New records of mummified crabeater seals on islands bordering Admiralty Sound, Weddell Sea

• Published in: Antarctic Science
• Main Authors: Negrete, Javier, Soibelzon, Leopoldo Héctor, Soibelzon, Esteban, Lusky, Jorge
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press
• Subjects: ISLA MARAMBIO; SAERIAL SURVEY; SEA ICE BREAK-UP; SNOW HILL ISLAND; TAPHONOMIC STATE; https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6; https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1; Weddell Sea; Argentino; Weddell; Argentina; Seymour; Seymour Island; Estrecho; Marambio; Hill Island; Snow Hill Island; Bouchard; isla Marambio; Admiralty Sound; estrecho Bouchard; Snow Hill; Antarctic Science; antartic*; Crabeater Seals; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11336/128016

Ninety-six mummified crabeater seals discovered at Seymour Island (Isla Marambio) are reported. Each specimen was georeferenced, photographed and assigned to five different taphonomic states. Previous work stated that seals at Seymour Island get stranded inland around the breeding season. However, it is not clear if the species breeds in this area. The abundance of crabeater seals and the ice condition along Admiralty Sound (Estrecho Bouchard) were obtained by aerial surveys during spring (2015-17). It appears that the species uses the strait as a passage to breeding grounds. Under heavy ice conditions, the seals become stranded in the middle section of this strait and wander inland through a valley that represents the mouth of an ephemeral stream that ends at the pack ice level. This situation was observed in 2014 and 2015 when recently dead seals were found, evidencing that this natural trap is still active. Nonetheless, in 2016 and 2017, during an early breakup of Admiralty Sound, the seals that remained in the area were more numerous than in 2015 but they did not get stranded inland. This early breakup may encourage the seals to breed there in the presence of open water areas with ice floes. Fil: Negrete, Javier. Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto. Direccion Nacional del Antartico. Instituto Antartico Argentino. Departamento de Biologia de Predadores Tope; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina Fil: Soibelzon, Leopoldo Héctor. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Departamento Científico de Paleontología de Vertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina Fil: Soibelzon, Esteban. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Departamento Científico de ...