Aspects of the ecology of Weddell seals at the Vestfold Hills, Prydz Bay, East Antarctica ...

• Main Author: Lake, SE
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: University Of Tasmania 2023
• Subjects: East Antarctica; McMurdo Sound; Prydz Bay; Vestfold; Vestfold Hills; Weddell; Antarc*; Antarctica; Leptonychotes weddelli; Weddell Seal; Weddell Seals
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25959/23231378.v1; https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/thesis/Aspects_of_the_ecology_of_Weddell_seals_at_the_Vestfold_Hills_Prydz_Bay_East_Antarctica/23231378/1

At first glance, the head of a Weddell seal, Leptonychotes weddelli, seems small for its body. This is due to the streamline profile for swimming and breathing through holes in the ice. Ice frozen, or 'fastened', to the shore (fast-ice) surrounds the coast of Antarctica and is the Weddell seal's habitat (Kooyman 1968). Weddell seal females pup for the first time, on average, at seven years and can live to 24 years producing pups approximately annually until near the end of that time (Green et al. 1993). The number and timing of pups is related to the environment which changes cyclically (Testa et al. 1991, White and Peterson 1996). Interannual variation is currently being investigated by monitoring the population of Weddell seals at Vestfold Hills, Prydz Bay, East Antarctica. A diurnal cycle in Weddell seal haul-out behaviour has been described at McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, but prior to this thesis regional and seasonal variations in haul-out patterns of Weddell seals were unknown. Knowledge of activity ...