The foraging activity and provisioning strategies of Antarctic fur seals in relation to changes in oceanographic conditions at the Kerguelen Archipelago ...

• Main Author: Lea, M-A
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: University Of Tasmania 2023
• Subjects: Antarctic; Cap Noir; Indian; Kerguelen; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctic Fur Seal; Antarctic Fur Seals; Arctocephalus gazella; King Penguins
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25959/23228246.v1; https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/thesis/The_foraging_activity_and_provisioning_strategies_of_Antarctic_fur_seals_in_relation_to_changes_in_oceanographic_conditions_at_the_Kerguelen_Archipelago/23228246/1

The study examined how the foraging activity, foraging efficiency and the pup provisioning of a top marine predator, the Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella), were affected by inter-annual variability in oceanographic conditions and prey availability in the Antarctic Polar Frontal Zone (APFZ), in February 1998, 1999 and 2000. It formed part of a larger multidisciplinary study examining predator-prey relationships in relation to oceanographic features between Antarctic fur seals, king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) and their mesopelagic, fish prey, myctophids. The Kerguelen Archipelago (49°07'S, 70°45'E), which is located in a region of the southern Indian Ocean characterised by considerable hydrographic complexity, was chosen as the study site. Seals were fitted with time-depth recorders and/or satellite transmitters to study their diving behaviour and at-sea distribution. Intra-population variability in diving behaviour was studied for female fur seals from two study sites at Cap Noir and ...