At surface behaviour at location on spot of southern elephant seals from Marion Island in 2004 with links to datasets ...

A novel classification system was applied to the sea level anomaly (SLA) environment around Marion Island. We classified the SLA seascape into habitat types and calculated percentage of habitat use of ten juvenile southern elephant seals (SES). Movements were compared to SLA and SLA slope values ind...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tosh, Cheryl Ann, de Bruyn, P J Nico, Steyn, Jumari, Bornemann, Horst, van den Hoff, John, Stewart, Brent S, Plötz, Joachim, Bester, Marthán Nieuwoudt
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: PANGAEA 2015
Subjects:
Marine endotherm
MAR2004
Marion Island Research Station
Marine Mammal Tracking MMT
Antarctic
Antarc*
Elephant Seals
Marion Island
Southern Elephant Seals
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.150015
https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.150015
Description
Summary:A novel classification system was applied to the sea level anomaly (SLA) environment around Marion Island. We classified the SLA seascape into habitat types and calculated percentage of habitat use of ten juvenile southern elephant seals (SES). Movements were compared to SLA and SLA slope values indicative of ocean eddy features. This classification provides a measure of habitat change due to seasonal fluctuations in SLA. Some of the seals made two migrations in different seasons, each of similar duration and proportions of potential foraging behaviour. The seals in this study did not use any intense eddy features, but their behaviours varied with SLA class. Potential foraging behaviour was positively influenced by negative SLA values (i.e. areas of below average sea surface height). Searching behaviour during the winter was more likely at eddy edges where high SLA slope values correlated with low SLA values. Though the seals did not forage within newly spawned eddies, they did forage near the sub-Antarctic ...

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