Changing climate and the winter foraging ecology of Antarctic fur seal populations ...

• Main Author: Arthur, Benjamin
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: University Of Tasmania 2023
• Subjects: Antarctic; Austral; Bird Island; Cape Shirreff; Shirreff; Southern Ocean; Antarc*; Antarctic Fur Seal; Antarctic Fur Seals; Arctocephalus gazella; Marion Island
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25959/23238941; https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/thesis/Changing_climate_and_the_winter_foraging_ecology_of_Antarctic_fur_seal_populations/23238941

Knowledge of the habitat use and foraging ecology of animals in space and time is fundamental to understanding the structure and function of their ecosystems, inter-relationships with earth and climate systems, and to inform management and conservation. The examination of relationships across ecological levels (individuals, populations, species) can reveal the effects of the intrinsic characteristics of individuals and extrinsic environmental factors, and contributes to a broader understanding of an animal's biology. This thesis examines the foraging behaviours, habitat use and drivers of these for female Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) from three Southern Ocean colonies during the poorly studied austral winter, from the individual to the species level. The at-sea winter distribution of Antarctic fur seals from Marion Island, Bird Island and Cape Shirreff was quantified over six years (2008-13) using archival global location sensing (GLS) loggers, while time-depth recorders were used to record ...