At surface behaviour at location on spot and dive depth profile data of southern elephant seals from Marion Island 2006 - 2013, supplement to: McIntyre, Trevor; Bester, Marthán Nieuwoudt; Bornemann, Horst; Tosh, Cheryl Ann; de Bruyn, P J Nico (2017): Slow to change? Individual fidelity to three-dimensional foraging habitats in southern elephant seals, Mirounga leonina. Animal Behaviour, 127, 91-99

Long-term fidelity to foraging areas may have fitness benefits to individuals, particularly in unpredictable environments. However, such strategies may result in short-term energetic losses and delay responses to fast environmental changes. We used satellite tracking data and associated diving data...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: McIntyre, Trevor, Bester, Marthán Nieuwoudt, Bornemann, Horst, Tosh, Cheryl Ann, de Bruyn, P J Nico
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: PANGAEA - Data Publisher for Earth & Environmental Science 2017
Subjects:
Marine Mammal Tracking MMT
McIntyre
Elephant Seals
Marion Island
Mirounga leonina
Southern Elephant Seals
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.871448
https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.871448
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Summary:Long-term fidelity to foraging areas may have fitness benefits to individuals, particularly in unpredictable environments. However, such strategies may result in short-term energetic losses and delay responses to fast environmental changes. We used satellite tracking data and associated diving data to record the habitat use of nine individual southern elephant seals over 34 winter migrations. By assessing overlap in two- and three-dimensional home ranges we illustrate strong long-term (up to 7-year) fidelity to foraging habitat. Furthermore, a repeatability statistic and hierarchical clustering exercise provided evidence for individual specialization of foraging migration strategies.We discuss the possible influences of stable long-term foraging migration strategies on the adaptability of individual elephant seals to rapid environmental change. Our results further illustrate the need for more long-term longitudinal studies to quantify the influence of individual-level site familiarity, fidelity and specialization on population-level resource selection and population dynamics.

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