ORIGINAL PAPER

• Main Authors: Carey E. Kuhn, Æ Birgitte, I. Mcdonald, Scott A. Shaffer, Æ Julie, Barnes Æ Daniel, E. Crocker, Jennifer Burns, Æ Daniel, P. Costa
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Hydrurga; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctic Krill; Crabeater Seals; Euphausia superba; Hydrurga leptonyx; Leopard Seal; Leopard Seals
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.539.6304; http://hosting.uaa.alaska.edu/afjmb4/publications/rm4288.pdf

Abstract Diving physiology and at-sea behavior of a juvenile leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) were oppor-tunistically measured in the Antarctic Peninsula during winter 2002. Total body oxygen stores were estimated from measures of hematocrit, hemoglobin, myoglobin, and total blood volume and were used to calculate an aerobic dive limit (ADL). Movement patterns and div-ing behavior were measured by equipping the seal with a Satellite Relay Data Logger that transmitted data from 8–31 August 2002. The seal remained in a focal area, in contrast to crabeater seals tracked simultaneously. The seal displayed short, shallow dives (mean 2.0±1.4 min, 44±48 m) and spent 99.9 % of its time within the esti-mated ADL of 7.4 min. The shallow diving behavior contradicts previous diet research suggesting Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) is the primary prey of leopard seals during the winter months as krill were found at deeper depths during this period. These measurements of diving and movement of a leopard seal provide valuable preliminary data necessary to develop future research on the at-sea behavior of an apex predator in the Antarctic ecosystem.