed (Pusa hispida) and bearded (Erignathus barbatus) seals, are directly affected by sea ice loss. These species use sea ice as a haul-out substrate for various critical functions, including their annual molt. Continued environmental warming will in...
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ftcdlib:oai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt5kg575zs 2023-09-05T13:17:07+02:00 Molting strategies of Arctic seals drive annual patterns in metabolism Thometz, Nicole M Hermann-Sorensen, Holly Russell, Brandon Rosen, David AS Reichmuth, Colleen Cooke, Steven coaa112- 2021-01-01 application/pdf https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5kg575zs unknown eScholarship, University of California qt5kg575zs https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5kg575zs public Conservation Physiology, vol 9, iss 1 Bearded seals climate change resting metabolic rate ringed seals sea ice loss spotted seals Environmental Sciences Biological Sciences article 2021 ftcdlib 2023-08-21T18:07:59Z Arctic seals, including spotted (Phoca largha), ringed (Pusa hispida) and bearded (Erignathus barbatus) seals, are directly affected by sea ice loss. These species use sea ice as a haul-out substrate for various critical functions, including their annual molt. Continued environmental warming will inevitably alter the routine behavior and overall energy budgets of Arctic seals, but it is difficult to quantify these impacts as their metabolic requirements are not well known-due in part to the difficulty of studying wild individuals. Thus, data pertaining to species-specific energy demands are urgently needed to better understand the physiological consequences of rapid environmental change. We used open-flow respirometry over a four-year period to track fine-scale, longitudinal changes in the resting metabolic rate (RMR) of four spotted seals, three ringed seals and one bearded seal trained to participate in research. Simultaneously, we collected complementary physiological and environmental data. Species-specific metabolic demands followed expected patterns based on body size, with the largest species, the bearded seal, exhibiting the highest absolute RMR (0.48 ± 0.04L O2 min-1) and the lowest mass-specific RMR (4.10 ± 0.47ml O2 min-1kg-1), followed by spotted (absolute: 0.33 ± 0.07L O2 min-1; mass-specific: 6.13 ± 0.73ml O2 min-1kg-1) and ringed (absolute: 0.20 ± 0.04L O2 min-1; mass-specific: 7.01 ± 1.38ml O2 min-1kg-1) seals. Further, we observed clear and consistent annual patterns in RMR that related to the distinct molting strategies of each species. For species that molted over relatively short intervals-spotted (33 ± 4days) and ringed (28 ± 6days) seals-metabolic demands increased markedly in association with molt. In contrast, the bearded seal exhibited a prolonged molting strategy (119 ± 2days), which appeared to limit the overall cost of molting as indicated by a relatively stable annual RMR. These findings highlight energetic trade-offs associated with different molting strategies and provide ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic bearded seal Climate change Erignathus barbatus Pusa hispida Sea ice University of California: eScholarship Arctic |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of California: eScholarship |
op_collection_id |
ftcdlib |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Bearded seals climate change resting metabolic rate ringed seals sea ice loss spotted seals Environmental Sciences Biological Sciences |
spellingShingle |
Bearded seals climate change resting metabolic rate ringed seals sea ice loss spotted seals Environmental Sciences Biological Sciences Thometz, Nicole M Hermann-Sorensen, Holly Russell, Brandon Rosen, David AS Reichmuth, Colleen Molting strategies of Arctic seals drive annual patterns in metabolism |
topic_facet |
Bearded seals climate change resting metabolic rate ringed seals sea ice loss spotted seals Environmental Sciences Biological Sciences |
description |
Arctic seals, including spotted (Phoca largha), ringed (Pusa hispida) and bearded (Erignathus barbatus) seals, are directly affected by sea ice loss. These species use sea ice as a haul-out substrate for various critical functions, including their annual molt. Continued environmental warming will inevitably alter the routine behavior and overall energy budgets of Arctic seals, but it is difficult to quantify these impacts as their metabolic requirements are not well known-due in part to the difficulty of studying wild individuals. Thus, data pertaining to species-specific energy demands are urgently needed to better understand the physiological consequences of rapid environmental change. We used open-flow respirometry over a four-year period to track fine-scale, longitudinal changes in the resting metabolic rate (RMR) of four spotted seals, three ringed seals and one bearded seal trained to participate in research. Simultaneously, we collected complementary physiological and environmental data. Species-specific metabolic demands followed expected patterns based on body size, with the largest species, the bearded seal, exhibiting the highest absolute RMR (0.48 ± 0.04L O2 min-1) and the lowest mass-specific RMR (4.10 ± 0.47ml O2 min-1kg-1), followed by spotted (absolute: 0.33 ± 0.07L O2 min-1; mass-specific: 6.13 ± 0.73ml O2 min-1kg-1) and ringed (absolute: 0.20 ± 0.04L O2 min-1; mass-specific: 7.01 ± 1.38ml O2 min-1kg-1) seals. Further, we observed clear and consistent annual patterns in RMR that related to the distinct molting strategies of each species. For species that molted over relatively short intervals-spotted (33 ± 4days) and ringed (28 ± 6days) seals-metabolic demands increased markedly in association with molt. In contrast, the bearded seal exhibited a prolonged molting strategy (119 ± 2days), which appeared to limit the overall cost of molting as indicated by a relatively stable annual RMR. These findings highlight energetic trade-offs associated with different molting strategies and provide ... |
author2 |
Cooke, Steven |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Thometz, Nicole M Hermann-Sorensen, Holly Russell, Brandon Rosen, David AS Reichmuth, Colleen |
author_facet |
Thometz, Nicole M Hermann-Sorensen, Holly Russell, Brandon Rosen, David AS Reichmuth, Colleen |
author_sort |
Thometz, Nicole M |
title |
Molting strategies of Arctic seals drive annual patterns in metabolism |
title_short |
Molting strategies of Arctic seals drive annual patterns in metabolism |
title_full |
Molting strategies of Arctic seals drive annual patterns in metabolism |
title_fullStr |
Molting strategies of Arctic seals drive annual patterns in metabolism |
title_full_unstemmed |
Molting strategies of Arctic seals drive annual patterns in metabolism |
title_sort |
molting strategies of arctic seals drive annual patterns in metabolism |
publisher |
eScholarship, University of California |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5kg575zs |
op_coverage |
coaa112- |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic bearded seal Climate change Erignathus barbatus Pusa hispida Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic bearded seal Climate change Erignathus barbatus Pusa hispida Sea ice |
op_source |
Conservation Physiology, vol 9, iss 1 |
op_relation |
qt5kg575zs https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5kg575zs |
op_rights |
public |
_version_ |
1776198422031761408 |