Marine predator foraging strategies in response to broad- and fine-scale resource variability ...

• Main Author: O'Toole, MD
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: University Of Tasmania 2023
• Subjects: Elephant Seals
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25959/23239274.v1; https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/thesis/Marine_predator_foraging_strategies_in_response_to_broad-_and_fine-scale_resource_variability/23239274/1

Foraging ecology is key to understanding the drivers of habitat selection, elucidating the abiotic and biotic factors associated with animal decision-making and the ecological context within which these choices occur. In particular, the resilience and response of upper-trophic-level populations to trans-seasonal resource variability is an ongoing question in marine ecology. New analytical tools are now opening new avenues for understanding such questions in the marine environment. However, while a considerable body of literature exists on the effects of in situ physical conditions on marine species; few studies have investigated the effects of in situ biological conditions. The overall aim of this thesis was to assess the feasibility of using light, collected by a marine predator, to estimate biological conditions in the water column, and demonstrate its application, in an ecological context. First, light level and depth data collected by elephant seals were used as a relative index to estimate plankton ...